listen and repeat.קומזיץ, מדורה A common word used in Israel for bonfires is קוּמְזִיץ (KOOM-zeets). This word comes from Yiddish and means, literally, come, sit (say the word out loud and right away you’ll notice the Germanic similarity in the sounds). To an Israeli, the word קומזיץ brings to mind the bonfire and all that is…
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/דובר-1.m4a” /]דּוֹבֵר So far this week we’ve seen various meanings of the root ד.ב.ר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/דובר-2.m4a” /]. The better known of these meanings is speech, as in the words לדבר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/דובר-3.m4a” /] – to speak, דיבור[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/דובר-4.m4a” /] – speaking or speech, etc. A speaker or a spokesperson is a דובר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/דובר-1.m4a” /] if he’s a male and a…
לסעוד If you know a bit of Hebrew, you probably know the word for restaurant – מִסְעָדָה (mees-ah-DAH). The root of that word is ס.ע.ד (s.a.d.), whose core meaning is satiation. The common word for to eat is לֶאֱכוֹל (le-eh-KHOL), but just like English has a finer word, to dine, Hebrew has לִסְעוֹד…
having trouble seeing the print? מְשִׁיבוֹן Check out Ulpan La-Inyan’s winter course offerings! If you’ve called someone in Israel on their cell phone and didn’t manage to get through, chances are you’ve heard the following message: שָׁלוֹם, הִגַּעְתֶּם לַמְּשִׁיבוֹן הַסֶּלוֹלָרִי שֶׁל… (shah-LOHM, hee-GAH-tem lah-meh-shee-VOHN hah-seh-loh-LAH-ree shel…) Hello, you’ve reached the cellular answering…
זֵר listen and repeat Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Hebrew word for a bouquet is זֵר listen and repeat. It’s also the word for a wreath or a garland. For example: נָתַתִּי לָהּ זֵר פְּרָחִים. I gave her a bouquet of flowers. listen and, from an Israeli version of “Happy Birthday to You”: …