שָׁנִי Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Hebrew word for red is אָדֹם (more primary colors in Hebrew). The Modern-Hebrew color שָׁנִי is a particular shade of red, whose dye in Biblical times was drawn from a particular type of insect, תּוֹלַעַת הַשָּׁנִי – the “shani” worm (today known to be an aphid). In English,…
לְבוּשׁ הוֹלֵם Can’t read Hebrew yet? Someone pointed out that in my entry last week on different articles of clothing, I neglected to mention the word for clothing itself. The simple word is בֶּגֶד , meaning garment. In the plural it’s בְּגָדִים . For example: הִיא לָבְשָׁה בְּגָדִים יָפִים. She wore nice clothes. …
קִשּׁוּר, חֻלְיָה Can’t read Hebrew yet? When referring to the kind of link found on a webpage, the Hebrew word is קִשּׁוּר (while many Israelis still use the foreign word, לִינְק ). This word wasn’t invented for the advent of the hyperlink; rather, it was in use beforehand in contexts such as the phrase:…
חֹמֶר לְשִׁנּוּן Review Material Can’t read Hebrew yet? You spent time on your Hebrew this week. Use these review materials to make it yours to keep. Flashcards Game Test שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם, וְסוֹף שָׁבוּעַ נָעִים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend!
נָאֶה, יָפֶה Can’t read Hebrew yet? When describing the beauty of objects in Hebrew, we typically use יָפֶה for something grammatically masculine and יָפָה for something feminine. For example: יֵשׁ לְךָ כּוֹבַע יָפֶה. You (a male) have a nice hat. אֵיזוֹ חֻלְצָה יָפָה! What a nice shirt! …
שִׂמְלָה Can’t read Hebrew yet? Though in Biblical times the word שִׂמְלָה referred to apparel worn widely by both women and men, today שמלה refers specifically to a dress. For example: הִיא שָׁאֲלָה אֹתִי אִם הַשִּׂמְלָה שֶׁלָּהּ יָפָה. She asked me if her dress is nice. Other items of clothing…
לְהִתְנַשֵּׁק Can’t read Hebrew yet? Yesterday we saw the various Hebrew words for hug. Today we’ll look at kissing, which has a similar grammar. The root of kissing – נ.שׁ.ק (n.sh.k) – is the same as that of a weapon – נֶשֶׁק – not because of the “kiss of death”, but probably because…
לְהִתְחַבֵּק Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Hebrew root ח.ב.ק (kh.b.k) means embracing. There’s to hug someone else (active-intensive verb) – לְחַבֵּק – as in: הָאֵם חִבְּקָה אֶת הַיֶּלֶד כְּשֶׁהוּא נִבְהַל מֵהַכֶּלֶב. The mother hugged the child when he was frightened from the dog. And there’s to hug when two…
שַׁחַר Can’t read Hebrew yet? The morning prayer in Judaism is called שַׁחֲרִית , as it is derived from the word for dawn, שַׁחַר . In Hebrew, we talk about the dawn as it is a physical object like the sun and say that the dawn rises, as in: הֵם יָצְאוּ לַקְּרָב לִפְנֵי שֶׁעָלָה…
חֹמֶר לְשִׁנּוּן Review Material Can’t read Hebrew yet? You spent time on your Hebrew this week. Use these review materials to make it yours to keep. Flashcards Game Test שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם, וְסוֹף שָׁבוּעַ נָעִים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend!
שְׁאִיפוֹת Can’t read Hebrew yet? The English word aspiration finds its roots in the Latin word spirare – to breathe. Likewise, the Hebrew word for to aspire is the same as that of to inhale – the active-simple verb לִשְׁאוֹף . And an aspiration is a שְׁאִיפָה . For example: לַבַּחוּרָה הַזֹּאת יֵשׁ שְׁאִיפוֹת…