Your Daily Dose of Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/מקושקשת-1.m4a” /]בֵּיצָה מְקֻשְׁקֶשֶת     We’ve seen that the active-intensive פיעל verb לקשקש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/מקושקשת-2.m4a” /] means to scribble or to talk about nothing in particular. When cooking, this word can also refer to scrambling something such as an egg. Thus a scrambled egg is ביצה מקושקשת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/מקושקשת-1.m4a” /], as in: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/מקושקשת-3.m4a” /]תכין לי בבקשה ביצה מקושקשת. Make…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/לקשקש-1.m4a” /]לְקַשְׁקֵשׁ Like today, in ancient times the letter ש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/לקשקש-2.m4a” /] was pronounced in two different ways: sh and some variation of s. These sounds were distinct enough that it’s as if they were two different letters, as far as roots go. Thus קשקשים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/לקשקש-3.m4a” /] (with two s sounds) meaning scales or dandruff don’t have much to do…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/קשקשים-1.m4a” /]קַשְׂקַשִּׂים The scales of a fish, reptile, etc. in Hebrew are called קשקש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/קשקשים-2.m4a” /] or collectively קשקשת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/קשקשים-3.m4a” /]. Since they’re a flaky substance that sheds, Modern Hebrew called dandruff קשקשת as well, or in colloquial Hebrew, קשקשים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/קשקשים-1.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/קשקשים-4.m4a” /]יש לך שמפו נגד קשקשים? Do you (a…

חֹמֶר לְשִׁנּוּן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-1.mp3″ /] 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 . Scatter . Gravity . Test [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-2.mp3″ /]שבת שלום, וסוף שבוע נעים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend!

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/להציל-1.m4a” /]לְהַצִּיל You may know the Hebrew word for lifeguard – מציל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/להציל-2.m4a” /] for a male and מצילה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/להציל-3.m4a” /] for a female. Literally, these mean no less than savior. They derive from the active-causative הפעיל verb להציל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/להציל-1.m4a” /] – to rescue. The root of להציל is נ.צ.ל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/להציל-4.m4a” /] meaning deliverance. For example: [audioclip…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/הייתי-1.m4a” /]הָיִיתִי While Hebrew has a lot of different forms for verbs but not so many tenses, English doesn’t really have verb forms but has lots of tenses, such as the progressive, the simple, the conditional, etc, in addition to the regular past, present and future. So how does someone say “I would…” in Hebrew,…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/מכתב-1.m4a” /]מִכְתָּב A letter such as that belonging to the first word you’re reading now (n), in Hebrew, is אות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/מכתב-2.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/מכתב-3.m4a” /]כמה אותיות יש באלפבית העברי? How many letters are there in the Hebrew alphabet? (The answer is 22 plus 5 ending letters.) Then there’s a letter that used to be handwritten…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/אירוע-1.m4a” /]אֵרוּעַ The Hebrew word for event – אירוע[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/אירוע-1.m4a” /] – comes from the Aramic verb ארע[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/אירוע-2.m4a” /] – happened: an event is something that takes place, and then it’s over. Like in English, אירוע can refer to an event geological, digital, or one that people gather to take part in. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/אירוע-3.m4a” /]מאוד…

So, you want to know how to learn Hebrew fast? You’ve gotten over the hurdle (which doesn’t need to be a hurdle) of thinking that Hebrew is so hard to learn, so different from other languages, the alphabet is different, etc. You’ve got an appetite for this ancient-modern action-packed tongue, and you’re ready to feast….

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/נדיר-1.m4a” /]נָדִיר This post is about rare in the sense of not so common – נדיר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/נדיר-1.m4a” /]. Rare meat is בשר נא[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/נדיר-2.m4a” /]. Here’s נדיר in context: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/נדיר-3.m4a” /]החוקרת מצאה כלי חרס מאוד נדיר בחפירה. The (female) researcher found a very rare piece of pottery in the dig. This word is derived from…

חֹמֶר לְשִׁנּוּן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-1.mp3″ /] 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 . Scatter . Gravity . Test [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-2.mp3″ /]שבת שלום, וסוף שבוע נעים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend!