A fancy way to say “to look” in Hebrew
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/להביט-1.m4a” /]לְהַבִּיט
If you’ve got some basic Hebrew, you probably know the word for to look – להסתכל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/להביט-2.m4a” /]. For example:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/להביט-3.m4a” /]אל תסתכלו עליו.
Don’t look at him. (spoken to more than one person)
A higher-register word for to look is להביט[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/להביט-1.m4a” /] – in English, this might be to gaze.
For example:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/להביט-4.m4a” /]כשאת מביטה בי ככה יש לי ייסורי מצפון.
When you (a female) look at me like that I have an attack of conscience.
להביט is an active-causative הפעיל verb of the root נ.ב.ט[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/להביט-5.m4a” /]. (due to difficulties in pronunciation in ancient times, the נ[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/להביט-6.m4a” /] has fallen off the word, leaving its mark in the hardened בּ[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/להביט-7.m4a” /]).
See if you can find a form of להביט in this classic Shlomo Artzi song.
