Your Daily Dose of Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/ליתר-ביטחון-#.m4a” /]לְיֶתֶר בִּטָּחוֹן Earlier this week we saw the word ביטוח[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/ליתר-ביטחון-#.m4a” /] – insurance. Its root, ב.ט.ח[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/ליתר-ביטחון-#.m4a” /] meaning sure, is also the root of other words like בטיחות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/ליתר-ביטחון-#.m4a” /] – safety and ביטחון[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/ליתר-ביטחון-#.m4a” /] – security. Hebrew’s way of saying just in case is ליתר ביטחון[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/ליתר-ביטחון-#.m4a” /] – literally, for greater security. For…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/סוכן-#.m4a” /]סוֹכֵן Yesterday we encountered ביטוח לאומי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/סוכן-#.m4a” /], Israel’s National Insurance agency. Another Israeli government-related institution you may know is הסוכנות היהודית[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/סוכן-#.m4a” /] – The Jewish Agency. סוכנות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/סוכן-#.m4a” /] derives from the word סוכן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/סוכן-#.m4a” /] meaning agent, as in: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/סוכן-#.m4a” /]דוד, יש לך סוכן ביטוח? David, do you have an insurance…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/ביטוח-#.m4a” /]בִּטּוּחַ If you live in Israel, you’re bound to have encountered ביטוח לאומי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/ביטוח-#.m4a” /] – National Insurance (full name is המוסד לביטוח לאומי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/ביטוח-#.m4a” /] – the National Insurance Institute), the government agency that provides free health care and lots of other social services. ביטוח[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/ביטוח-#.m4a” /] means insurance.  For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/ביטוח-#.m4a” /]בישראל…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/ללדת-#.m4a” /]לָלֶדֶת To give birth in Hebrew is the simple verb ללדת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/ללדת-#.m4a” /] of the root י.ל.ד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/ללדת-#.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/ללדת-#.m4a” /]מתי את אמורה ללדת? When are you supposed to give birth? (see full conversation) Now, don’t confuse ללדת with לרדת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/ללדת-#.m4a” /] – to go down or to get off something such…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/אמור-זה-שם-#.m4a” /]אָמוּר זֶה שָׁם שֶׁל דָּג Psychologist Aaron Beck helped people rise above anxiety by teaching them to stop shoulding all over themselves – to stop telling themselves that they should be this or that. Hebrew’s got an expression of a similar punch as a response to people saying I should / am supposed to – אני…