having trouble seeing the print? אִי-וַדָּאוּת Human beings have a need for clarity and organization – we seek certainty in order to relax and go about our day. While certainty, in Hebrew, is וַדָּאוּת (listen and repeat), uncertainty is אִי-וַדָּאוּת (listen and repeat). For example: קָשֶׁה אָבָל הֶכְרֵחִי לִחְיוֹת עִם אִי-וַדָּאוּת. It’s difficult but necessary to live with uncertainty. listen…
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/הגנה-#.m4a” /]הֲגַנָּה The Hebrew word for defense is הגנה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/הגנה-#.m4a” /], derived from the verb להגן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/הגנה-#.m4a” /] – to defend. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/הגנה-#.m4a” /]צבא ההגנה לישראל הוקם שבועות ספורים אחרי הכרזת העצמאות. The Israel Defense Force was established just a few weeks after the declaration of independence. Now, הגנה means defense in the general sense….
קייטנה Click the Hebrew word above to hear it pronounced. The Hebrew word for summer is קַיִץ (KAH-yeets), probably related to the Biblical Hebrew word for end – קֵץ (kehts), as summer can be seen as the end of the year (especially with Rosh Hashana coming up). Now, you may know that Aramaic is…
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/מציל-חיים-#.m4a” /]מַצִּיל חַיִּים, מַצִּילַת חַיִּים If you’re Jewish or have Jewish friends, you probably know someone named חיים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/מציל-חיים-#.m4a” /] – Chaim. Maybe you yourself are a חיים, in which case you probably also know that חיים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/מציל-חיים-#.m4a” /] (listen for a different pronunciation) means life. Why the difference in pronunciation? Because Israelis tend to…
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/בדיוק-כמוני-1.m4a” /]בְּדִיּוּק כָּמוֹנִי In Hebrew, if you want to express that someone (or something) is just like someone (or something) else, you’d use the word בדיוק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/בדיוק-כמוני-2.m4a” /] – exactly, followed by some form of כמו[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/בדיוק-כמוני-3.m4a” /] – like. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/בדיוק-כמוני-4.m4a” /]היא נראית בדיוק כמו אמא שלה. She looks just like…