לְהִסְתַּבֵּךְ We’ve still got spots in our Late-summer conversational Hebrew courses starting in Tel Aviv and Raanana THIS SUNDAY, August 28 – check them out! Suppose someone you know gets in trouble with the tax authorities… or with her mother in law for saying something about her cooking… or with his wife…
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/מטר-על-מטר-#.m4a” /]מֶטֶר עַל מֶטֶר Hebrew has a vivid way of saying that a place is really small: מטר על מטר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/מטר-על-מטר-#.m4a” /] – (one) meter by (one) meter. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/מטר-על-מטר-#.m4a” /]זאת דירה קטנטונת, ממש מטר על מטר! It’s a tiny little apartment, really a meter by a meter! על[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/מטר-על-מטר-#.m4a” /] means…
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/חדשות-1.m4a” /]חֲדָשׁוֹת, יְדִיעוֹת The most common word for the news in Hebrew is החדשות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/חדשות-2.m4a” /] or simply חדשות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/חדשות-3.m4a” /], where the is implied. The singular form of this word, חדש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/חדשות-4.m4a” /], is the basic word meaning new. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/חדשות-5.m4a” /]שמעת חדשות היום? Have you (a female) heard the news today? Another…
לְהִסְתַּכֵּל עַל חֲצִי הַכּוֹס הַמְּלֵאָה Can’t read Hebrew yet? Is the glass half empty or half full? Conventional wisdom dictates: see the glass as half full. Hebrew joins a slew of languages that translate that important phrase, producing the dictum: צָרִיךְ לְהִסְתַּכֵּל עַל חֲצִי הַכּוֹס הַמְּלֵאָה, וְלֹא עַל חֲצִי הַכּוֹס הָרֵיקָה. Literally –…