how to say “on the other hand” in Hebrew
מִצַּד שֵׁנִי, לְעֻמַּת זֹאת
On the one hand, the snow is pretty. But on the other hand, it’s cold and I prefer warmth.
English uses the metaphor of hands to speak about the two sides of a dilemma. Hebrew uses sides:
מִצַּד אֶחָד – on the one hand, or literally from the one side
מִצַּד שֵׁנִי – on the other hand, or literally from the second side
For example, my statement above on weather preferences would read, in Hebrew:
מִצַּד אֶחָד, הַשֶּׁלֶג יָפֶה. אֲבָל מִצַּד שֵׁנִי, קָר, וַאֲנִי מַעֲדִיף אֶת הַחוֹם.
Note how similar the Hebrew צַד (side) and the English side sound.
and the English side sound.Another Hebrew expression meaning on the other hand is לְעֻמַּת זֹאת – literally, opposite this.
– literally, opposite this.For example:
אֶפְשַׁר לְהַשִּׂיג אֶת הַמַּכְשִׁיר הַזֶּה בִּמְחִיר מְצֻיָּן. לְעֻמַּת זֹאת, לַמַּכְשִׁיר הַזֶּה יֵשׁ מַצְלֵמָה כָּל כַּךְ טוֹבָה…
(I) can get this device for an excellent price. On the other hand, this device has such a good camera…
