how to say “east” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger July 11, 2022July 6, 2022

A few generations ago, my family lived in מזרח אירופה
– eastern Europe.

The Hebrew word for east is מזרח
, called such because the sun rises – השמש זורחת
– in the east.

Here’s מזרח in another context:

הם גרים במזרח ירושלים.

They live in East Jerusalem.

The word for west also has to do with the movement of the sun, this time its setting: מערב
, west, contains the word ערב
, which means evening.

how to say “to fall into” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger February 3, 2020May 5, 2025

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/להיקלע-#.m4a” /]לְהִקָּלַע There’s the basic Hebrew word for to fall – ליפול[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/להיקלע-#.m4a” /], a simple verb of the root נ.פ.ל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/להיקלע-#.m4a” /]. ליפול could refer to falling physically or otherwise, as in: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/להיקלע-#.m4a” /]איך נפלתי בפח שלו שוב! How have I fallen into his trap again! There’s another word for to fall into a very…

how to say “rare” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger March 25, 2018October 18, 2018

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/נדיר-1.m4a” /]נָדִיר This post is about rare in the sense of not so common – נדיר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/נדיר-1.m4a” /]. Rare meat is בשר נא[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/נדיר-2.m4a” /]. Here’s נדיר in context: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/נדיר-3.m4a” /]החוקרת מצאה כלי חרס מאוד נדיר בחפירה. The (female) researcher found a very rare piece of pottery in the dig. This word is derived from…

how to say “social justice” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger February 2, 2016October 22, 2018

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/צדק-חברתי-1.m4a” /]צֶדֶק חֶבְרָתִי If company or society is חברה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/צדק-חברתי-2.m4a” /], then social is חברתי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/צדק-חברתי-3.m4a” /] in the masculine and חברתית[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/צדק-חברתי-4.m4a” /] in the feminine. For example, a social network is רשת חברתית[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/צדק-חברתי-5.m4a” /]. Likewise, social justice is צדק חברתי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/צדק-חברתי-1.m4a” /], which itself was part of the slogan of המחאה החברתית[audioclip…

how to say “to slam the door” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger January 6, 2011November 5, 2018

To close the door is לִסְגּוֹר אֶת הַדֶּלֶת (lees-GOHR et hah-DEH-let). But to slam it is לִטְרוֹק אוֹתָהּ (leet-ROHK oh-AH). If you want to say in Hebrew to a boy, don’t slam the door!, it’s אַל תִּטְרוֹק אֶת הַדֶּלֶת (ahl teet-ROHK et hah-DEH-let). Class starts this Sunday Our friendly, state of…

how to say “to fall off your chair” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger June 6, 2021June 4, 2021

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/ליפול-מהכיסא-#.m4a” /]לִיפּוֹל מֵהַכִּיסֵּא Hebrew’s phrase for this expression of shock is the same as the English – ליפול מהכיסא[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/ליפול-מהכיסא-#.m4a” /] – literally, to fall off the chair (as usual, Hebrew uses -ה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/ליפול-מהכיסא-#.m4a” /] – the instead of a possessive pronoun such as your). For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/ליפול-מהכיסא-#.m4a” /]כשהיא תשמע את הסיפור הזה היא תיפול…

how to say “to bridge gaps” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger April 4, 2013November 27, 2024

having trouble seeing the print? לְגַשֵּׁר פְּעָרִים Hebrew Class Starts Sunday In Jerusalem and Tel Aviv! You may be familiar with the Hebrew word for a bridge – גֶּשֶׁר. Activating the word as a verb (of the active-intensive פִּעֵל variety), Modern Hebrew has created a word for the metaphoric concept of bridging or to bridge – לְגַשֵּׁר. It also means to mediate. For example:…

A few generations ago, my family lived in מזרח אירופה – eastern Europe.

The Hebrew word for east is מזרח, called such because the sun rises – השמש זורחת – in the east.