Author: Ami Steinberger

לְהִתְקַלֵּחַ, לַעֲשׂות מִקְלַחַת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להתקלח-1.mp3″ /] The Hebrew word for a shower is מקלחת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להתקלח-2.mp3″ /], of the root ק.ל.ח (k.l.kh), which has to do with sprinkling liquid. To take a shower is the reflexive-intensive verb להתקלח[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להתקלח-3.mp3″ /], as in: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להתקלח-4.mp3″ /]לך תתקלח, אתה מסריח! Go take a shower, you stink! (spoken to a male) Another…

בִּרְצִינוּת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ברצינות-1.mp3″ /] The Hebrew word for serious is רציני[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ברצינות-2.mp3″ /] in the masculine. An example in the feminine plural: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ברצינות-3.mp3″ /]הן בחורות ממש רציניות. They are really serious young women. In my search for the origin of the word, I came up only with the name of the Aramean king of biblical times,…

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!

דֶּרֶךְ אַגַּב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אגב-1.mp3″ /] The Hebrew expression for by the way is דרך אגב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אגב-1.mp3″ /] (also pronounced stressing the first syllable in אגב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אגב-9.mp3″ /]) – literally, by way of the back or, if you will, piggybacking… For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אגב-3.mp3″ /]דרך אגב, שלחת את המייל? By the way, did you (a female) send the email? The word…

שָׂפָה גַּסָּה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שפה-גסה-1.mp3″ /] If your mother threatened to wash your mouth out with soap, you know you’ve spoken foul language. In Hebrew, that’s שפה גסה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שפה-גסה-1.mp3″ /] – literally, coarse language. Likewise, a foul or bad word is a מילה גסה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שפה-גסה-2.mp3″ /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שפה-גסה-3.mp3″ /]אני לא באמת יודע פרסית, רק את המילים הגסות. I don’t really…

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!

מְבֹרָךְ, בָּרוּךְ[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ברוך-1.mp3″ /] To bless someone or something is לברך[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ברוך-2.mp3″ /], an active-intensive verb. Thus one who is blessed – the recipient of the blessing is the corresponding passive מבורך[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ברוך-3.mp3″ /] if he’s a male or מבורכת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ברוך-4.mp3″ /] if she’s an female. This applies to non-human and non-living nouns as well: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ברוך-5.mp3″ /]שתהיה…

לַחְפּוֹר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לחפור-1.mp3″ /] This one’s for Zeev. Here’s an expression I thought was authentically Israeli, until I looked it up and found that the source is English and possibly other languages. The simple verb לחפור[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לחפור-1.mp3″ /] means literally to dig, but figuratively it’s one of the things that the Modern Israeli version of a Yente does: ask questions…

לׁא מֵהָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לא-מהעולם-הזה-1.mp3″ /] Lots of English expressions have found their way into Modern Hebrew. The Hebrew version of out of this world is לא מהעולם הזה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לא-מהעולם-הזה-1.mp3″ /] – literally, not from this world. The expression calls to mind the idea of a world beyond the one we perceive with the five senses, so that what…

אֲנִי תָּקוּעַ, תְּקוּעָה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/תקוע-1.mp3″ /] Last year, I wrote about to get stuck – להיתקע[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/תקוע-2.mp3″ /]. A more everyday expression is the various uses of the word תקוע[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/תקוע-3.mp3″ /] – (already) stuck. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/תקוע-4.mp3″ /]היא תאחר, היא תקועה בפקקים. She’ll be late, she’s stuck in traffic (jams). and [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/תקוע-5.mp3″ /]המפתח תקוע בתוך המנעול. The key is stuck in…

פְּרֵדָה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/פרידה-1.mp3″ /] The Hebrew word for to separate two things from each other is the active-causative להפריד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/פרידה-2.mp3″ /], while to separate from one another is the נפעל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/פרידה-3.mp3″ /] verb להיפרד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/פרידה-4.mp3″ /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/פרידה-5.mp3″ /]נפרדנו. We separated/broke up. Likewise, the act of separation and saying goodbye – also a breakup – is פרידה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/פרידה-1.mp3″ /]. For example:…