חֹמֶר לְשִׁנּוּן 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 שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם, וְסוֹף שָׁבוּעַ נָעִים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend!
סֶרֶט תִּעוּדִי Can’t read Hebrew yet? A film is a סֶרֶט , invoking the Biblical Hebrew word for ribbon (film fed through a projector is a ribbon). And while a (male) witness is an עֵד , documentation – the written account of that which is witnessed – is תִּעוּד ….
הַעֲדָפָה Can’t read Hebrew yet? The verb לְהַעֲדִיף – to prefer – comes from the root ע.ד.פ (a.d.f) meaning extra or hanging over the edge. For example: אֲנָשִׁים מַעֲדִיפִים לְהִשָּׁאֵר בַּבַּיִת מֵאֲשֶׁר לָצֵאת בַּגֶּשֶׁם. People prefer to stay home over going out in the rain. Likewise, preference is…
חֻלְצָה מְכֻפְתֶּרֶת Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Hebrew word for shirt is חֻלְצָה . And the word for button is כַּפְתּוֹר . To form button-down or that which is made with buttons, Hebrew plugs כפתור into the passive-intensive verb form to yield מְכֻפְתָּר in the masculine and מְכֻפְתֶּרֶת in the…
מַטְבֵּעַ Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Hebrew root ט.ב.ע (t.b.a) means sinking and is the root of such diverse words as טֶבַע – nature, מַטְבֵּעַ – coin or currency, and to sink – לִטְבּוֹעַ (not to be confused with to sue – לִתְבּוֹעַ with a ת). What is the connection…
מִלּוּאִים Can’t read Hebrew yet? A staple of the typical Israeli household is a certain amount of time every year when the man goes away on reserve duty – שֵׁרוּת מִלּוּאִים . מילואים comes from the root מ.ל.א (m.l.a) meaning full, since these reserves are called to fill in gaps…
חֹמֶר לְשִׁנּוּן 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 שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם, וְסוֹף שָׁבוּעַ נָעִים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend!
סַפִּיר Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Hebrew word for sapphire is very similar to that of the English: סַפִּיר . The word goes back to early human history, as does the value of this precious stone. For example: קָנִיתִי לָהּ שַׁרְשֶׁרֶת סַפִּירִים. I bought her a necklace of sapphires….
נֶהֱדָר Can’t read Hebrew yet? Like English, Hebrew has lots of words to describe something as great. Some of these are מְצֻיָּן – excellent, מְעֻלֶּה – excellent or of great quality, and נֶהֱדָר – wonderful or glorious. It can also mean beautiful. For example: אַתְּ נִרְאֵת נֶהֱדָר. You…
לְאַבֵּד, לְהַפְסִיד Can’t read Hebrew yet? In most cases, English is the one with more words for a single idea. Sometimes, however, Hebrew is. One example is to lose, where Hebrew has two words: לְאַבֵּד , an active-intensive verb, refers to losing a person or an object, where something…
שִׁלְשׁוֹם Can’t read Hebrew yet? Today, in Hebrew, is הַיּוֹם . Yesterday is אֶתְמוֹל . And two days ago? That’s שִׁלְשׁוֹם . For example: דִּבַּרְתִּי אִתּוֹ שִׁלְשׁוֹם. I spoke with him the day before yesterday. The modern usage of שלשום as the day before yesterday…