how to say “the west coast” in Hebrew
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/החוף-המערבי-#.m4a” /]הַחוֹף הַמַּעֲרָבִי
Although I now live in Israel, I grew up on the west coast – החוף המערבי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/החוף-המערבי-#.m4a” /] – of the United States.
חוף[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/החוף-המערבי-#.m4a” /] means coast. It also means beach, but the preferred term for beach in going to the beach is ים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/החוף-המערבי-#.m4a” /] – literally, sea.
For example:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/החוף-המערבי-#.m4a” /]בואו ניסע לים!
Let’s go to the beach!
The word for west in Hebrew is מערב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/החוף-המערבי-#.m4a” /]. Its root is the word ערב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/החוף-המערבי-#.m4a” /] meaning evening: in the evening, the sun sets in the west.
Thus the west coast is החוף המערבי, as in:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/החוף-המערבי-#.m4a” /]אין יותר מדי ערים גדולות בחוף המערבי של ארצות הברית.
There aren’t too many big cities on the west coast of the United States.
The east coast is החוף המזרחי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/החוף-המערבי-#.m4a” /], where מזרח[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/החוף-המערבי-#.m4a” /] is east, the place where השמש זורחת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/החוף-המערבי-#.m4a” /] – the sun rises.