Your Daily Dose of Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/קובץ-#.m4a” /]קֹבֶץ A file collects various things into one place. So Modern Hebrew drew upon the ancient פיעל verb לקבץ[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/קובץ-#.m4a” /] – to gather – to come up with the modern term קובץ[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/קובץ-#.m4a” /] – a file. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/קובץ-#.m4a” /]יש לפתוח את הקובץ המצורף באמצעות סיסמה. Open the attached file using a password. You…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/מצורף-#.m4a” /]מְצֹרָף This post isn’t going to talk about attachment in the emotional sense – that’s התקשרות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/מצורף-#.m4a” /] or התחברות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/מצורף-#.m4a” /], among other touchy feely options. Rather, we’re here to talk about something attached – מצורף[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/מצורף-#.m4a” /] – to something like an email. It appears in an abbreviation: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/מצורף-#.m4a” /]מצ”ב פירושו “מצורף בזאת.” Matz”av means…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/פירוש-#.m4a” /]פֵּרוּשׁ The word פירוש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/פירוש-#.m4a” /] means literally interpretation, as in: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/פירוש-#.m4a” /]קראתי פירוש יפה לאגדה הזאת. I read an interesting interpretation of this fable. But people use it more broadly, albeit a bit formally, to refer to what an interpretation delivers – meaning: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/פירוש-#.m4a” /]אין פירוש הדבר שהם רוצים לנסוע איתנו. That…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/אגדה-#.m4a” /]אַגָּדָה I’m not referring to a legend on a map – that’s מקרא[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/אגדה-#.m4a” /], which is also the word for scripture. No, I’m talking about the stuff of great stories, fables – a legend. This in Hebrew is אגדה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/אגדה-#.m4a” /], as in: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/אגדה-#.m4a” /]האיש והאגדה the man and the legend You may have…

חֹמֶר לְשִׁנּוּן[audioclip url="https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-1.mp3" /] Review Material You spent time on your Hebrew this week. Use these review materials to make it yours to keep.      To take full advantage of the review material, click on "Choose a study mode" in the bottom right corner of the box above. [audioclip url="https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-2.mp3" /]שבת שלום, וסוף...

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/מחצית-#.m4a” /]מַחֲצִית Halftime is a concept familiar to sports lovers around the world, whether it’s soccer or American football or basketball. The Hebrew word for halftime is מחצית[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/מחצית-#.m4a” /], which also means a half and a semester. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/מחצית-#.m4a” /]הם ניצחו במחצית השנייה. They won in the second half. מחצית comes from the…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/לנצח-#.m4a” /]לְנַצֵּחַ The Hebrew word for to win is לנצח[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/לנצח-#.m4a” /], a פיעל verb of the root נ.צ.ח[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/לנצח-#.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/לנצח-#.m4a” /]רק האהבה תנצח את כל הדמעות. Only (the) love will defeat all the tears. If you read the word לנצח by itself, you might think it means forever, which is pronounced…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/להזיל-דמעה-#.m4a” /]לְהַזִּיל דִּמְעָה As I began writing this post I coughed and teared. The Hebrew expression for to shed a tear is להזיל דמעה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/להזיל-דמעה-#.m4a” /]. It doesn’t exactly fit my coughing fit, since להזיל דמעה is a flowery expression that implies tears of emotion, not of disruptions in the respiratory system. Here’s the expression in…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/להוזיל-#.m4a” /]לְהוֹזִיל If you’ve spent even a few days in Israel, you probably came across the word זול[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/להוזיל-#.m4a” /] – cheap. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/להוזיל-#.m4a” /]זה לא זול! This is not cheap! To lower prices – to make them cheaper – is להוזיל מחירים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/להוזיל-#.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/להוזיל-#.m4a” /]המוצר החדש הזה יוזיל את…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/תחבורה-ציבורית-#.m4a” /]תַּחְבּוּרָה צִבּוּרִית Here’s a completely modern expression with ancient roots. The root ח.ב.ר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/תחבורה-ציבורית-#.m4a” /], appearing already in the stories of Abraham, means connection. Modern Hebrew took the root, plugged it into a common structure and came up with תחבורה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/תחבורה-ציבורית-#.m4a” /] – transportation, or a system of connecting point A and point B. ציבורי[audioclip…

חֹמֶר לְשִׁנּוּן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-1.mp3″ /] Review Material You spent time on your Hebrew this week. Use these review materials to make it yours to keep.      To take full advantage of the review material, click on “Choose a study mode” in the bottom right corner of the box above. [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-2.mp3″ /]שבת שלום, וסוף…