how to say “advertising” and “marketing” in Hebrew

שׁוּק מַחֲנֶה יְהוּדָה, יְרוּשָלָיִםshouk mah-khah-NEH yeh-hoo-DAH, yeh-roo-shah-LAH-yeem Machane Yehuda Market, Jerusalem

Before I opened Ulpan La-Inyan and watched it develop, I didn’t quite understand the difference between advertising and marketing. I’ve since learned that while marketing is the process of getting a product from creation to the customer, advertising – making sure people know about the product – is only a part of that process.

The Hebrew words for both advertising and marketing are nouns deriving from the active-intensive verb form. 

שִׁוּוּק וִירָלִיshee-VOOK vee-RAH-lee viral marketing

To advertise is לְפַרְסֵם (leh-fahr-SEM), of the non-Semitic four-letter root, פ.ר.ס.מ (p.r.s.m), and thus the industry of advertising is פִּרְסוּם (peer-SOOM). Likewise, a television commercial or advert is a פִּרְסוֹמֵת (peer-SOH-met).


And to market is לְשַׁוֵּק (leh-shah-VEK), coming from the word שׁוּק (shouk), meaning market or marketplace. Thus marketing is שִׁוּוּק (shee-VOOK).