how to say “to do good” in Hebrew
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/להיטיב-#.m4a” /]לַעֲשׂוֹת טוֹב, לְהֵיטִיב
To do good is literally לעשות טוב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/להיטיב-#.m4a” /], where לעשות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/להיטיב-#.m4a” /] means to do and טוב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/להיטיב-#.m4a” /] means good.
There’s another word – להיטיב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/להיטיב-#.m4a” /] – which means to do good or to do something well.
For example:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/להיטיב-#.m4a” /]המסלול הזה נועד למיטיבי לכת.
This trail is meant for people who walk well (able hikers).
להיטיב עם[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/להיטיב-#.m4a” /] means to do good for (literally with) someone, as in:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/להיטיב-#.m4a” /]לקום בזריחה מיטיב עמי.
Getting up at sunrise does good for me.
This beautiful expression is a bit flowery, so don’t use it too often in everyday conversation.
להיטיב is a הפעיל verb of the root י.ט.ב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/להיטיב-#.m4a” /], derived from the word טוב. This form of הפעיל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/להיטיב-#.m4a” /] is a rare breed where the י[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/להיטיב-#.m4a” /] in the root stays a י instead of becoming a ו[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/להיטיב-#.m4a” /] as in words like להוריד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/להיטיב-#.m4a” /] – to lower (root is י.ר.ד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/להיטיב-#.m4a” /]) and להושיב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/להיטיב-#.m4a” /] – to seat (root is י.ש.ב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/להיטיב-#.m4a” /]).