how to say “give ’em hell” in Hebrew
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/תן-בראש-#.m4a” /]תֵּן בָּרֹאשׁ
People wish each other luck and success in English with expressions like give ’em hell and knock ’em dead.
Hebrew uses this slang expression: תן בראש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/תן-בראש-#.m4a” /] – literally, give in the head (proverbially involving a fist).
For example:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/תן-בראש-#.m4a” /]יש לך מבחן מחר? תן בראש!
You’ve got an exam tomorrow? Give ’em hell!
Now, we use תן בראש when speaking to a male. To a female is תני בראש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/תן-בראש-#.m4a” /], and to more than one person it’s תנו בראש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/תן-בראש-#.m4a” /].
תן, [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/תן-בראש-#.m4a” /]תני[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/תן-בראש-#.m4a” /] and תנו[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/תן-בראש-#.m4a” /] are forms of the simple verb לתת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/תן-בראש-#.m4a” /] – to give.
