how to say “foreign language” in Hebrew
שָׂפָה זָרָה
זָר (zahr) is the Hebrew core word for strange. The word you may know that means odd or weird – מוּזָר (moo-ZAHR) – comes from the same root.
A foreign language – a strange language – is a שָׂפָה זָרָה. At Ulpan La-Inyan we work to make Hebrew less and less of a שפה זרה for you.
Now, שפה זרה is the term to use when identifying a language as foreign. For example, סִינִית זֹאת שָׂפָה זָרָה בִּשְׁבִילִי – Chinese is a foreign language to me (SEE-neet zoht sah-FAH zah-RAH beesh-vee-LEE).
If you’re trying to say, however, that a poem or song or speech is written in a foreign language, there’s a different term you’d use.
What term is that?
Stay tuned for the answer.
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