מַדְהִים The Hebrew word for amazing is מַדְהִים (listen and repeat). This is an adjective deriving from the active-intensive הִפְעִיל verb, לְהַדְהִים (listen and repeat). For example: רָאִיתִי סֶרֶט מַדְהִים אֶתְמוֹל. I saw an amazing movie yesterday. listen and, in the feminine: אֵיזוֹ מוּזִיקָה מַדְהִימָה! What amazing music! listen The root is ד.ה.מ meaning amazement or being taken aback. Another…
having trouble seeing the print? קְרֶם הֲגָנָה, קְרֶם שִׁזּוּף As it’s warming up in the northern hemisphere, now’s the time to get some sunscreen. The Hebrew term for sunscreen means literally, protection cream: קְרֶם הֲגָנָה (listen and repeat). The second word, הגנה (listen and repeat), is the noun form of the active-causative הִפְעִיל verb to protect – לְהָגֵן (listen and…
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/media-files/whatsup-1.mp3″ /]מַה נִּשְׁמַע…? highly recommended for further vocabulary growth In English, we’ve got many ways of asking someone how they are feeling, what they are doing, etc, such as how are you? how’s it going? what’s up? how are you going (Australian)? how are you doing (American)? what’s going on? what’s happening? etc. In…
having trouble seeing the print? תְּקוּפָה The Hebrew word for period of time or era is תְּקוּפָה (listen and repeat). I’ve known this for a long time, but not its full meaning – until I just researched it to present it to you. The word appears in the Bible, but its meaning has become less and less specific over…
having trouble seeing the print? נְחִיתוּת, נַחַת watch video for full lesson! Check Out Our Conversational-Hebrew Program
having trouble seeing the print? סוֹכְנוּת בִּיּוּן highly recommended for further vocabulary growth Yesterday we saw some information about הַמּוֹסָד– the Mossad. Today we’ll look at the general term for intelligence agency – סוֹכְנוּת בִּיּוּן. The Hebrew word for agency is סוכנות, most recognizably in the Hebrew name of The Jewish Agency – הַסּוֹכְנוּת הַיְּהוּדִית, or simply הסוכנות–…
having trouble seeing the print? מוֹסָד The Mossad – Israel’s premier intelligence agency – is famous for conducting some of the most daring and surprising undercover missions in the world. The word Mossad in Hebrew – מוֹסָד– means institution or institute. Referring to the intelligence agency, we say literally, The Institute – הַמּוֹסָד. For example, educational institutions are מוֹסְדוֹת…
having trouble seeing the print? בֶּטַח, בָּרוּר, כַּמּוּבָן! highly recommended for further vocabulary growth In yesterday’s dose, we touched on the Hebrew word for security – בִּטָּחוֹן. The root of בטחון is ב.ט.ח meaning sureness and security. To say, for sure! or of course! in Hebrew, you’d use one of several terms. Here are three of them: בטח! A less formal…
having trouble seeing the print? בִּדּוּק בִּטְחוֹנִי This one’s for Rojan and David I’ve had guests visiting from Europe the last few days. For both of them it’s the first time in Israel, and therefore the first time encountering the psychologically-astute Israeli security team at the airport. A security check is a בִּדּוּק בִּטְחוֹנִי. Let’s break that…
having trouble seeing the print? רֶקַע highly recommended for further vocabulary growth The word background in English might refer to the visual background of an image or the conceptual background of someone’s past. So too in Hebrew. The Hebrew word for background is רֶקַע. For example: כְּכָל הַנִּרְאֶה, נַחַל עוֹבֵר בָּרֶקַע שֶׁל הַמּוֹנָה לִיזָה. It appears that a riverbed passes through the…
having trouble seeing the print? לְהִתְלוֹנֵן, לְקַטֵּר watch video for full lesson! Check Out Our Conversational-Hebrew Program