לְהַשְׁקוֹת אֶת הַצְּמָחִים listen and repeat Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Hebrew word for plant is צֶמַח listen and repeat, related to the active-simple verb ַלִצְמוֹח listen and repeat – to grow – as in: צָמַח לָהּ פֶּרַח יָפֶה בַּגִּנָּה. A pretty flower grew in her garden. listen And to water is the active-causative verb לְהַשְׁקוֹת listen and…
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/מצפה-תת-ימי-#.m4a” /]מִצְפֵּה תַּת-יַמִּי Eilat, Israel’s resort town, hosts lots of attractions like water skiing, snorkeling, and an underwater observatory. The latter, in Hebrew, is מצפה תת-ימי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/מצפה-תת-ימי-#.m4a” /], as in: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/מצפה-תת-ימי-#.m4a” /]מהמצפה התת-ימי אפשר לראות גם כרישים! From the underwater observatory you can even see sharks! מצפה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/מצפה-תת-ימי-#.m4a” /] – observatory – comes…
הַחְיָאָה listen and repeat Can’t read Hebrew yet? Even if you have no background in Hebrew, chances are you’ve heard the expression !לַחַיִּים listen and repeat before, meaning to life! To produce a word for cardiopulmonary resuscitation, CPR, Modern Hebrew invokes a word related to לחיים, the active-causative verb לְהַחֲיוֹת listen and repeat – to…
מְשַׁעֲשֵׁעַ The Hebrew word for amusing – מְשַׁעֲשֵׁע (me-shah-ah-SHEH-ah) – came up in a lesson I gave in Jerusalem last week. This three-letter (ש.ע.ע – sh.a.a) turned-four-letter root (ש.ע.ש.ע – sh.a.sh.a) appears in several places in the Bible, where in some places it means delights – שַׁעֲשׁוּעִים (shah-ah-shoo-EEM). Today, a playground in Israel is called גַּן שַׁעֲשׁוּעִים…
1. תעודת זהות – ID card In Israel, knowing your מספר תעודת זהות – ID card number – is more important than knowing your phone number: you’ll use it all the time, from visiting the doctor to logging into your online bank. People typically shorten the expression, cutting out מספר – number, even though they’re…