how to say “wise” in Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/נבון-#.m4a” /]נָבוֹן

If you’ve got about a Level 2 of Hebrew, you probably know the word חכם[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/נבון-#.m4a” /] – smart or wise.

For example in the feminine:

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/נבון-#.m4a” /]היא אישה חכמה מאוד.

She’s a very smart woman.

חכם is the generic word, but there’s another word – נבון[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/נבון-#.m4a” /] – wise (נבונה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/נבון-#.m4a” /] in the feminine) – which commands the respect of someone who sees things with acute perception. 

For example:

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/נבון-#.m4a” /]גם בין אנשי הסגל באוניברסיטה הוא נחשב נבון במיוחד.

Even among the university faculty he’s considered especially wise.

נבון comes from the root ב.ו.נ[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/נבון-#.m4a” /], the same as that of the words להבין[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/נבון-#.m4a” /] – to understand and בינה מלאכותית[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/נבון-#.m4a” /] – artificial intelligence.

You may also recognize the name נבון from the new railway station in Jerusalem: יצחק נבון[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/נבון-#.m4a” /], after whom the station is named, was Israel’s fifth president.