how to say “sapphire” and other precious stones in Hebrew
להעלות If you’re reading this blog, you’ve likely heard the word aliyah (עֲלִיָּה – ah-lee-YAH) before. The word refers to immigration to Israel, but means, literally, ascending. To cause something to ascend is to raise something. Hence the verb, לְהַעֲלוֹת (le-hah-ah-LOHT). For those of you who are biblically inclined, you may remember this word in the…
having trouble seeing the print? מַצַּב רוּחַ Sometimes I feel like singing. And sometimes I don’t. I bet you’re the same way. The Hebrew term for mood is מַצַּב רוּחַ – literally, state of spirit or situation of spirit. The quality of the מצב רוח can often be determined by context, even…
נְטִיָּה Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Hebrew verb לִנְטוֹת , of the root נ.ט.ה (n.t.h), means to tend or to be inclined. For example: אֲנִי נוֹטֶה לְהַצְבִּיעַ לְמִפְלָגוֹת קְטַנּוֹת. I (a male) tend to vote for a small parties. Likewise, נְטִיָּה means tendency, as in the phrase…
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/לקשקש-1.m4a” /]לְקַשְׁקֵשׁ Like today, in ancient times the letter ש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/לקשקש-2.m4a” /] was pronounced in two different ways: sh and some variation of s. These sounds were distinct enough that it’s as if they were two different letters, as far as roots go. Thus קשקשים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/לקשקש-3.m4a” /] (with two s sounds) meaning scales or dandruff don’t have much to do…
having trouble seeing the print? יְהוּדִי BEGINNERS Hebrew Course Starts Mid-February Jerusalem . Tel Aviv The word Jew is a household term, just as Christian and Muslim are. But where does the word Jew come from? The Hebrew version is יְהוּדִי for a male and יְהוּדִיָּה for a female. These are the Hebrew terms that refer someone of the Jewish faith, who holds the Torah as…