הקפאה The Biblical Hebrew root ק.פ.א (k.p.a) is the concept of congealment or thickening, but the root has evolved to the point where today it means frozenness. Thus a מַקְפִּיא (mahk-PEE) is the Modern Hebrew word for freezer – the place where one places ice cream. To freeze something is לְהַקְפִּיא (le-hahk-PEE). To say, I’m…
תכנית The Hebrew word for content is תּוֹכֵן (TOH-khen). Likewise, the word for activated content – or a plan/program – is תָּכְנִית (tohkh-NEET). For example, לְבֵית הַסֵּפֶר הַזֶּה יֵשׁ תָּכְנִית לִמּוּדִים מְצוּיֶּנֶת (le-VEHT hah-SEH-fehr hah-ZEH yesh tohkh-NEET lee-moo-DEEM me-tsoo-YEH-net) – This school has an excellent program of study (curriculum). Our תכנית… We…
ספרון If you’ve had even a bit of experience with the Hebrew language, chances are you know the word for book – סֵפֶר (SEH-fehr). Now, in English, we add -let to a noun to make it small and cute. For example, we add -let to pig to make piglet. Likewise, we add -let to book to make…
רכישת שפה To buy something is לִקְנוֹת (leek-NOHT). To acquire something, or to purchase, is לִרְכוֹש (leer-KHOHSH). The act of acquiring or purchasing is רְכִישָׁה (re-khee-SHAH). So the acquiring of a language is רְכִישַׁת שָׂפָה (re-khee-SHAHT sah-FAH). The ה in the word רכישה becomes a ת, as the word is connected to the following word in a linguistic…
לפרק Yesterday we had the word for to assemble – לְהַרְכִּיב (le-hahr-KEEV). What about to disassemble, or to take something apart? That’s לְפָרֵק (le-fah-REK). For example, אֲנַחְנוּ פֵּרַקְנוּ אֶת הָאָרוֹן (ah-NAHKH-noo peh-RAHK-noo et hah-ah-ROHN) – We took apart the closet (closets in Israel are usually not walk-in. לפרק comes from the root, פ.ר.ק…
להרכיב You may have just heard this word on RustyMike Radio on the Adam in the Morning Show. If you need to assemble a piece of furniture – or a team of people, for that matter – the word you’d use in Hebrew is לְהַרְכִּיב (le-hahr-KEEV). For example, אֲנַחְנוּ מַרְכִּיבִים צֶוֶת מִקְצוֹעִי…
Early registration deadline Today is the last day to receive a 50-shekel discount on our November-December conversational Hebrew classes. Our courses will be taking place in Jerusalem and Raanana starting a week from today. Get our schedule at calendar.ulpan.com… and sign up at register.ulpan.com! And if you’re not yet familiar with…
איזור, שטח, תחום I don’t think I’ve done an entry with three words before. Thanks, Josh, for the suggestion for this entry. The English word area can refer to a few things. One is the area where something exists – also called vicinity. In Hebrew, this is אֵזוֹר (eh-ZOHR). For example, הוּא גָּר בָּאֵזוֹר (hoo…
אסון Last night, an Israeli Air Force jet of the most advanced in the world crashed in Makhtesh Ramon. The pilot and navigator are missing at this moment. Here’s the YNet article in Hebrew, and here it is in English. The Hebrew word for tragedy or disaster is אָסוֹן (ah-SOHN). I hope…
סיכון Perhaps you know the Hebrew word for dangerous – מְסוּכָּן (me-soo-KAHN). Likewise, the word for danger itself is סַכָּנָה (sah-kah-NAH). The word for risk comes from the same root – ס.כ.נ (s.k.n): סִכּוּן (see-KOON). Radio-show lineup I’ve got my radio show of Israeli music explained at noon today (as every week), on…
ארנק If you’re already conversational in Hebrew, chances are you know the word for wallet or purse (carried, usually, by men) – אַרְנָק (ahr-NAHK). But did you know the origin of the word? It comes from the ancient Greek word for sheep skin – arnakis. Ulpan La-Inyan classes… are not free, but they’re…