how to say “to call a spade a spade” in Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לקרוא-לילד-בשמו-1.m4a” /]לִקְרוֹא לַיֶּלֶד בִּשְׁמוֹ In researching the English expression to call a spade a spade, I discovered that it might be offensive to some. So let’s skip straight to the parallel Hebrew term. לקרוא לילד בשמו[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לקרוא-לילד-בשמו-1.m4a” /] means literally to call the boy by his name. We use it when we want to stop beating around the bush…

Weekly Hebrew Review – funny comments, denouncing what’s needed, self-fulfillment

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 Game Test [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-2.mp3″ /]שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם, וְסוֹף שָׁבוּעַ נָעִים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend!

how to say “self-fulfillment” in Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מימוש-עצמי-1.m4a” /]מִמּוּשׁ עַצְמִי If you’ve spent some time around Israelis, you’ve almost certainly heard the word ממש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מימוש-עצמי-2.m4a” /]. It literally means substance, but it’s far more commonly used to mean really, truly, very, exactly, etc. It’s a super-useful word. For example:   [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מימוש-עצמי-3.m4a” /]זה ממש יקר! That’s really expensive! Using the three letters of…

how to say “to sneeze” in Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להתעטש-1.m4a” /]לְהִתְעַטֵּשׁ Your third-grader Israeli might argue with me and say, “to sneeze is לעשות אפצ’י![audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להתעטש-2.m4a” /]”, but the grown-up way of saying to sneeze remains להתעטש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להתעטש-1.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להתעטש-3.m4a” /]אני לא מצליח לעבוד כי היא מתעטשת כל כמה שניות.  I’m not getting any work done because she sneezes every few seconds. להתעטש appears…

how to say “I can’t get any work done” in Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אני-לא-מצליח-1.m4a” /]אֲנִי לֹא מַצְלִיחַ לַעֲבוֹד The Hebrew word להצליח[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אני-לא-מצליח-2.m4a” /] means to succeed. But its uses reach much farther, so that it effectively means to be able to or to get something done. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אני-לא-מצליח-3.m4a” /]אני לא מצליח לעבוד עם כל הרעש הזה! I’m not able to get any work done with all this noise!…

how to say “to denounce” in Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לגנות-1.m4a” /]לְגַנּוֹת After the horrors of Paris Friday night, powers that be all around the world denounced the acts of terror. The Hebrew word for to denounce is לגנות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לגנות-1.m4a” /]. The root is ג.נ.ה (g.n.h), but since the ה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לגנות-2.m4a” /] makes a weak sound and disappears in many conjugations, the feminine ות-[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לגנות-3.m4a” /] ends…

what to call “a surprising, amusing comment” in Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/יציאה-1.m4a” /]יְצִיאָה The word יציאה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/יציאה-1.m4a” /] means exit or outing. But it also refers to an amusing comment with a certain shock value. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/יציאה-2.m4a” /]לסבתא היו כאלה יציאות ליד השולחן, שמתנו מצחוק. Grandma had such comments at the table, that we died of laughter.

Weekly Hebrew Review – wireless, visitors’ center, triplets, dads and slips of the tongue

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 Game Test [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-2.mp3″ /]שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם, וְסוֹף שָׁבוּעַ נָעִים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend!

how to say “wireless” in Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אלחוטי-1.m4a” /]אַלְחוּטִי I imagine that this post will be passe in a few years, when wired connections may be a thing of the past. But it’s relevant now, and that’s what matters to you. A wire or thread in Hebrew is a חוט[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אלחוטי-2.m4a” /], as in the Biblical-Hebrew verse from קהלת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אלחוטי-3.m4a” /] – Ecclesiastes: [audioclip…

how to say “a slip of the tongue” in Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/פליטת-פה-1.m4a” /] פְּלִיטַת פֶּה The simple verb לפלוט[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/פליטת-פה-2.m4a” /] means to emit or to divulge. Its noun version is פליטה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/פליטת-פה-3.m4a” /] – an emission. So an emission of the mouth – an involuntary one, to be sure – is a פליטת פה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/פליטת-פה-1.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/פליטת-פה-4.m4a” /]אחרי פליטת הפה של סבא, כולנו התחבאנו מתחת לשולחן….

how to say “triplets” in Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שלישייה-1.m4a” /]שְׁלִישִׁיָּה The Hebrew word for male or male-female twins is תאומים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שלישייה-2.m4a” /], so that in the singular, a twin might say: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שלישייה-3.m4a” /]יש לי אח תאום. I have a twin brother. or [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שלישייה-4.m4a” /]יש לי אחות תאומה. I have a twin sister. Triplets are a שלישייה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שלישייה-1.m4a” /] – literally, a trio…