how to say “to get ahead” in Hebrew
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This one’s for Batya.
Those of you who know a little Hebrew are likely familiar with some words and phrases of the root ק.ד.מ. (k.d.m), meaning before, such as קוֹדֶם כֹּל (KOH-dem kohl) – first of all; !קָדִימָה (kah-DEE-mah) – onward! (also the name of an Israeli political party); and perhaps the well-known teaching of the Jewish sages, דֶּרֶךְ אֶרֶץ קָדְמָה לַתּוֹרָה (DEH-rekh EH-rets kah-deh-MAH lah-toh-RAH) – The way of the land (meaning either employment or getting along well with others) came/comes before Torah.
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| “It’s time to get ahead in life.” hee-GHEE-ah hah-zeh-MAHN leh-heet-kah-DEM bah-khah-YEEM from breslev.co.il |
A common usage of the root ק.ד.מ in today’s Israel can be found in the realm of career advancement. Throughout the country, and especially in the economically-booming center along the coast (about an hour and a half’s drive from the other side of the country, with Judea and Samaria), young professionals often talk about their life’s material aspirations in terms of getting ahead and advancing, while others suggest that קידום חָמְרִי (kee-DOOM khohm-REE) – material advancement misses the point of life (discussion below). The verb they use is לְהִתְקַדֵּם (leh-heet-kah-DEM) – to advance. This is a reflexive-intensive verb.
Similarly, when they talk about a job promotion or advancement – or the field of SEO (search engine optimization), they use the word קִדּוּם (kee-DOOM), which is the abstract noun form of the active-intensive verb, לְקַדֵּם (leh-kah-DEM) – to advance something or someone. SEO is קידום אֲתָרִים (kee-DOOM ah-tah-REEM) – literally, advancement of (web)sites.
להתקדם also means to get ahead in the literal sense, such as while driving.
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