how to say “slavery” in Hebrew
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מאחורינו-1.m4a” /]מֵאֲחוֹרֵינוּ In Israel, the Jewish holiday season is behind us (outside of Israel there’s one more day). So you might hear Israelis say: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מאחורינו-2.m4a” /]החגים מאחורינו, חוזרים לשגרה. The holidays are behind us, (we’re) going back to the routine. מאחורינו[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מאחורינו-1.m4a” /] comes from the root א.ח.ר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מאחורינו-3.m4a” /], which means behind both in…
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/חולשה-1.m4a” /]חֻלְשָׁה The Hebrew word for weak is חלש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/חולשה-2.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/חולשה-3.m4a” /]אמא, תכיני לי קפה, אבל לא מאוד חזק, חלש. Mom, make (prepare for) me coffee, but not very strong, weak. Likewise, the word for weakness is חולשה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/חולשה-1.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/חולשה-4.m4a” /]אדם שמכיר את עצמו היטב, גם מכיר את…
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/פשוט-1.m4a” /]פָּשׁוּט In English, calling someone simple usually implies that the person has inferior intelligence. But in an age of increasing complexity and nostalgia for the simple life on a kibbutz, when Israelis call someone simple – פשוט[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/פשוט-1.m4a” /] – it’s a compliment. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/פשוט-2.m4a” /]היא אדם פשוט. She is a simple person. Note that even…
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/הקלה-#.m4a” /]הֲקָלָה The Hebrew word for relief is הקלה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/הקלה-#.m4a” /], as in: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/הקלה-#.m4a” /]איזו הקלה! What a relief! (You’ll probably hear people saying איזה הקלה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/הקלה-#.m4a” /] instead – this is grammatically incorrect but far more common.) הקלה also means an easing of something, such as movement restrictions during corona. And if you live…