Your Daily Dose of Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/בקצב-מסחרר-#.m4a” /]בְּקֶצֶב מְסַחְרֵר The Hebrew word for pace or beat is קצב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/בקצב-מסחרר-#.m4a” /]. For example, a guitarist might call out to their percussionists: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/בקצב-מסחרר-#.m4a” /]תנו לי קצב! Give me a beat! While dizziness is סחרחורת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/בקצב-מסחרר-#.m4a” /], dizzying is מסחרר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/בקצב-מסחרר-#.m4a” /], so that at a dizzying pace is בקצב מסחרר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/בקצב-מסחרר-#.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/כרטיס-ברכה-#.m4a” /]כַּרְטִיס בְּרָכָה The Hebrew word for card is כרטיס[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/כרטיס-ברכה-#.m4a” /], a word borrowed from the Ancient Greek χάρτης (khartes). כרטיס also means ticket, as in: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/כרטיס-ברכה-#.m4a” /]שרה, קנית כרטיסים להופעה? Sarah, have you bought tickets for the show? A greeting card is כרטיס ברכה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/כרטיס-ברכה-#.m4a” /] – literally, card of blessing. For example:…

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/2018/12/עוצמתי-#.m4a” /]עָצְמָתִי The basic Hebrew word for power or energy is כוח[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/עוצמתי-#.m4a” /], as in: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/עוצמתי-#.m4a” /]אין לי כוח! I don’t have energy! (I don’t feel like it!) But the adjective form, כוחני[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/עוצמתי-#.m4a” /], means forceful, which has a negative connotation. So what’s the word for powerful, which has a positive connotation? That’s עוצמתי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/עוצמתי-#.m4a” /],…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/לשמוע-בקול-#.m4a” /]לִשְׁמוֹעַ בְּקוֹל Here’s a Biblical-Hebrew expression that is just as useful today as it was thousands of years ago: לשמוע בקול[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/לשמוע-בקול-#.m4a” /] – to listen to (someone) and obey, literally to listen to the voice of. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/לשמוע-בקול-#.m4a” /]היא עברה את הגיל שילדים שומעים בקול ההורים שלהם. She passed the age…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/לעבור-את-הגיל-#.m4a” /]לַעֲבוֹר אֶת הַגִּיל In Hebrew, to outgrow something by virtue of age or maturity is לעבור את הגיל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/לעבור-את-הגיל-#.m4a” /] – literally, to pass the age. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/לעבור-את-הגיל-#.m4a” /]הוא כבר עבר את הגיל עם החצ’קונים. He already passed the age of (with) acne. Broken down, that’s: לעבור[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/לעבור-את-הגיל-#.m4a” /] – to pass, a simple…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/חצקונים-#.m4a” /]חַצְ’קוּנִים Though the title may have grossed you out a bit, I urge you to bear with me as this post gets interesting. English speakers prefer the informal word zits over pimples. Likewise, Israelis prefer slang חצ’קונים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/חצקונים-#.m4a” /] over the more technical term פצעונים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/חצקונים-#.m4a” /] from the word פצע[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/חצקונים-#.m4a” /] which means a sore among…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/בעד-נגד-#.m4a” /]בְּעַד, נֶגֶד The Hebrew word for for something or in support of something is בעד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/בעד-נגד-#.m4a” /], for example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/בעד-נגד-#.m4a” /]אני בעד דמוקרטיה. I’m for democracy. Likewise, against is נגד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/בעד-נגד-#.m4a” /]: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/בעד-נגד-#.m4a” /]אני לא בעד ולא נגד. I’m neither for nor against. Both words have additional meanings such as through for בעד and opposite for נגד….

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/2018/12/מבוגר-#.m4a” /]מְבֻגָּר The Hebrew word for mature is בוגר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/מבוגר-#.m4a” /] for a male and בוגרת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/מבוגר-#.m4a” /] for a female. Someone elderly or mature in the sense of age is מבוגר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/מבוגר-#.m4a” /] or מבוגרת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/מבוגר-#.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/מבוגר-#.m4a” /]שוחחתי היום עם אישה מבוגרת שגרה בעיר העתיקה. I spoke today with an elderly woman…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/לשוחח-#.m4a” /]לְשׂוֹחֵחַ Truth is, there isn’t really a good translation for to schmooze in Hebrew. לדבר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/לשוחח-#.m4a” /] means to talk, and its synonym לשוחח[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/לשוחח-#.m4a” /] means to have a conversation. The latter is the closest Hebrew has to the cozy Yiddish word. Here’s לשוחח in context: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/לשוחח-#.m4a” /]דוד, בוא אלי לעיר העתיקה ונשוחח. David,…