how to say “my grandmother” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger

סָבְתָא שֶׁלִּי

The Hebrew word סבתא
means grandmother – or more accurately, grandma. The proper term, which you’ll only find in formal settings, is סבה
. Likewise, grandfather or grandpa is סבא
, while סב
is the obscure, technically-correct term for grandfather.

Here’s a colloquial example:

סבתא שלי הייתה ניצולת שואה.

My grandmother was a Holocaust survivor.

Now, סבתא שלי
– my grandmother – means literally, the grandmother of mine. It’s the same construction as that of הספר שלי
– my book (the book of mine) and האחיות שלי
– my sisters (the sisters of mine). So why is there no ה
(the) before the word סבתא in סבתא שלי?

That’s because סבתא comes from Aramaic, where the א
at the end of the word indicates the – סבתא שלי already means the grandmother of mine, so there’s no need to add a ה to the beginning of the word.

The same is true of אבא
– father/dad, אמא
– mother/mom and of course סבא
– grandfather/grandpa.

For example:

סבא שאול הוא אבא של אמא שלי.

Grandpa Shaul is my mother’s father.

Similar Posts

how to say “acquaintance” in Hebrew

how to say “acquaintance” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/מכר-#.m4a” /]מַכָּר How do you say to know in Hebrew? Depends on whether you’re talking about knowing information or a person. For the former, it’s לדעת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/מכר-#.m4a” /]. For the latter – being familiar with someone or something – it’s להכיר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/מכר-#.m4a” /]. Likewise, a person you know, though perhaps not so well – an acquaintance –…

how to say “to multiply” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להכפיל-1.m4a” /]לְהַכְפִּיל, לְהִתְרַבּוֹת To multiply has multiple (well, two) words in Hebrew, each for a related but separate concept. There’s to multiply numbers or things – that’s להכפיל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להכפיל-2.m4a” /], from the root כ.פ.ל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להכפיל-3.m4a” /] meaning double. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להכפיל-4.m4a” /]כשעברנו לבית החדש, הכפלנו את ההוצאות. When we moved to the new house, we doubled the expenses….

Weekly Hebrew Review – moving to the center of the country, taxes, not a chance!

ByAmi Steinberger

חֹמֶר לְשִׁנּוּן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-1.mp3″ /] Review Material Can’t read Hebrew yet? You spent time on your Hebrew this week. Use these review materials to make it yours to keep. Flashcards . Scatter . Gravity . Test   Blast from the Past Crossword Puzzle! [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-2.mp3″ /]שבת שלום, וסוף שבוע נעים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend!

how to say “an opener” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/פותחן-1.m4a” /]פּוֹתְחָן You invite people over, and everyone brings a bottle of wine. But you’ve got no opener. What do you do? You go to your neighbors and say: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/פותחן-2.m4a” /]יש לכם פותחן? Do you have an opener? פותחן comes from the simple verb לפתוח[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/פותחן-3.m4a” /] – to open. This ן-[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/פותחן-4.m4a” /] ending…

how to say “the game rules” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/כללי-המשחק-1.m4a” /]כְּלָלֵי הַמִּשְׂחָק The Hebrew word for game is משחק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/כללי-המשחק-2.m4a” /], of the root שׂ.ח.ק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/כללי-המשחק-3.m4a” /], which means play. This root is very similar in both sound and meaning to the root צ.ח.ק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/כללי-המשחק-4.m4a” /] meaning laugh. As opposed to a law which is a חוק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/כללי-המשחק-5.m4a” /], a rule is a כלל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/כללי-המשחק-6.m4a” /], and rules are כללים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/כללי-המשחק-7.m4a” /]. Thus you…

Weekly YDDH Review

ByAmi Steinberger

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…