how to say “minimal” in Hebrew
מִזְעָרִי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מזער-1.mp3″ /]
The word you’re most likely to hear on the street and in the office in Israel for minimal is מִינִימָלִי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מזער-2.mp3″ /]. But an authentic Hebrew word growing in usage is מִזְעָרִי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מזער-1.mp3″ /]. The word also means nominal or negligible, as in:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מזער-3.mp3″ /]מְדֻבָּר בִּסְכוּם מִזְעָרִי, לֹא מַשֶּׁהוּ רְצִינִי.
We’re talking about (what’s spoken about is) a negligible amount, not something serious.
The word draws upon the Semitic root ז.ע.ר (z.a.r), which makes appearances in the Hebrew Bible, but in Aramaic is the common word for small.
