Author: Ami Steinberger

טֶלֶפוֹן נַיָּח, טֶלֶפוֹן קַוִּי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/נייח-1.wav” /] More and more people don’t these anymore, but many still do, so it’s worth an entry. While a mobile phone is a טֶלֶפוֹן נַיָּד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/נייח-2.wav” /], a land line is called either a טלפון נַיָּח[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/נייח-3.wav” /] – literally, stationary phone, or טלפון קַוִּי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/נייח-4.wav” /] – a line or wire…

רַע, גָּרוּעַ[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/רע-1.mp3″ /] I tend to veer away from presenting negative doses of Hebrew so as not to ruin your day, but this one’s far too שִׁמּוּשִׁי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/רע-2.mp3″ /] – useful – to hold back from. The basic Hebrew word for bad is רַע[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/רע-3.mp3″ /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/רע-4.mp3″ /]הוּא יֶלֶד רַע. He’s…

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!

הָעֲלִילָה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/עלילה-1.mp3″ /]   With the action heating up in the Torah portions, I figure that now’s a good time to introduce the Modern-Hebrew word for a story’s plot – עֲלִילָה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/עלילה-2.mp3″ /]. To be sure, עלילה comes from Biblical Hebrew, where it means deed and wantonness. But Modern Hebrew lowers the flames on this…

הַלַּהֲקָה הָאֲהוּבָה עָלַי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להקה-1.mp3″ /] The English word for band (something bonded), in the interpersonal sense, might refer to a group of brothers, a group of thieves or a group of musicians playing in sync. Hebrew’s got a parallel word – לַהֲקָה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להקה-2.mp3″ /] – that has been used since biblical times, where לַהֲקוֹת נְבִיאִים[audioclip…

נְתוּנִים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/נתונים-1.mp3″ /] I remember from high-school geometry that we had to rely on the givens to solve or a problem or to prove something. With my family’s moving to Israel and then back to the States, I benefited from taking geometry twice, thus learning the terms in both languages. Givens in Hebrew is a…

עֲסִיסִי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/עסיסי-1.mp3″ /] The Modern-Hebrew word for juice, מִיץ[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/עסיסי-2.mp3″ /], came into being relatively late. In Biblical Hebrew, sweet wine (the closest thing to juice) is called עָסִיס[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/עסיסי-3.mp3″ /], while in Mishnaic Hebrew, fruit juice is מֵי פֵּרוֹת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/עסיסי-4.mp3″ /] – literally, water of fruit. To express the idea of juicy (both physically…

שְׁפַן נִסָּיוֹן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/guinea-pig-5.mp3″ /] When referring to that furry little animal the guinea pig, Israelis use either קַבְיָה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/guinea-pig-2.mp3″ /] or חֲזִיר יָם[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/guinea-pig-3.mp3″ /] (literally, sea pig). But the proverbial guinea pig gets a different term: שְׁפַן נִסְּיוֹנוֹת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/guinea-pig-4.mp3″ /] – rabbit or coney (whatever that is) of experiments, or שְׁפַן נִסָּיוֹן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/guinea-pig-5.mp3″ /]…

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!

מַשָּׂא וּמַתָּן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/משא-ומתן-1.mp3″ /] The Hebrew term for negotiation is מַשָּׂא וּמַתָּן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/משא-ומתן-1.mp3″ /]. Broken down, we have: משא[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/משא-ומתן-2.mp3″ /] – a load, a burden. In the case of a negotiation, this is the what the negotiator would get out of it or take from it, what material they would walk away carrying. The…