לְאַבֵּד, לְהַפְסִיד Can’t read Hebrew yet? In most cases, English is the one with more words for a single idea. Sometimes, however, Hebrew is. One example is to lose, where Hebrew has two words: לְאַבֵּד , an active-intensive verb, refers to losing a person or an object, where something…
אֲנִי צוֹחֵק Can’t read Hebrew yet? In Hebrew, the word for to joke is the same as to laugh – the active-simple verb לִצְחוֹק . For example, a man might say: אֲנִי סְתָם צוֹחֵק. I’m just joking. A woman would mean the same thing saying, אֲני סְתָם צוֹחֶקֶת . …
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/שיטה-#.m4a” /]שִׁיטָה In Biblical Hebrew you may come across עץ השיטה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/שיטה-#.m4a” /] – the acacia tree. While the word for method – שיטה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/שיטה-#.m4a” /] – is spelled and pronounced the same as the word for the tree, the two are not related: the root of שיטה the tree is ש.נ.ט[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/שיטה-#.m4a” /], while…
having trouble seeing the print? חֲרָטָה, לְהִתְחָרֵט Conversational Hebrew Classes This Fall, in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv Register Now! As the new Jewish year approaches, many of us are looking back at this past year with a potpourri of thoughts emotion. If you’re like me, there’s stuff you’re proud of, as well as…
שְׁפַן נִסָּיוֹן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/guinea-pig-5.mp3″ /] When referring to that furry little animal the guinea pig, Israelis use either קַבְיָה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/guinea-pig-2.mp3″ /] or חֲזִיר יָם[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/guinea-pig-3.mp3″ /] (literally, sea pig). But the proverbial guinea pig gets a different term: שְׁפַן נִסְּיוֹנוֹת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/guinea-pig-4.mp3″ /] – rabbit or coney (whatever that is) of experiments, or שְׁפַן נִסָּיוֹן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/guinea-pig-5.mp3″ /]…
לְשׂוֹחֵחַ I did this spiel this morning on the air with Adam. לְדַבֵּר (leh-dah-BEHR) is probably the first word that comes to mind, if you know some Hebrew. That’s the generic word for to talk or to speak. But as widely used as לדבר is, it carries a tinge of harshness –…