how to say “babysitter” in Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שמרטף-1.m4a” /]בֵּייבִּיסִיטֶר, שְׁמַרְטַף

To watch the kids in Hebrew is לשמור על הילדים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שמרטף-2.m4a” /], literally, to watch/keep/guard the children.

But the professional who assume this role when parents are away is not called a watchperson or a guardian in English – they’re called a babysitter.

This term is so lovely to the ear that Israelis use it to refer to the people who watch their kids for them as well – בייביסיטר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שמרטף-3.m4a” /], a gender-neutral term.

For example:

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שמרטף-4.m4a” /]מתי הבייביסיטר אמורה להגיע?

When is the babysitter (a female in this case) supposed to arrive?

But as cute as בייביסיטר sounds, scholars of Modern Hebrew felt an obligation to create a proper Hebrew term for this person. They came up with שמרטף[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שמרטף-5.m4a” /] – combining the root ש.מ.ר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שמרטף-6.m4a” /] meaning watching/guarding with טף[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שמרטף-7.m4a” /], a flowery term for children. To me (and perhaps to others) שמרטף sounds more like a rag than a babysitter, so maybe that’s why it didn’t catch.