how to say “sorry to disappoint” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger August 7, 2022August 5, 2022

צַר לִי לְאַכְזֵב

My father, who grew up in Israel, raised me speaking Hebrew in the US. Thanks to him, when I came to live in Israel as an adult, I was already equipped with conversational Hebrew. But since my education took place in the States, I was missing some higher-register expressions such as צר לי
– a fancier way of saying I’m sorry than simply אני מצטער
(or אני מצטערת
if the speaker is a female).

צר לי means literally it’s painful to me. צר
– the plural of which is צרות
(troubles, or in Yiddish, tzuris) – may be related to צער
meaning anguish, itself the root of מצטער
.

But enough theory – here’s צר לי in a common Hebrew expression: צר לי לאכזב
– I’m sorry to disappoint.

For example:

צר לי לאכזב, אבל הבירות לא קרות.

Sorry to disappoint, but the beers aren’t cold.

Here’s צר לי in another context:

צר לי על המקדש החרב.

I’m sorry about the destroyed Temple.

צר also means narrow.

how to say “lice” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger January 23, 2020January 19, 2020

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/כינים-#.m4a” /]כִּנִּים The Hebrew word for lice has been around since biblical times: כינים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/כינים-#.m4a” /]. A single louse is כינה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/כינים-#.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/כינים-#.m4a” /]חפפתי לה את השיער והוצאתי את הכינה. I washed her hair and removed the louse.

How to say “attack of conscience” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger March 14, 2018October 18, 2018

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/ייסורי-מצפון-1.m4a” /]יִסּוּרֵי מַצְפּוּן The Hebrew word for conscience is מצפון[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/ייסורי-מצפון-2.m4a” /], of the root צ.פ.נ[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/ייסורי-מצפון-3.m4a” /] meaning north: someone who has lost their conscience has also lost their “north.” And if you’ve got some background in Jewish philosophy, you almost certainly know the word for tribulations – ייסורים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/ייסורי-מצפון-4.m4a” /]. Putting these…

how to say “celeb” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger February 15, 2022February 11, 2022

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/סלב-#.m4a” /]סֵלֵבּ, יְדוּעָן In English, people who draw inordinate amounts of attention are called celebrities – or in short, celebs. Israelis giving those people such attention have borrowed סלב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/סלב-#.m4a” /] for a single celebrity (male or female), while סלבס[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/סלב-#.m4a” /] is the plural form (yes, it defies Hebrew grammar). There is, however, a proper…

how to say “loneliness” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger July 6, 2022June 30, 2022

The Hebrew word for lonely is בודד when referring to a male, and בודדת or בודדה when referring to a female. For example: לפעמים אני מרגיש בודד. Sometimes I feel lonely. Likewise, בדידות is loneliness, as in: אם אתה חווה בדידות, אתה לא לבד. If you experience loneliness, you aren’t alone. The root of these words…

Weekly YDDH Review

ByAmi Steinberger January 10, 2020January 6, 2020

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…

apathy – what’s the Hebrew word?

ByAmi Steinberger April 12, 2010November 5, 2018

אדישות Apathy can be dangerous, especially regarding things like the Holocaust and people like Gilad Shalit (גִּלְעַד שָׁלִיט). Apathy tends to go against the basic human need/function of love. The Hebrew word for apathy is אֲדִישׁוּת (ah-dee-SHOOT). You might describe a man as אָדִיש (ah-DEESH) or a woman as אֲדִישָׁה (ah-dee-SHAH). See if…