how to say “zits” in Hebrew
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/חצקונים-#.m4a” /]חַצְ’קוּנִים
Though the title may have grossed you out a bit, I urge you to bear with me as this post gets interesting.
English speakers prefer the informal word zits over pimples. Likewise, Israelis prefer slang חצ’קונים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/חצקונים-#.m4a” /] over the more technical term פצעונים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/חצקונים-#.m4a” /] from the word פצע[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/חצקונים-#.m4a” /] which means a sore among other things.
חצ’קונים in context:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/חצקונים-#.m4a” /]יש לך תרופה נגד חצ’קונים?
Do you (a male) have medicine against pimples?
Where does this slang term חצ’קונים come from? It’s not 100% clear, but etymologists suggest that it’s a corruption of חשקון[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/חצקונים-#.m4a” /], which comes from חשק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/חצקונים-#.m4a” /]- desire; zits make their appearance on the faces of adolescents around the same time that חשק מיני[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/חצקונים-#.m4a” /]- sexual desire – arrives on the scene.