Your Daily Dose of Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מגב-1.m4a” /]מַגָּב Yesterday we saw the Hebrew word for towel – מגבת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מגב-2.m4a” /]. What we might call the masculine form of מגבת is מגב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מגב-1.m4a” /] – a mop. מגב is usually for cleaning floors, but it could also refer to a smaller mop-like device, as in: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מגב-3.m4a” /]יש לך מגב לנקות את השמשה?…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מגבת-1.m4a” /]מַגֶּבֶת This is a useful word if you’re stuck in a sub-par hotel and realize there’s nothing with which to dry yourself after a shower. מגבת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מגבת-1.m4a” /] comes from the root נ.ג.ב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מגבת-2.m4a” /] meaning to wipe. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מגבת-3.m4a” /]יש לך מגבת ספייר? Do you (a male) have an extra towel?…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/שמשה-1.m4a” /]שִׁמְשָׁה קִדְמִית The Hebrew word for window pane is שִׁמְשָׁה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/שמשה-2.m4a” /] (often pronounced שְׁמָשָה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/שמשה-3.m4a” /]), deriving from the word שמש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/שמשה-4.m4a” /] – sun. The kind of pane that shields the people in a car from wind is called in Hebrew שמשה קדמית[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/שמשה-1.m4a” /] – a frontal pane, though the phrase is usually shortened…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ברד-1.m4a” /]בָּרָד Mind you, this is not hail as in All hail the king! This is hail in the frozen rain sense: ברד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ברד-1.m4a” /]. For example: This is not rain, this is hail. [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ברד-2.m4a” /]זה לא גשם, זה ברד. ברד can also refer to a frozen beverage like those sold at 7-Eleven. The word is related…

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/2015/05/מבטיח-1.m4a” /]אֲנִי מַבְטִיחַ, אֲנִי מַבְטִיחָה The Hebrew word for to promise – להבטיח[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מבטיח-2.m4a” /] – comes from the root ב.ט.ח[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מבטיח-3.m4a” /] – sureness, security. It’s an active-causative הפעיל verb. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מבטיח-4.m4a” /]אמא, אני מבטיח לך שסידרתי את החדר! Mom, I promise you that I cleaned my room! (spoken by a boy)…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/לסדר-את-החדר-1.m4a” /]לְסַדֵּר אֶת הַחֶדֶר While English-speaking parents (especially North Americans) might tell their children to clean their rooms, Israeli parents would tell them to tidy or organize their rooms – לסדר את החדר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/לסדר-את-החדר-1.m4a” /] – literally, to tidy the room. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/לסדר-את-החדר-2.m4a” /]תסדרי את החדר לפני שאני אתעצבן! Clean (tidy, organize) your room before I get upset!…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להתעצבן-1.m4a” /]לְהִתְעַצְבֵּן The Hebrew word for nerve is עצב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להתעצבן-2.m4a” /] (note that the pronunciation has ah vowels, not eh vowels). So it makes sense that the word for to get worked up or aggravated is להתעצבן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להתעצבן-1.m4a” /], since this is usually the result of people or events getting on one’s nerves. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להתעצבן-3.m4a” /]אחרי שעה וחצי…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/תור-1.m4a” /]תּוֹר If you’ve made aliyah or are thinking about doing so, this is a word you will certainly encounter in government office and when buying groceries: תור[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/תור-1.m4a” /] – line or queue. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/תור-2.m4a” /]יש כאן תור כאורך הגלות! There’s a line here long like the exile! Paradoxically, תור can also mean appointment (where…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/כאורך-הגלות-1.m4a” /]כּאֹרֶךְ הַגָּלוּת Some Hebrew expressions are direct translations from other tongues, but this one is uniquely Jewish and Israeli. To say that something (a bank statement, for example) is very long and tiring, Israelis might say ארוך כאורך הגלות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/כאורך-הגלות-2.m4a” /] – literally, long like the length of the exile. Since the exile of the…

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!