Author: Ami Steinberger

Correction: In yesterday’s post, I wrote that organized crime is פשע ארגוני[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/פשע-2.m4a” /]. I’m not sure why I wrote that. In any case, the correct term is פשע מאורגן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/פשע-מאורגן-1.m4a” /]. [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מערכת-משפטית-1.m4a” /]מַעֲרֶכֶת מִשְׁפָּטִית The Hebrew word for system is מערכת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מערכת-משפטית-2.m4a” /], of the root ע.ר.כ[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מערכת-משפטית-3.m4a” /] meaning order. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מערכת-משפטית-4.m4a” /]איזו מערכת…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/פשע-1.m4a” /]פֶּשַׁע The Hebrew word for crime is פשע[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/פשע-1.m4a” /]. Likewise, organized crime is פשע מאורגן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/פשע-מאורגן-1.m4a” /]. The term you’re more likely to hear in the Israeli media, though, is ארגוני פשע[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/פשע-3.m4a” /] – crime organizations such as the mafia. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/פשע-4.m4a” /]ישנה מלחמה מתמדת בין המשטרה לבין ארגוני הפשע. There’s a perpetual…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/בוץ-1.m4a” /]בֹּץ The Hebrew word for mud is בוץ[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/בוץ-1.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/בוץ-2.m4a” /]דרכת בבוץ? אתה צריך לנגב רגליים. You (a male) stepped in the mud? You need to wipe your (the) feet. Such a tangible thing as mud also serves as a symbol. Take coffee, for example – if it’s milk and sugar free, we…

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 Blast from the Past Crossword Puzzle! [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!

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להחליט-1.m4a” /]תַּחְלִיט! The Hebrew word for to decide is להחליט[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להחליט-2.m4a” /]. It’s an active-causative verb of the biblical root ח.ל.ט[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להחליט-3.m4a” /] meaning to make final. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להחליט-4.m4a” /]קשה לי להחליט איזה צבע לקחת… It’s hard for me to decide which color to take… To which someone losing patience might reply: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להחליט-1.m4a”…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/פשטות-1.m4a” /]פַּשְׁטוּת The other day we saw the word פשוט[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/פשטות-2.m4a” /] – simple. In today’s culture of big data and instant gratification, simplicity has become a sought-after virtue. The Hebrew word for it is פשטות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/פשטות-1.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/פשטות-3.m4a” /]איך הפשטות חסרה לנו בחיי היום-יום! How missing is simplicity from our day-to-day life!…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מסובך-1.m4a” /]זֶה מְסֻבָּךְ For those of you who don’t know, Facebook allows people to show their relationship status with tags like “single”, “married”, “divorced”, and others. The one that might spark the most curiosity is the status, “it’s complicated.” In Hebrew, that’s זה מסובך[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מסובך-1.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מסובך-2.m4a” /]סטטוס מערכת היחסים שלי? זה מסובך….

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/פשוט-1.m4a” /]פָּשׁוּט In English, calling someone simple usually implies that the person has inferior intelligence. But in an age of increasing complexity and nostalgia for the simple life on a kibbutz, when Israelis call someone simple – פשוט[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/פשוט-1.m4a” /] – it’s a compliment. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/פשוט-2.m4a” /]היא אדם פשוט. She is a simple person. Note that even…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ככה-אומרים-1.m4a” /]כָּכָה אוֹמְרִים He gets complimented, “wow, you’re a really good swimmer.” To which he replies with a smug smile, “that’s what they say.” The latter expression, in Hebrew, is ככה אומרים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ככה-אומרים-1.m4a” /]. It means literally, this way (they) say. I put they in parentheses since it’s implied, not spoken explicitly. Here’s the dialogue above,…

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 Blast from the Past Crossword Puzzle! [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!

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/משומש-1.m4a” /]מְשֻׁמָּש To use, in Hebrew, is the reflexive verb להשתמש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/משומש-2.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/משומש-3.m4a” /]היא השתמשה בכוס הזאת. She used this glass. Notice the -ב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/משומש-4.m4a” /] follows השתמשה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/משומש-5.m4a” /] – this is always the case with forms of להשתמש. Looking at להשתמש, can you spot the root? It’s ש.מ.ש[audioclip…