how to say “settlement” in Hebrew

יִשּׁוּב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/יישוב-1.1.mp3″ /]

The Jewish communities in the area variously called the West Bank, Judea and Samaria, Greater Israel, the Occupied Territories, etc, are often referred to as הִתְנַחֲלוּיוֹת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/יישוב-2.1.mp3″ /] – settlements.

That word is formed from נַחֲלָה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/יישוב-3.1.mp3″ /] – estate, plugged into the reflexive verb form, so that it sounds to the Israeli ear like those who established these communities pounced upon the land. It conveys a judgment of illegitimacy.

The more benign term is יִשּׁוּב – literally, settlement. It applies not only to the pieces of land mentioned above, but to also to any community of homes anywhere in Israel – or in the world, for that matter.

For example:

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/יישוב-4.mp3″ /]עִיר הִיא יִשּׁוּב גָּדוֹל מְאֹד.

A city is a very large settlement.

In fact, whereas on an American form that requires one to fill in an address, “city” appears as a field, in Israel, יישוב often appears in its place.

יישוב is the noun form of the active-intensive verb לְיַשֵּׁב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/יישוב-5.mp3″ /] – to settle. It refers both to settling land and to settling or resolving a dispute, as does יישוב.

For example, יִשּׁוּב סִכְסוּכִים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/יישוב-6.mp3″ /] means conflict resolution.