נְשִׂיאוּת Can’t read Hebrew yet? Tomorrow, the Israeli Knesset will elect a new president to represent the Jewish State to the world. The Hebrew word for president is נָשִׂיא if he’s a male and נְשִׂיאָה if she’s a female. The word comes from the root נ.שׂ.א (n.s.a) meaning lifting: the president is a person lifted up from…
שֶׁטַח Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Hebrew word for territory is the same as that for area in the geometric sense: שֶׁטַח . For example: כַּמָּה מֶטְרִים מְרֻבָּעִים שֶׁטַח הַדִּירָה? How many square meters is the apartment? and הֵם גָּרִים בַּשְּׁטָחִים. They live in the territories. שטח…
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!
לִבְעוֹט Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Hebrew word for to kick is לִבְעוֹט , a simple verb of the root ב.ע.ט (b.a.t). It’s used with the preposition -ּב , so that, in Hebrew, one kicks “at” something. For example: הַשַּׂחְקָן בָּעַט בַּכַּדּוּר.The player kicked (at) the ball. Likewise, a kick is a בְּעִיטָה . For example: לִפְעָמִים אֲנִי חוֹטֵף בְּעִיטוֹת בַּבְּרֵכָה הַקְּהִלָּתִית.Sometimes…
זֵר Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Hebrew word for a bouquet is זֵר . It’s also the word for a wreath or a garland. For example: נָתַתִּי לָהּ זֵר פְּרָחִים. I gave her a bouquet of flowers. and, from an Israeli version of “Happy Birthday to You”: חַג לוֹ שָׂמֵחַ…
חֲטִיפִים Can’t read Hebrew yet? When we snack, we grab food. Thus the Modern Hebrew word for snack – חֲטִיף – means literally something grabbed. For example: צִמּוּקִים וּבוֹטְנִים הֵם חֲטִיפִים בְּרִיאִים. Raisins and peanuts are healthy snacks. חטיף comes from a more ancient word, the simple verb לַחְטוֹף of the…
תּוֹדָה מֵרֹאשׁ Can’t read Hebrew yet? One of the first words typically learned in Hebrew is תּוֹדָה – thank you or thanks. Sometimes you might wish to thank someone in advance for a favor or a job you know they’ll do for you. The Hebrew expression is תּוֹדָה מֵרֹאשׁ . …
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!
נוֹשֵׂא Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Hebrew root נ.שׂ.א (n.s.a) means lifting up. Thus a topic or a subject – something raised for discussion – is a נוֹשֵׂא . For example: אֲנִי צָרִיךְ לְדַבֵּר אִתָּךְ עַל נוֹשֵׂא חָשׁוּב. I need to speak with you (a female) about an important topic. …
בְּטִפּוּל Can’t read Hebrew yet? The American TV series In Treatment has an Israeli origin. What’s more, the name of the American show is a literal translation of the title of its Israeli prototype: בְּטִפּוּל . לְטַפֵּל , an active-intensive verb, means to treat or take care of. Its gerund (noun) form…
עַל כַּוֶּנֶת Can’t read Hebrew yet? In English we might hear “they’re watching you – you’re on the radar.” Hebrew uses a different military metaphor – עַל הַכַּוֶּנֶת on the viewfinder – invoking the sniper’s rifle. For example: אִם אוֹפְּרָה תִּמְתַּח בִּקּוֹרֶת עַל מַאט דֵּיימוֹן, בֶּן אַפְלֶק יֵדַע שֶׁהוּא עַל הַכַּוֶּנֶת….