Summer Fruits in Hebrew

1. מלון[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /] – melon

This word comes from English, but did you know that it originates in Greek? The original word was mēlopepon, meaning gourd-apple. In any case, מלון[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /] in Hebrew refers to cantaloupe, honeydew melon and the like.
Not to be confused with מָלון[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /] – hotel or מילון[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /] – dictionary.

2. אבטיח[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /] – watermelon

אבטיח[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /], on the other hand, is a proper Semitic word coming straight from the Bible. Serving suggestion: אבטיח עם בולגרית[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /] – watermelon with Bulgarian (cheese).

3. דובדבנים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /] – cherries

The word for cherry – דובדבן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /] – first appears in Mishnaic Hebrew. Today you’ll find it in the expression הדובדבן שבקצפת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /] – the cherry on top (of the whipped cream), in the name of the elite military unit where Lior Raz from Fauda served, as well as referring to the fruit itself.

4. ענבים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /] – grapes

There’s no fruit more biblical than the grape – הענב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /] (no, the apple does not appear per se in the biblical Garden of Eden). ענבים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /] are grapes, while a bunch of grapes is אשכול ענבים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /].

5. אפרסקים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /] – peaches

This fruit’s name comes from Greek as well – mêlon persikón – which means literally, Persian apple. A single peach is אפרסק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /].

6. קוקוס[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /] – coconut

Sounding like the English coconut, קוקוס[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /] is called such after Portuguese and Spanish explorers found the fruit and thought it resembled a skull… or the head of coco, a ghostly figure in their folklore. A popular usage in Hebrew: שמן קוקוס[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /] – coconut oil.

7. אננס[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /] – pineapple

The Hebrew word for pineapple – אננס[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /] – also comes from Portuguese. For example: הוא רוצה משקה בטעם אננס[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /] – he wants a pineapple-flavored drink.

8. שזיפים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /] – plums

The plum in Hebrew is שזיף[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /], as in ריבת שזיפים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /] – plum(s) jam. This word first appears in Mishnaic Hebrew. Its name may derive from its dark color, since the root ש.ז.פ[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /] has to do with tanning or darkening.

9. תאנים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /] – figs

The Hebrew word for fig is תאנה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /]. As one of the species with which the Land of Israel is blessed, the word first appears in the Bible. תאנה is a feminine noun, even though multiple figs are תאנים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /] with a masculine ים-[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /] ending. Take, for example – אלה תאנים יפות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /] – these are pretty figs, where the ות-[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /] ending on יפות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /] gives it away that תאנים are feminine in grammatical gender.

10. אוכמניות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /] – blueberries

These berries are hard to come by in Israel. They’re called אוכמניות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /], while a single blueberry is אוכמנית[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /]. The name derives from an Aramaic word for black – אוכמא[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-fruits-#.m4a” /] (the fruit’s color is very dark blue).