Perhaps this entry would have been more timely last week, on New Years Eve. But I guess better late than never. A belt in Hebrew is חֲגוֹרָה (khah-goh-RAH). Safety is בְּטִיחוּת (be-tee-KHOOT). It comes from the same root as security, trust – בִּטָּחוֹן (bee-tah-KHOHN) and insurance – בִּטּוּח (bee-TOO-ahkh). A safety belt is חגורת בטיחות…
having trouble seeing the print? בֹּשֶׂם Check out our world-class conversational Hebrew program The Hebrew word for perfume is בֹּשֶׂם, going back to the Biblical word for a substance giving off a pleasant smell. Cologne is מֵי בֹּשֶׂם (meh-ee BOH-sem), meaning pleasant-smelling water, much like the French eau de toilette. But most Israelis refer to cologne, just…
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/גידול-1.m4a” /]גִּדּוּל Yesterday we saw that to raise a child is לגדל ילד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/גידול-2.m4a” /]. This active-intensive verb לגדל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/גידול-3.m4a” /] has a corresponding noun form – גידול[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/גידול-1.m4a” /], so that raising children is גידול ילדים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/גידול-4.m4a” /]. But the word גידול also means a growth or a tumor, so you’re more likely to hear people avoid…