Your Daily Dose of Hebrew

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/2018/08/הבדל-של-שמים-וארץ-#.m4a” /]הֶבְדֵּל שֶׁל שָמַיִם וָאָרֶץ Hebrew borrows some expressions from other languages in order to keep with 2000 years of cultural development that it missed out on while virtually unspoken in the Diaspora. But many expressions go back to Mishnaic and even Biblical times. One such expression is הבדל של שמים וארץ[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/הבדל-של-שמים-וארץ-#.m4a” /]…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/הבדל-#.m4a” /]הֶבְדֵל We’ve seen that לשנות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/הבדל-#.m4a” /] means to change something. Thus a change is שינוי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/הבדל-#.m4a” /]. But what about a difference? That’s הבדל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/הבדל-#.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/הבדל-#.m4a” /]מה ההבדל בין קברנה למרלו? מה זה משנה? What’s the difference between Cabarnet and Merlot? What does it matter? הבדל is related to the הפעיל…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/לא-משנה-#.m4a” /]לֹא מְשַׁנֶּה One of the Hebrew words for different is שונה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/לא-משנה-#.m4a” /]. Taking its root ש.נ.ה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/לא-משנה-#.m4a” /] and plugging it into the פיעל verb form, we get לשנות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/לא-משנה-#.m4a” /] – to change something. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/לא-משנה-#.m4a” /]עלינו על הכביש הלא נכון – צריך לשנות כיוון. We got on the wrong road…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/מטר-על-מטר-#.m4a” /]מֶטֶר עַל מֶטֶר Hebrew has a vivid way of saying that a place is really small: מטר על מטר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/מטר-על-מטר-#.m4a” /] – (one) meter by (one) meter. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/מטר-על-מטר-#.m4a” /]זאת דירה קטנטונת, ממש מטר על מטר! It’s a tiny little apartment, really a meter by a meter! על[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/מטר-על-מטר-#.m4a” /] means…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/קטנטן-#.m4a” /]קְטַנְטַן Hebrew has a few ways of taking a word and making it small and cute (a diminutive). One of those ways is to somehow double the ending, as in: כלבלב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/קטנטן-#.m4a” /] – puppy (dog is כלב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/קטנטן-#.m4a” /]) חתלתול[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/קטנטן-#.m4a” /] – kitten (cat is חתול[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/קטנטן-#.m4a” /]) קטנטן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/קטנטן-#.m4a” /] – tiny little (small or little…

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/2018/08/מסוגל-#.m4a” /]מְסֻגָּל If you’ve got some basic Hebrew, you probably know the words יכול[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/מסוגל-#.m4a” /] (masculine) and יכולה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/מסוגל-#.m4a” /] (feminine) – can, is able. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/מסוגל-#.m4a” /]אתה יכול להגיע למדף העליון? Can you (a male) reach the top shelf? Another word for able is מסוגל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/מסוגל-#.m4a” /] or מסוגלת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/מסוגל-#.m4a” /]. But…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/הבנה-#.m4a” /]הֲבָנָה We’ve seen the word להרגיש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/הבנה-#.m4a” /] – to feel, turn into the noun הרגשה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/הבנה-#.m4a” /] – a feeling. In a similar הפעיל pattern, להבין[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/הבנה-#.m4a” /] – to understand, becomes הבנה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/הבנה-#.m4a” /] – understanding. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/הבנה-#.m4a” /]יש לה הבנה מקיפה של החומר. She has a comprehensive understanding of the material….

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/הדדי-#.m4a” /]הֲדָדִי The Hebrew word for mutual is הדדי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/הדדי-#.m4a” /]. I believe its source is the word הד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/הדדי-#.m4a” /] – echo. Since הדדי is an adjective, it takes on the feminine ending ית-[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/הדדי-#.m4a” /] as needed, as in: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/הדדי-#.m4a” /]אני לא בטוח אם ההרגשה היא הדדית. I (a male) am not sure…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/הרגשה-#.m4a” /]הַרְגָּשָׁה You may know the expression I don’t feel well: אני לא מרגיש טוב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/הרגשה-#.m4a” /] (spoken by a male) אני לא מרגישה טוב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/הרגשה-#.m4a” /] (spoken by a female) להרגיש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/הרגשה-#.m4a” /], a הפעיל verb, is to feel. And the noun version of להרגיש is הרגשה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/הרגשה-#.m4a” /] -a feeling. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/הרגשה-#.m4a” /]יש…