how do you say “I beg of you!” in Hebrew?
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להתחנן-1.m4a” /]אֲנִי מִתְחַנֵּן!
The Hebrew word for to beg or to plead – להתחנן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להתחנן-2.m4a” /] – goes all the way back to Biblical times. In fact, it appears in the title of last week’s Torah portion – ואתחנן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להתחנן-3.m4a” /] – and I pleaded.
Here’s an example in Modern Hebrew:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להתחנן-4.m4a” /]אמא, אני מתחננת, תקני לנו כלב!
Mom, I (a daughter) beg (of you), buy us a dog!
The word’s root is ח.ו.נ[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להתחנן-5.m4a” /], meaning grace or favor. In the reflexive-intensive verb form, להתחנן implies that the person doing the begging or pleading hopes that the other finds them favorable.
