how to say “intern” in Hebrew
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The medical field in Israel has been in upheaval over the past few months, with specialists demanding a revolution of better wages and working conditions… and not getting very far. Today it’s the turn of the interns to have their voices heard.
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An expert or specialist in Hebrew is a מֻמְחֶה (moom-KHEH) for a male or מֻמְחִית (moom-KHEET) for a female. Thus, if you need a medical specialist, you’ll looking for a רוֹפֵא מומחֶה (roh-FEH moom-KHEH) or a רוֹפְאָה מומחית (rohf-AH moom-KHEET). This noun is derived from the passive-causative verb pattern, and its root is מ.ח.ה (m.kh.h). To the best of my knowledge, the word first appears not in the Bible, but in the later (still about 2000 years ago) texts Mishnah.
Someone on their way to becoming an expert – or someone specializing – is what Israelis refer to as a מִתְמַחֵה (meet-mah-KHEH) for a male and a מִתְמַחָה (meet-mah-KHAH) for a female. It’s Hebrew’s rough equivalent for the English intern.
מתמחה derives from the reflexive-intensive verb pattern. Accordingly, the training period called in English an internship is a הִתְמַחוּת (heet-mah-KHOOT) in Hebrew.
