Your Daily Dose of Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/קר-שם-1.m4a” /]קָר שָׁם Though summer is approaching in the northern hemisphere, there are places on earth where it’s pretty cold. If you’ve got even the most basic Hebrew under your belt, you probably know the word for cold – קר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/קר-שם-2.m4a” /]. To say it’s cold there, you might try translating literally from English, coming up with…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/תנאים-1.m4a” /]תְנָאִים “Sure, you can join. On one condition…” The Hebrew word for condition is תנאי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/תנאים-2.m4a” /], so that the sentence above reads: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/תנאים-3.m4a” /]בטח, אתה יכול להצטרף, בתנאי אחד… …assuming it’s a male being spoken to. תנאי first appears in Mishnaic Hebrew. Its plural is תנאים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/תנאים-1.m4a” /], in the connected (construct) state…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להצטרף-1.m4a” /]לְהִצְטָרֵף Tal, a teenager, is going hiking with a few friends. He calls up his younger cousin Shimon and says: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להצטרף-2.m4a” /]אתה רוצה להצטרף אלינו? Do you want to join us? The word להצטרף[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להצטרף-1.m4a” /] – to join – is a reflexive verb of the root צ.ר.פ[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להצטרף-3.m4a” /] meaning to meld together, to…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/רכס-הרים-1.m4a” /]רֶכֶס הָרִים The Alps, the Carpathians and the Himalayas are all mountain ranges. In Hebrew, each is a רכס הרים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/רכס-הרים-1.m4a” /], where רכס[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/רכס-הרים-2.m4a” /] means range and הרים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/רכס-הרים-3.m4a” /] are mountains. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/רכס-הרים-4.m4a” /]גם הרכמל נחשב רכס הרים. The Carmel is also considered a mountain range. Mountain ranges are רכסי הרים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/רכס-הרים-5.m4a” /].

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/לטפס-1.m4a” /]לְטַפֵּס One of my Arik Einstein favorites, אוהב להיות בבית [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/לטפס-2.m4a” /] (I Like to Be Home) is a gem of a song for people looking to get a sense of Hebrew’s so-called present tense (I say so-called, because really such “present-tense verbs” in Hebrew are participles). The song begins: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/לטפס-3.m4a” /]יש אנשים שמטפסים…

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/נפש-האדם-1.m4a” /]נֶפֶשׁ הָאָדָם In English the word mind usually conjures up thought and cognitive processes. But the human mind is more than that: it includes emotions, aspirations, memories. It might even be considered the individual or the soul, which is why Hebrew uses the word נפש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/נפש-האדם-2.m4a” /] to refer to it. For example, בריאות הנפש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/נפש-האדם-3.m4a” /]…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/חמש-נפשות-1.m4a” /]חָמֵשׁ נְפָשׁוֹת You may know the word נפש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/חמש-נפשות-2.m4a” /] – soul or mind – from the name of the organization Nefesh B’Nefesh – literally, soul with soul. In Biblical Hebrew it refers to the soul or the self, as well individuals. Thus when speaking of occupants of a home, the word is נפשות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/חמש-נפשות-3.m4a” /] – souls. For example: [audioclip…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/עבודה-יחידה-1.m4a” /]הָעֲבוֹדָה הַיְּחִידָה שֶׁלִּי Many people in Israel work several part time jobs – משרות חלקיות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/עבודה-יחידה-2.m4a” /], which together make up a full-time salary or more. Now, משרה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/עבודה-יחידה-3.m4a” /] is one of the words for job. Another word is עבודה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/עבודה-יחידה-4.m4a” /] which means literally, work. Only in Hebrew, in the sense of only one,…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מבחינה-פיזית-1.m4a” /]מִבְּחִינָה פִיזִית Some words in Hebrew are really easy to learn because they’re basically English. One of those words is פיזיקה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מבחינה-פיזית-2.m4a” /] – physics. Likewise, פיזי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מבחינה-פיזית-3.m4a” /] is physical. To turn an adjective into an adverb, English usually tacks on the -ly ending, but Hebrew has several options. In the case of physically, the most common expression…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/תלוי-1.m4a” /]זֶה תָּלוּי Do I prefer chicken, or beef? Chocolate or vanilla? For me, the answer is it depends. In Hebrew, that’s זה תלוי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/תלוי-1.m4a” /] or simply, תלוי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/תלוי-2.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/תלוי-3.m4a” /]מה אני מעדיף? תלוי. What do I prefer? It depends. תלוי means literally hung, as לתלות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/תלוי-4.m4a” /] is to hang something…