having trouble seeing the print? בָּלָגָן, אִי-סֵדֶר The first eve of Passover is called in Hebrew, לֵיל הַסֵּדֶר – the Seder night. The Hebrew word סדר–Sedermeans, literally, order. This very widely-observed traditional Passover get-together is called a סדר mainly because the various pieces of the event take place in a particular sequence. By contrast, a mess or disorder or…
having trouble seeing the print? תְּמוּנָה אַחַת… Class Starts April 7 In Jerusalem and Tel Aviv DISCOUNT DEADLINE MARCH 24! Sometimes a picture says it all, or least most of it (those studying the דַּף יוֹמִי – the daily page (of Talmud) – certainly know what I’m talking about). In Hebrew, we say: תְּמוּנָה אַחַת שָׁוָה אֶלֶף מִלִּים. One picture is worth (literally,…
having trouble seeing the print? סְמוֹךְ עָלַי… Class Starts April 7 In Jerusalem and Tel Aviv DEADLINE MARCH 24! This week’s video dose of Hebrew: Further build your Hebrew vocabulary with… with a special discount for YDDH enthusiasts like yourself
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/media-files/nice-to-meet-you-1.mp3″ /]נָעִים לְהַכִּיר When I go to the pool, I’m usually there to swim laps, so I use the fast lane. Last night, as I was swimming at my regular pace, an older man suddenly cut into my lane and started doing a slow breaststroke. Out of respect for his age and out of fear for…
קוֹרְאִים לִי… שְׁמִי… In English, we say, my name is… In Hebrew, we say that literally as well, with …שְׁמִי (if you say the long version, …הַשֵּׁם שֶׁלִּי, you’ve given yourself away as a foreigner). You’d use …שמי in slightly formal settings or in a context where you’re trying to be polite. But if you’re…
having trouble seeing the print? לְהִתְנַיֵּד our spring classes start April 7 in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv The Hebrew root נ.ו.ד (n.w.d) or נ.י.ד (n.y.d) bears the concept of mobility and movement, as in the Biblical phrase in which קַיִן-Cain is cursed: נָע וָנָד תִּהְיֶה בָאָרֶץ – you will be a restless wanderer in the land. Modern applications…
having trouble seeing the print? לְהָקִים visit us on Facebook! This week’s video dose of Hebrew: Further build your Hebrew vocabulary with… with a special discount for YDDH enthusiasts like yourself
having trouble seeing the print? הָאֲתַר בִּבְנִיָּה visit us on Facebook! The basic Hebrew word for place is מָקוֹם , while the word site – אֲתַר – is borrowed from Aramaic, where it is the basic word for place. אתר is used in Modern Hebrew to refer to a site, including a website. To build is לִבְנוֹת ,…
having trouble seeing the print? לְנַגֵּב This Spring Get Talking in Hebrew Yesterday, we saw that the Hebrew word for dessert – קִנּוּחַ – comes from the active-intensive פִּעֵל verb, לְקַנֵּחַ – one of the words for to wipe. A more common word for to wipe is לְנַגֵּב , also a פִּעֵל verb. Unlike לקנח, however,…
having trouble seeing the print? קִנּוּחַ, מָנָה אַחֲרוֹנָה Ulpan La-Inyan on Facebook Most kids’ favorite part of a meal (and maybe most adults’ as well) is dessert. קִנוּחִים desserts Israelis refer to dessert with one of two expressions: קִנּוּחַ and מָנָה אַחֲרוֹנָה . קינוח comes from the active-intensive פִּעֵל verb לְקַנֵּחַ meaning to wipe or to dry…
having trouble seeing the print? מַסֵּכָה What is Ulpan La-Inyan? What do masks and the Golden Calf have in common? Watch this week’s Video Dose of Hebrew: