how do you say “stage” in Hebrew?
שלב, במה
There’s the stage that people perform on, and the stage that is similar in meaning to rung, level, etc.
The stage where plays and concerts take place is a בָּמָה (bah-MAH). Likewise, a director of a show, or a film for that matter, is a בַּמַּאִי (bah-MAH-ee). The plural is בָּמוֹת (bah-MOHT).
A stage, as in “We have arrived at the final stage of the plan,” is שָׁלָב (shah-LAHV). Like many nouns in many languages, this abstract idea of a chronological stage actually comes from a much more concrete word: the rung of a ladder. The plural is שְׁלָבִים (shlah-VEEM).
The sentence above, “We have arrived…” is הִגַּעְנוּ לַשָּׁלָב הָאַחֲרוֹן שֶׁל הַתָּכְנִית (hee-GAH-noo lah-shah-LAHV hah-ah-khah-ROHN shel hah-tokh-NEET).
A level, however – as in, “Ulpan La-Inyan has five fun-filled, highly-effective levels of conversational Hebrew classes to choose from” – is רָמָה (rah-MAH), like the flagship camp of the Conservative movement. The plural is רָמוֹת (rah-MOHT).