מַאֲמָץ The Hebrew word for courage and valor is אֹמֶץ (OH-mets). The word for an effort or exertion, or an act of valor is מַאֲמָץ (mah-ah-MAHTS). For example, אֲנִי עוֹשֶׂה מַאֲמָץ לֶאֱכוֹל בָּרִיא (ah-NEE oh-SEH mah-ah-MAHTS le-eh-KHOHL bah-REE) – I make an effort to eat healthy. To make an effort, often a physical one, is לְהִתְאַמֵּץ (le-heet-ah-METS). A synonym…
לְהִמָּנַע To prevent something actively, in Hebrew, is לִמְנוֹע (leem-NOH-ah). For example, צָרִיך לַעֲבוֹד כְּדֵי לִמְנוֹעַ אָסוֹן (tsah-REEKH la-ah-VOHD ke-DEH-ee leem-NOH-ah ah-SOHN) – we need to work to prevent a disaster. למנוע is an active, “simple” verb, a פעל (pah-AHL) verb. To avoid something is to prevent it from happening indirectly. For example, הִיא…
לְאַתֵּר If you’ve been following קצת עברית (Ktzat Ivrit) for a while, you likely know the word for site – אֲתָר (ah-TAHR). The word is borrowed from Aramaic, creating a synonym for מָקוֹם (mah-KOHM) – place. To refer to a website in Hebrew, you’d say אֲתָר אִינְטֶרְנֶט (ah-TAHR EEN-tehr-net). To locate something or someone is לְאַתֵּר (le-ah-TEHR)….
לְהִתְנַדֵּב, לְנַדֵּב Perhaps you know Israeli men or boys with the name נָדָב (nah-DAHV). One of the star instructors on the Ulpan La-Inyan staff bears that name. The root נ.ד.ב (n.d.b) is the concept of giving and contributing. To volunteer oneself, as in cleaning up a beach or spending quality time with underprivileged children, is…
בִּלְתִּי חֻקִּי Last night 150 refugees were deported back to Sudan from Israel. The phrase for illegal in Hebrew is בִּלְתִּי חֻקִּי (beel-TEE khoo-KEE). The word בלתי functions in Hebrew in a similar way to how the prefixes in- and un- function in English – such as in impossible – בלתי אֶפְשָׁרִי (beel-TEE ef-shah-REE) – and בלתי נִשְׁכַּח…
לְמִידָה מֵרָחוֹק Distance learning has become quite an industry. In Hebrew, it’s לְמִידָה מֵרָחוֹק (le-mee-DAH me-rah-KHOHK). Literally, that’s learning from afar. We use למידה as opposed to לִמּוּד (lee-MOOD), which means teaching. We at Ulpan La-Inyan are offering our renowned classes to distance learners. If you’d like to take one of our courses, fill…
מְרַגֵּשׁ To get excited in Hebrew is לְהִתְרַגֵּש (le-heet-rah-GESH). It comes from the root ר.ג.ש (r.g.sh), which means, in Modern Hebrew, emotion. The word להתרגש falls into the התפעל (heet-pah-EHL) verb pattern. To say that something is exciting or stirring of emotion, you’d use the word מְרַגֵּש (me-rah-GESH). For example, a couple of the songs I played…
להאיר If you know some Hebrew, you more than likely know the word for light – אוֹר (ohr) – especially if you’ve been following Ktzat Ivrit for the last couple of weeks. Using the three-letter word אור as a verbal root, א.ו.ר (a.w.r), the word for to light up or to illuminate is created: לְהָאִיר (le-hah-EER)….
כבאי/ת Following yesterday’s entry on heroes – גִּבּוֹרִים (ghee-boh-REEM), today I’ll refer to the bulk of those who displayed גְּבוּרָה (ge-voo-RAH- heroism) by name. A firefighter is usually referred to as a כַּבַּאי (kah-BAH-ee), though a woman in כַּבָּאוּת (kah-bah-OOT), fire fighting, is referred to as a כַּבַּאִית (kah-bah-EET). כבאית is also the name for…
הוֹלֵם הוֹלֵם (hoh-LEHM) means appropriate in the same ways as the English word. There’s בִּגּוּד הוֹלֵם (bee-GOOD hoh-LEM) – appropriate attire, both in the social sense and in response to the weather. And there’s הִתְנַהֲגוּת הוֹלֶמֶת (heet-nah-hah-GOOT hoh-LEH-met) – appropriate behavior. And, of course, there’s מַשְׂכּוֹרֶת הוֹלֶמֶת לְפִי הָעֲבוֹדָה (mahs-KOH-ret hoh-LEH-met le-FEE hah-ah-voh-DAH)…