how do you say “between” in Hebrew?

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/בין-1.m4a” /]בֵּין

Prepositions don’t translate well between languages. For example, ב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/בין-2.m4a” /] typically means in in English, but it can also mean with:

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/בין-3.m4a” /]היא כותבת בעיפרון.

She writes with a pencil.

One preposition that does translate fairly smoothly is בין[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/בין-1.m4a” /] – between.

For example:

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/בין-4.m4a” /]העץ עומד בין שני הבניינים.

The tree stands between the two buildings.

and

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/בין-5.m4a” /]בין באר שבע לאילת יש 230 קילומטרים של מדבר.

Between Beer Sheva and Eilat there are 230 kilometers of desert.

Between this and that in Hebrew is usually בין זה לזה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/בין-6.m4a” /], though sometimes it’s בין זה וזה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/בין-7.m4a” /], with subtle differences between the two usages that not even the Academy of the Hebrew Language seems clear on.