how to say “disturbance” in Hebrew

  having trouble seeing the print? הַפְרָעָה   If you already know some Hebrew, you may be familiar with the word for to disturb – לְהַפְרִיעַ, an active-causative הִפְעִיל verb.   For example:   מוֹרֶה: לֹא לְהַפְרִיעַ בַּשִּׁעוּר! Teacher (a male): Do not disturb (during the) class! The noun form of להפריע, a disturbance, is הַפְרָעָה. And הפרעה is…

how to say “to focus” in Hebrew

  having trouble seeing the print? לְהִתְרַכֵּז highly recommended  for further vocabulary growth I learned today from a LinkedIn article that it’s important for a business leader to focus in order to succeed. The truth is, focusing – putting our energy into something – is what makes things move in the world. The Hebrew word for to focus or to…

how to say “board’ (not “bored”, “board”) in Hebrew

  having trouble seeing the print? לוּחַ Tradition has it that חַג הַשָּׁבֻעוֹת– the Shavuot festival – marks the anniversary of the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. And the Torah – הַתּוֹרָה– was given on tablets – not the kind you swallow (that’s a כַּדּוּר), but the kind made of stone.   The word the תורה uses for tablets is…

how to say “connected” in Hebrew

  having trouble seeing the print? מְחֻבָּר, מְחֻבֶּרֶת highly recommended  for further vocabulary growth   in honor of today’s national holiday From the Biblical book of Psalms: יְרוּשָׁלִַם הַבְּנוּיָה כְּעִיר שֶׁחֻבְּרָה לָהּ יַחְדָּו. Built-up Jerusalem is as a city that was joined together with itself. In case we get lost in the obscurity of that statement, the…

how to say “rainforest” in Hebrew

  having trouble seeing the print? יַעַר גֶּשֶׁם A rainforest is a place of astounding beauty and biodiversity. Rainforests are also responsible for 28% of the world’s oxygen, according to Wikipedia. The Hebrew term for rainforest is a literal translation of the English – יַעַר גֶּשֶׁם, where יער means forest and גשם means rain. An example in context: לִפְעָמִים קוֹרְאִים לְיַעֲרוֹת הַגֶּשֵׁם “הָרֵאוֹת…

how to say “environment” in Hebrew

  having trouble seeing the print? סְבִיבָה With summer coming in the northern hemisphere and air-conditioning (entry on that tomorrow) set to full blast in Israeli homes and vehicles, this week’s a good time to introduce some Hebrew terms about climate and environment. The Hebrew word for environment is סְבִיבָה. It’s a verbal noun of the root ס.ו.ב…