how to say “what she said” in Hebrew

ByAmi Steinberger

 

having trouble seeing the print?

כַּנָּ”ל
 
For those of you in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv…
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In most societies, people are assumed nice until proven otherwise. That’s why we say “nice to meet you” in English, נָעִים מְאֹד listen and repeat or נָעִים לְהַכִּיר listen and repeat in Hebrew (entry on that here), etc.
 
One possible response, in English, is likewise. In Hebrew, one might say כַּנָּ”ל listen and repeat.
 
 
 
כנ”ל is an acronym standing for any one of the following:
 
כַּנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל – as mentioned above/previously  listen and repeat 
כַּנֶּאֱמָר לְעֵיל – as stated above/previously  listen and repeat 
כַּנִּכְתָּב לְעֵיל – as written above/previously  listen and repeat 
 
כנ"ל
 
 
This Hebrew version of likewise sounds very texty. It’s as if it’s nice to meet you too is written in some document. That’s because the term כנ”ל was appearing in Rabbinic writings for hundreds of years before the polite folks in Tel Aviv first uttered it.
The word לעיל listen and repeat is borrowed from Aramaic.
 
So, in action:
 
נָעִים לְהַכִּיר.
כַּנָּ”ל!
Nice to meet you.
Likewise!

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