How to say “man” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger July 2, 2015August 9, 2022

גֶּבֶר, אִישׁ, אָדָם

Whereas English has one word in use for man, Hebrew has three.

גֶּבֶר
refers to a man in everyday speech, regardless of his stature. For example:

הוּא הָיָה יֶלֶד, וּבִן לַיְלָה הוּא נִהְיָה גֶּבֶר.

He was a boy, and overnight he became a man.

Incidentally, גבר also refers to a rooster.

אִישׁ
is also a common word for man, but it carries a certain tone of respect.

For example:

הוּא אִישׁ טוֹב.

He is a good man.

Then there’s אָדָם
, man or person in the general sense. This word is named after the biblical first man, Adam. But despite the word’s heritage, אדם is not gender-specific: it refers to both males and females alike, as in:

הִיא אָדָם טוֹב.

She is a good person.

אדם is an abbreviated version of the phrase בֶּן אָדָם
– son of Adam.

In contrast to man, woman has only one word in Hebrew: אִשָּׁה
, the feminine version of the respectful term for her male counterpart.

how to say “self esteem” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger June 30, 2016October 22, 2018

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/הערכה-עצמית-1.m4a” /]הַעֲרָכָה עַצְמִית The word for the self in Hebrew is the same as the word for bone – עצם[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/הערכה-עצמית-2.m4a” /]. עצם as self in context: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/הערכה-עצמית-3.m4a” /]אני רואה את עצמי במראה. I (a male) see myself in the mirror. and [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/הערכה-עצמית-4.m4a” /]תארי לעצמך שאת הולכת ביער. Imagine to yourself (a female) that you’re walking in…

Weekly YDDH Review

ByAmi Steinberger April 16, 2021April 9, 2021

חֹמֶר לְשִׁנּוּן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-1.mp3″ /] Review Material You spent time on your Hebrew this week. Use these review materials to make it yours to keep. To take full advantage of the review material, click on “Choose a study mode” in the bottom right corner of the box above. [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-2.mp3″ /]שבת שלום, וסוף…

how to say “society” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger January 31, 2016October 22, 2018

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/החברה-1.m4a” /]הַחֶבְרָה The letters ח.ב.ר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/החברה-2.m4a” /] form a very common root in Hebrew, representing the concept of connection. This root appears in words such as חברים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/החברה-3.m4a” /] – friends, להתחבר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/החברה-4.m4a” /] – to connect, and חברה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/החברה-5.m4a” /] – society, more typically seen as החברה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/החברה-1.m4a” /] – literally, the society. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/החברה-6.m4a” /]אי אפשר להאשים את החברה…

how to say “house plant” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger November 19, 2019November 17, 2019

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/עציץ-#.m4a” /]עֲצִיץ Technically, the word עציץ[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/עציץ-#.m4a” /] refers to the pot where the house plant lives, but people also use it to mean the plant itself. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/עציץ-#.m4a” /] עציצים לא נפטרים, הם מתים. House plants don’t pass away, they die. That example is based on a true story, which you…

how to say “to the right” and “to the left” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger January 20, 2013October 29, 2018

having trouble seeing the print? יְמִינָה, שְׂמֹאלָה Check Out Our Elections Vocab Builder This post will help you understand directions given to you, as well as provide them yourself when asked in Israel. It’s material we empower our students with in our Level 1 class. We saw last week that the Hebrew terms for right and left are יָמִין and שְׂמֹאל , respectively. That’s right and left by themselves….

how to say “great!” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger April 25, 2022April 21, 2022

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/יופי-#.m4a” /]אֵיזֶה יוֹפִי! נֶהֱדָר! In Italian it’s fantastico! In Spanish it’s genial! In English it’s great!… and in Hebrew it’s איזה יופי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/יופי-#.m4a” /] or נהדר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/יופי-#.m4a” /]! איזה יופי means literally what beauty! For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/יופי-#.m4a” /]איזה יופי שהצלחתם להזיז את הטיסה! How great that you guys managed to change your (the) flight! יופי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/יופי-#.m4a”…