Author: Ami Steinberger

 בֶּן/בַּת אַרְבַּע עֶשְׂרֵה In English, if you want to tell someone your age, you might say I’m twenty five. But if you say אני עשרים וחמש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/בן-ארבע-עשרה-2.m4a” /] in Hebrew, you’ll sound awkward and your non-native status will be picked up immediately. Hebrew’s way of expressing age is to say son – בן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/בן-ארבע-עשרה-3.m4a” /] – or daughter –…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/קללה-1.m4a” /]קְלָלָה The Hebrew word for blessing is ברכה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/קללה-2.m4a” /]. Its opposite, a curse, is קללה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/קללה-1.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/קללה-3.m4a” /]ברדיו שומעים רק שירים עם קללות. On the radio (you) hear only music with cursing (curses). To curse is the active-intensive פיעל verb לקלל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/קללה-4.m4a” /]: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/קללה-5.m4a” /]לא כדאי לקלל – הקללה…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/תנמיך-1.m4a” /]תַּנְמִיךְ אֶת הַווֹלְיוּם! The Hebrew word for short or low is נמוך[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/תנמיך-2.m4a” /] (referring to a male or a masculine object) or נמוכה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/תנמיך-3.m4a” /] (referring to a female or a feminine object). For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/תנמיך-4.m4a” /]אתה נמוך מדי לעלות על המתקן. You (a male) are too short to go on the ride…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להיות-1.m4a” /]לִהְיוֹת Hebrew doesn’t have words for is, are and am – forms of to be – so that she is tall gets translated to היא גבוהה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להיות-2.m4a” /] – literally, she tall. To be itself, however, does have a Hebrew equivalent: להיות. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להיות-3.m4a” /]מחר אנחנו צריכים להיות שם בשעה עשר. Tomorrow we need to…

חֹמֶר לְשִׁנּוּן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-1.mp3″ /] Review Material Can’t read Hebrew yet? You spent time on your Hebrew this week. Use these review materials to make it yours to keep. Flashcards . Scatter . Gravity . Test [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-2.mp3″ /]שבת שלום, וסוף שבוע נעים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend! =”410″> Flashcards . Scatter . Gravity . Test [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-2.mp3″ /]שבת שלום, וסוף שבוע…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/לעוף-לטוס-1.m4a” /]לָעוּף, לָטוּס How do you say to fly in Hebrew? Depend on who’s flying. If it’s a bird or another organism, the word is לעוף[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/לעוף-לטוס-2.m4a” /]. For example:   [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/לעוף-לטוס-3.m4a” /]עוף, גוזל. Fly away, little bird. But if what’s flying (or the one doing the work involved in flying) is an inanimate object,…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להכניס-1.m4a” /]לְהַכְנִיס אֶת הַדֹּאַר Yesterday we saw that להשקות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להכניס-2.m4a” /] means to water or to cause to drink. Hebrew does the same with the root כ.נ.ס[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להכניס-3.m4a” /] meaning gather, using the active-causative הפעיל verb form to yield להכניס[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להכניס-4.m4a” /] – to take in or to bring in. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להכניס-5.m4a” /]תעשי לי טובה, תכניסי הביתה את…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להשקות-1.m4a” /]לְהַשְׁקוֹת אֶת הַפְּרָחִים The simple word for a drink in Hebrew is שתייה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להשקות-2.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להשקות-3.m4a” /]בא לי שתייה קרה. I feel like (having) a cold drink. But a higher-register word, corresponding to the English beverage, is משקה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להשקות-4.m4a” /], of the root ש.ק.ה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להשקות-5.m4a” /] – drink. This root also plugs…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מתבייש-1.m4a” /]מִתְבַּיֵּשׁ The Hebrew word for shame is בושה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מתבייש-2.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מתבייש-3.m4a” /]בושה וחרפה. A disgrace. (literally, shame and dishonor) בושה also means embarrassment, with its root ב.ו.ש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מתבייש-4.m4a” /] (interchangeable with ב.י.ש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מתבייש-5.m4a” /]) plugging into the reflexive-intensive התפעל verb form, producing להתבייש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מתבייש-6.m4a” /] – to be embarrassed. For example, a Bar…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/טובה-1.m4a” /]אֲנִי צָרִיךְ מִמְּךָ טוֹבָה The Hebrew word for favor is טובה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/טובה-2.m4a” /] – literally, a good. This Biblical-Hebrew word is the original good deed, before מצווה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/טובה-3.m4a” /] – mitzvah usurped that title. (For the record, מצווה means literally commandment, not good deed.) For example, a man needing to borrow money might say to his friend: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/טובה-4.m4a” /]אני…

חֹמֶר לְשִׁנּוּן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-1.mp3″ /] Review Material Can’t read Hebrew yet? You spent time on your Hebrew this week. Use these review materials to make it yours to keep. Flashcards . Scatter . Gravity . Test [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-2.mp3″ /]שבת שלום, וסוף שבוע נעים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend! =”410″> Flashcards . Scatter . Gravity . Test [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-2.mp3″ /]שבת שלום, וסוף שבוע…