[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/עיר-בירה-#.m4a” /]עִיר בִּירָה The Hebrew term for capital city is עיר בירה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/עיר-בירה-#.m4a” /], or simply בירה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/עיר-בירה-#.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/עיר-בירה-#.m4a” /]איש יהודי היה בשושן הבירה (אסתר ב’, ה’) A Judean man was in Shushan the capital (Esther 2:5) How can you tell the difference between בירה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/עיר-בירה-#.m4a” /] as in capital and…
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/אתה-חי-בסרט-1.m4a” /]אַתָּה חַי בְּסֶרֶט Someone makes you an offer that in their mind you can’t refuse – but you can, and easily. You might say to them, “dream on” (well, in the 90’s you might have), indicating that they’re are living in a dream world and are totally wrong in their judgment. A Hebrew…
having trouble seeing the print? לַחַן, מַנְגִּינָה, נְעִימָה Get talking… in Hebrew. Our Level 1 course starts Sunday, November 20 in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv The sound of music… in Hebrew, there are at least three words referring to this: a more casual word, a literary one and a professional one. The more casual word is מַנְגִּינָה…
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/משעשע-#.m4a” /]מְשַׁעֲשֵׁעַ The word לשעשע[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/משעשע-#.m4a” /] means to entertain or to amuse. It’s sometimes used sarcastically, as in: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/משעשע-#.m4a” /]זה ממש משעשע לראות כמה זמן לוקח לקבל דואר בישראל. It’s really entertaining to see how long it takes to receive mail in Israel. משעשע is a form of the פיעל verb, לשעשע[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/משעשע-#.m4a” /].
מפגש There are several words in Hebrew for a meeting. One is יְשִׁיבָה (yeh-shee-VAH), which comes from the root י.ש.ב. (y.sh.b), sitting. This refers to a formal meeting, usually among colleagues. For example, when the Israeli cabinet convenes, it’s called יְשִׁיבַת הַמֶּמְשָׁלָה (yeh-shee-VAT hah-mem-shah-LAH) – the meeting of the government. Another term…