how to say “helicopter” in Hebrew
מַסּוֹק
The people at the Academy of the Hebrew Language work hard to introduce newly-constructed authentic Hebrew words into the vernacular, trying to catch up with the masses who already use foreign words for inventions of recent centuries such as the telephone (the term they came up with, שַׂח רָחוֹק , never made it) and the helicopter: מַסּוֹק .
, never made it) and the helicopter: מַסּוֹק .Whereas many Israelis still use הֶלִיקוֹפְּטֶר , the use of מסוק is becoming more and more commonplace.
, the use of מסוק is becoming more and more commonplace. The word מסוק is constructed from the root נ.ס.ק (n.s.k), a poetic root in Biblical Hebrew meaning rising up, and a mundane one in Aramaic meaning the same thing.
As happens with roots whose first letter is נ (n), that first root letter drops off in certain constructions, such as in the word מסּוק. Nevertheless, מסוק retains the hard consonant quality of the נ, as indicated in the dot in the letter ס (s). Thus in the plural, it’s מַסּוֹקִים with an ah vowel (not מְסוֹקִים ), for example:
with an ah vowel (not מְסוֹקִים ), for example:מַסּוֹקִים רַבִּים עוֹבְרִים מֵעַל הָעִיר שֶׁלָּנוּ.
Many helicopters are passing over our city.