how to say “maintenance” in Hebrew
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/תחזוקה-#.m4a” /]תַּחֲזוּקָה, אַחְזָקָה
The Hebrew word for maintenance is תחזוקה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/תחזוקה-#.m4a” /], as in:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/תחזוקה-#.m4a” /]הבניין הזה דורש יותר מדי תחזוקה.
This building demands too much maintenance.
Likewise, to maintain something in the sense of regular checkups and repairs is the פיעל verb לתחזק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/תחזוקה-#.m4a” /].
What is the root of these words? If you have some Hebrew under your belt you may spot the word חזק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/תחזוקה-#.m4a” /] – strong. But that’s a classic three-letter root. What about the ת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/תחזוקה-#.m4a” /], which makes the word appear to have a four-letter root, ת.ח.ז.ק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/תחזוקה-#.m4a” /]? The ת gets added to the root to give חזק-strong it an additional layer of meaning – regular holding (להחזיק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/תחזוקה-#.m4a” /] is to hold).
Some people use אחזקה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/תחזוקה-#.m4a” /] as a synonym for תחזוקה, though the Academy of the Hebrew Language recommends using תחזוקה.