מִן, מִ-, מֵ- Can’t read Hebrew yet? The word מִן means from. You’ll find it in Biblical Hebrew, in Rabbinic writings and in literary contexts of Modern Hebrew. You’re more likely, however, to encounter the abbreviated, prefix versions: -ִמin most contexts and -מֵwhere the following sound historically would become difficult to pronounce using…
עַבְדּוּת Can’t read Hebrew yet? לַעֲבוֹד means to work. But whereas an עוֹבֵד is a (male) worker or an employee, an עֶבֶד is a (male) slave. The feminine versions of these are employee–עוֹבֶדֶת and slave/maidservant–אָמָה . And slavery is עַבְדּוּת . For example: הָעַבְדּוּת הִתְקַיְּמָה בְּאַרְצוֹת הַבְּרִית עַד שֶׁהִיא נֶאֱסְרָה בִּשְׁנַת…
לְהוֹצִיא Can’t read Hebrew yet? We saw yesterday that לָצֵאת means to go out or to leave. Using the same root (י.צ.א – y.ts.a), Hebrew creates another term – to take out: לְהוֹצִיא , in the active-causative verb form. For Biblical example: הוֹצִיאוּ אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם עַל צִבְאֹתָם! (G-d…
לָצֵאת, לַעֲזוֹב Can’t read Hebrew yet? Also featured in our Passover video is one of the Hebrew terms for to leave: לָצֵאת . לצאת – an active-simple verb of the root י.צ.א (y.ts.a) – means literally to go out or to exit, so that יְצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם is the exiting of Egypt or the Exodus. Here are a couple of colloquial usages of לצאת: יָצָאנוּ לְדֵייט. We went…
יְלָדִים, בָּנִים 1 – ילדים, ילדות The Hebrew words for boy and girl are יֶלֶדand יַלְדָה, respectively. Likewise, a group of boys and girls – children* – are יְלָדִים. For example: כַּמָּה יְלָדִים יֵשׁ לָהּ? How many children does she have? Strictly speaking, יְלָדוֹתmeans girls, but this term is not used as often…
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!
The links are now corrected in the online version of yesterday’s Dose of Hebrew, which you can find here. I apologize for the inconvenience. Keep learning and enjoying! אִבְחוּן Can’t read Hebrew yet? In Biblical times, diagnosis was done not by medical professionals (these did not exist), but rather by…
מִבְחָן, בְּחִינָה Can’t read Hebrew yet? English has two words for that event that fills students with anticipation or dread – test and exam. Hebrew does too. מִבְחָןand בְּחִינָה, both of the root ב.ח.נ (b.kh.n), are more or less synonymous. They do have subtle differences in usage, though, with מבחן tending to refer…
אַתָּה נִרְאֶה חִוֵּר Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Hebrew word for pale is חִוֵּר when referring to a male, and חִוֶּרֶת when referring to a female. But when used as an adverb, חיור is the right word for both males and females. For example: אַתְּ נִרְאֵית לִי קְצַת חִוֵּר הַיּוֹם….
לְסַפֵּר סִפּוּר Can’t read Hebrew yet? פֶּסַח – Passover – is coming up, the holiday when Jews tell over the story of the Exodus. But whereas in Biblical and Mishnaic Hebrew, to tell something over is לְהַגִּיד (hence the הַגָּדָה שֶׁל פֶּסַח – the Passover Haggadah or the telling over of Passover), the…
מַהֵר, מָהִיר Can’t read Hebrew yet? If you’ve got some basic Hebrew down, you likely know the word for fast or quickly – מַהֵר , for example: הַמְּכוֹנִית נוֹסַעַת מַהֵר. The car drives (travels) fast. Now, that’s fast as an adverb, describing an action such as the driving or traveling of the car. But if you want to…