מָבוֹךְ Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Hebrew root ב.ו.כ (b.w.k) means confusion, so that someone who is נָבוֹךְ (or נְבוֹכָה if she is a female) is confused or perplexed. נבוך and נבוכה also describe someone embarrassed. This root also gives rise to the word for maze or labyrinth – מָבוֹךְ …
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!
לִמְשׁוֹךְ כֶּסֶף Can’t read Hebrew yet? The verb to draw in English might refer to drawing a picture on canvas, water from a well or money from a machine. Hebrew has different words for each of these. To draw a picture is לְצַיֵּר צִיּוּר . To draw water…
לְמוֹפֵת Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Passover Seder describes the Exodus as having taken place with signs and wonders – בְּאוֹתוֹת וּבְמוֹפְתִים . A מוֹפֵת is a wonder, something captivating and thus deserving of attention. Modern Hebrew also uses מופת to refer to people deserving attention and praise for what…
יִצּוּגִי Can’t read Hebrew yet? The word לְיַצֵּג means to represent or to act on behalf of someone, and מְיַצֵּג is one of the words for representative. For example: רוֹאַת הַחֶשְׁבּוֹן שֶׁלִּי הִיא הַמְּיַצֶּגֶת שֵׁלִּי בִּרְשׁוּת הַמִּסִּים. My (female) accountant is my representative at the tax authority. …
לְעַכֵּל Can’t read Hebrew yet? The basic Hebrew word for to eat is לֶאֱכוֹל , of the root א.כ.ל (a.k.l). A word of similar meaning is to digest – לְעַכֵּל , an active-intensive verb of the similar root ע.כ.ל (a.k.l). In Hebrew, it is used both literally and figuratively, as…
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/media-files/wife-1.mp3″ /]אִשָּׁה, רַעְיָה The everyday word for wife in Hebrew is אִשָּׁה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/media-files/wife-2.mp3″ /] – literally, woman. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/media-files/wife-3.mp3″ /]אִשְׁתּוֹ עוֹבֶדֶת בְּהַיי-טֶק. His wife works in high-tech. Indeed, Hebrew jokes about marriage use this word. Then there’s the more complimentary, dignified word – רַעְיָה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/media-files/wife-4.mp3″ /]. Like אישה, it also…
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!
אַפְלָיָה Can’t read Hebrew yet? Hebrew roots that begin in פ.ל (p.l) and פ.ר (p.r), as a rule, have something to do with separation. The root פ.ל.ה (p.l.h) is one of those roots, and it appears most notably in the word for discrimination – אַפְלָיָה (sometimes spelled and pronounced הַפְלָיָה ). For example:…
שְׂפָתַיִם Can’t read Hebrew yet? Yesterday we saw examples of things that come in pairs, and that they get a special ah-yeem ending in Hebrew. Here’s another example – שְׂפָתַיִם , lips. For example: יֵשׁ לָהּ שְׂפָתַיִם אֲדֻמּוֹת. She has red lips. Why the doubling ending?…
Today’s title with content should have been what’s below. Now you know what tomorrow’s dose will be. מָאתַיִם, אַלְפַּיִם Can’t read Hebrew yet? Yesterday we saw the Hebrew terms for three hundred and three thousand – שְׁלֹשׁ מְאוֹת and שְׁלֹשֶׁת אֲלָפִים , respectively. Higher multiples of those numbers follow a pattern: אַרְבַּע מְאוֹת,…