how to say “theory” in Hebrew
[audioclip url=”[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/תיאוריה-#.m4a” /]תֵּיאוֹרְיָה, תּוֹרָה
Israelis generally refer to a theory by borrowing the foreign word – תיאוריה[audioclip url=”[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/תיאוריה-#.m4a” /].
For example:
[audioclip url=”[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/תיאוריה-#.m4a” /]לא ברור איך התרנגולת נכנסה לחצר שלנו, אבל יש לי תיאוריה.
It’s unclear how the chicken got into our yard, but I have a theory.
But when referring to a particular theory, the word of choice is תורה[audioclip url=”[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/תיאוריה-#.m4a” /] – specifically the form of תורה when it appears in an of (construct) phrase: תורת[audioclip url=”[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/תיאוריה-#.m4a” /] – theory of.
For example:
[audioclip url=”[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/תיאוריה-#.m4a” /]תורת המשחקים משחקת תפקיד חשוב בקרב מקבלי החלטות.
Game Theory plays an important role among decision makers.
But isn’t this a desecration of the word תורה, which first and foremost refers to the Holy Torah? Not really, since תורה as a word means instructions or, in our case, set of instructions: a theory combines multiple instructive thoughts into a cohesive, workable way of perceiving things.