חָלוּץ Can’t read Hebrew yet? Modern Hebrew finds its roots in Biblical, though as time has progressed, words have taken on meanings that depart from their original usage, to varying degrees. The essential meaning found in the root, however, tends to remain the same. One such example is the word חָלוּץ In Biblical…
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להשאיר-1.m4a” /]לְהַשְׁאִיר All the lights are on in the house, and you rush out to the supermarket, forgetting to turn off the lights. You might smack your forehead and say: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להשאיר-2.m4a” /]השארתי את כל האורות בבית דלוקים. I left all the lights on in the house. The word השארתי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להשאיר-3.m4a” /] – I left…
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/לא-בא-לי-1.m4a” /]לֹא בָּא לִי I don’t want, in Hebrew, is אני לא רוצה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/לא-בא-לי-2.m4a” /] (spoken by a male) or אני לא רוצה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/לא-בא-לי-3.m4a” /] (spoken by a female). But what about I don’t feel like it? That’s לא בא לי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/לא-בא-לי-1.m4a” /] – literally, it doesn’t come to me. This expression works for both males…
לְהִזָּהֵר, לָגוּר If you’ve had conversations in Hebrew with children, you probably know how to say, be careful! (literally, caution!) – זְהִירוּת (zeh-hee-ROOT). “Beware! Dog in yard!” To be careful is לְהִזָּהֵר (leh-hee-zah-HEHR). It’s a verb of the נפעל (neef-AHL) variety – not really active or passive, or even reflexive. There’s another way…
כורה This week we’ve seen emotions running high and acts of courage being done in Chile, as 33 miners were rescued from 700 meters underground. The Hebrew word for miner is (koh-REH). To mine is לִכְרוֹת (leekh-ROHT), which is spelled the same and sounds the same as the word for to cut off. The…