how to say “close your eyes” in Hebrew
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/תעצום-עיניים-#.m4a” /]תַּעֲצוֹם עֵינַיִים
The generic Hebrew word for to close is לסגור[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/תעצום-עיניים-#.m4a” /], a פעל verb.
But for closing eyes (עיניים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/תעצום-עיניים-#.m4a” /]), there’s a special verb: לעצום[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/תעצום-עיניים-#.m4a” /] – also a פעל verb. So to close (one’s) eyes is לעצום עיניים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/תעצום-עיניים-#.m4a” /].
Now suppose you’re putting a child to bed. If she’s a girl, you’d say תעצמי עיניים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/תעצום-עיניים-#.m4a” /]. If he’s a boy, it’s תעצום עיניים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/תעצום-עיניים-#.m4a” /]. And if it’s twins or triplets, you’d say, תעצמו עיניים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/תעצום-עיניים-#.m4a” /].
These three forms – תעצום, תעצמי and תעצמו – are the future tense of לעצום. Literally, that’s, you will close your eyes. Why use the future tense? Because the proper imperative (command) tends to sound harsh in Hebrew, so we soften it by using the future tense in many situations.