שלוה The Modern Hebrew letter ו (vahv) make a v sound when pronounced by most native speakers. In Biblical times, however, the letter made a w sound. There are four Hebrew consonants pronounced, historically, at the lips: ב (b), מ (m), פ (p) and ו (w). Try it yourself. Linguists call these consonants bilabials. …
אופניים This one’s for Maurice – thanks for the request! I explained this to Caron’s Level 4 class last week, I believe, when I was substituting. The Hebrew word for bicycle is אוֹפַנַּים (oh-fah-NAH-yeem). Why? While Modern Hebrew (going on Medieval) renders a wheel a גַּלְגָּל (gahl-GAHL), the Biblical Hebrew word for…
כדורגל, פוטבול Someone asked me to feature football (if you’d like to have a word or phrase featured, visit our request page.) I don’t know whether s/he is referring to the game played in the World Cup or to that played with a pigskin in the States, so I’m going to feature both. …
הגיוני In English, to think is a general term, while to ponder, to contemplate, to surmise, etc. are related to thinking but are more specific. Hebrew works the same way, with לַחְשׁוֹב (lahkh-SHOHV) meaning to think, and other words denoting something more specific. For example, the Biblical and Modern Hebrew לַהֲגוֹת (lah-hah-GOHT) means to pronounce, but…
שמן, שומן The Biblical Hebrew word for oil is שֶׁמֶן (SHEH-men). The nutrition-facts name for fat is שׁוּמָן (shoo-MAHN). The derogatory term for someone who is overweight is שָׁמֵן (shah-MEN) for a male and שְׁמֵנָה (shmeh-NAH) for a female.
אמין This entry was requested by Stan. Thanks Stan! Keep them coming! If you would like to request an entry from Ktzat Ivrit, please go here. If you’ve been minimally affiliated with any Judeo-Christian institution… ever, you’re familiar with the word אָמֵן (ah-MEN) – amen. The three-letter root of the word makes…
להכפיל Perhaps you’ve been to חֶבְרוֹן (khev-ROHN) – Hebron, to the Tomb of the Patriarchs. In Hebrew, that site is called מְעָרַת הַמַּכְפֵּלָה (meh-ah-RAHT hah-mahkh-peh-LAH) – the cave of the doubling. Why doubling? I’m aware of two reasons provided by the Rabbis: 1. Couples are buried there, and 2. The cave is two-storied….
סידן The next in our nutrition-fact series is the Hebrew word for calcium – סִידָן. How did Modern Hebrew scholars come up with this word, a natural element discovered only in the nineteenth century? Well, the word limestone – a white substance, just like calcium – is אֶבֶן סִיד (EH-ven seed). And to whitewash is לְסַיֵּד…
מקצועי The Modern Hebrew word for profession – מִקְצוֹע (meek-TSOH-ah) appears in the Bible meaning the side of a room/ a geometrical figure. The root is ק.צ.ע (k.ts.a), a root that shares its first two letters with other roots of a similar meaning: ק.צ.ה (k.ts.h) – edge; ק.צ.ר (k.ts.r) – short (in length); etc. …
לא זמין Now, if you’ve read the previous post, you know that I am probably on a trip in the Galilee and the vicinity. You may be wondering how I’ve managed to write a Ktzat Ivrit entry on my vacation! The answer is that I’ve written it in advance, and hit “publish” before…
מסלול הליכה Hiking is to Israelis as playing soccer (futbol) is to South Americans… or as dipping in ice water is to Russians. It’s just what they do. So there isn’t really a word in Hebrew that communicates the rigors of hiking. Instead, a hike is usually referred to in the broader sense…