סַפִּיר Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Hebrew word for sapphire is very similar to that of the English: סַפִּיר . The word goes back to early human history, as does the value of this precious stone. For example: קָנִיתִי לָהּ שַׁרְשֶׁרֶת סַפִּירִים. I bought her a necklace of sapphires….
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/שביר-#.m4a” /]שָׁבִיר The Hebrew word for to break is the simple verb לשבור[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/שביר-#.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/שביר-#.m4a” /]אני לא שברתי את הקערה! I didn’t break the bowl! Something breakable – or fragile – is שביר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/שביר-#.m4a” /], a word of the same root as לשבור. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/שביר-#.m4a” /]ספלים מחרסינה הם שבירים ביותר. Porcelain…
מַעֲגָל There’s a circle, meaning the shape – עִגּוּל (ee-GOOL). But what I’m referring to is the type of circle people might sit around and tell stories, such as in this little cartoon: This is called, in Hebrew, a מַעֲגָל (mah-ah-GAHL). Likewise, a traffic circle is called a מעגל תְּנוּעָה (mah-ah-GAHL te-noo-AH). It’s also known as a כִּכָּר (kee-KAHR)….
לִתְמוֹךְ Can’t read Hebrew yet? If you’ve lived in Israel, you may have called your Internet service provider or your phone company and heard the recording in the directory say something like: לִתְמִיכָה טֶכְנִית, הַקִּישׁוּ שְׁתַּיִם. For technical support, press two. The word תמיכה means support, and it comes…
מְמֻשְׁקָף I bet you weren’t expecting this one. To ease your mind, the word for bespectacled in Hebrew is much more en vogue than its English counterpart. You may know the Hebrew word for glasses or spectacles – מִשְׁקָפַיִם (meesh-kah-FAH-yeem). To put on glasses is לְהַרְכִּיב משקפים – literally, to assemble glasses. But someone…