לִשְׁכּוֹחַ Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Hebrew word for to forget is ַלִשְׁכּוֹח , as in the Biblical context of agricultural gifts to the poor: וְשָׁכַחְתָּ עֹמֶר בַּשָּׂדֶה… and should you forget a bundle (of grain) in the field… It’s a simple verb of the root שׁ.כ.ח (sh.k.kh). A couple of…
חֹמֶר לְשִׁנּוּן Review Material Can’t read Hebrew yet? Review, practice and test yourself on this week’s doses of Hebrew! Flashcards Game Test שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם, וְסוֹף שָׁבוּעַ נָעִים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend!
לְקַטֵּר Can’t read Hebrew yet? Imagine a boiling teapot, with steam rising from its spout. That’s approximately the image evoked in Hebrew when describing someone complaining non-stop, as לְקַטֵּר means literally to smoke a pipe or to burn incense. For example: תַּפְסִיקִי לְקַטֵּר עַל הַשְּׁכֵנִים וְתַעֲשִׁי מַשֶּׁהוּ.(to a female) Stop complaining so much about the neighbors and do something. …
קַרְחוֹן Can’t read Hebrew yet? Yesterday we saw the word for ice – קֶרַח . קרח appears in Biblical Hebrew, but the original readers of the Bible had no need for a term for iceberg, since none could be found anywhere near the land of Israel. So Modern Hebrew had to invent a word – קַרְחוֹן For example: הַטִּיטָנִיק פָּגְעָה…
קֶרַח Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Hebrew word for ice is קֶרַח . For example: הַהַחְלָקָה עַל קֶרַח הִיא סְפּוֹרְט שֶׁנִּכְנֶסֶת לָאָפְנָה בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל.(The) ice skating is a sport that is becoming fashionable in Israel. Don’t try to combine קרח with another word to refer to ice cream – that’s גְּלִידָה .
קָרוֹב לְוַדַּאי Can’t read Hebrew yet? Hebrew has a way of sounding a bit overconfident sometimes. We use surely to mean probably, as in: הוּא בֶּטַח יַגִּיעַ תּוֹךְ שְׁתֵּי דַּקּוֹת. He’ll probably (surely) arrive within two minutes. And we mean to say more than likely, we’re literally saying close to…
מַסּוֹק Can’t read Hebrew yet? The people at the Academy of the Hebrew Language work hard to introduce newly-constructed authentic Hebrew words into the vernacular, trying to catch up with the masses who already use foreign words for inventions of recent centuries such as the telephone (the term they came up with,…
חֹמֶר לְשִׁנּוּן Review Material Can’t read Hebrew yet? Review, practice and test yourself on this week’s doses of Hebrew! Flashcards Game Test שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם, וְסוֹף שָׁבוּעַ נָעִים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend!
תַּיָּרוּת Can’t read Hebrew yet? While a tour in Modern Hebrew is a סִיּוּר , a tourist is a תַּיָּר (a male) or a תַּיֶּרֶת (a female). The latter words – תייר and תיירת – come from the biblical story of the spies sent to scout the land of Canaan (Israel): לָתוּר אֶת אֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן …
תִּקְוֹת וַחֲלוֹמוֹת Can’t read Hebrew yet? Sunshine after a rainy season, for some, brings renewed energy. It’s a time of the budding of hopes and dreams… and sometimes their fulfillment too. Hope in Hebrew is תִּקְוָה , which you may recognize from the name of Israel’s national anthem, הַתִּקְוָה – literally, The…
מַסְלוּל הַמְרָאָה Can’t read Hebrew yet? There’s talking and movement in the cabin. Soon passengers are instructed to fasten their seat belts and watch a safety video, and then the crew is told to take their seats for takeoff. Soon there’s a loud, sustained whooshing sound as the engines go into high gear, and the plane…