Your Daily Dose of Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/פשוט-1.m4a” /]פָּשׁוּט In English, calling someone simple usually implies that the person has inferior intelligence. But in an age of increasing complexity and nostalgia for the simple life on a kibbutz, when Israelis call someone simple – פשוט[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/פשוט-1.m4a” /] – it’s a compliment. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/פשוט-2.m4a” /]היא אדם פשוט. She is a simple person. Note that even…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ככה-אומרים-1.m4a” /]כָּכָה אוֹמְרִים He gets complimented, “wow, you’re a really good swimmer.” To which he replies with a smug smile, “that’s what they say.” The latter expression, in Hebrew, is ככה אומרים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ככה-אומרים-1.m4a” /]. It means literally, this way (they) say. I put they in parentheses since it’s implied, not spoken explicitly. Here’s the dialogue above,…

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 Blast from the Past Crossword Puzzle! [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/משומש-1.m4a” /]מְשֻׁמָּש To use, in Hebrew, is the reflexive verb להשתמש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/משומש-2.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/משומש-3.m4a” /]היא השתמשה בכוס הזאת. She used this glass. Notice the -ב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/משומש-4.m4a” /] follows השתמשה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/משומש-5.m4a” /] – this is always the case with forms of להשתמש. Looking at להשתמש, can you spot the root? It’s ש.מ.ש[audioclip…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/סיף-1.m4a” /]סַיִף, סִיּוּף The Hebrew word for sword is חרב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/סיף-2.m4a” /], a feminine noun that appears masculine (go figure). For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/סיף-3.m4a” /]החרב הזאת עתיקה מאוד. This sword is very ancient. But to create a word for fencing, Hebrew borrows from the Aramaic word for sword – סייף[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/סיף-4.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/סיף-5.m4a” /]הוא נרשם לחוג סייף. He registered…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/סחרחורת-1.m4a” /]יֵש לִי סְחַרְחוֹרֶת, אֲני מְסֻחְרָר The Hebrew word for dizziness is סחרחורת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/סחרחורת-2.m4a” /]. It comes from the Aramaic word meaning encircling: one who is dizzy sees things going in circles. Dizziness is סחרחורת, so that when people complain of physical dizziness, they’ll say: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/סחרחורת-3.m4a” /]יש לי סחרחורת. Literally, I have dizziness. But to say,…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ניסיון-1.m4a” /]נִסָּיוֹן, חַוָיָה There’s work experience, and there’s an experience. Hebrew has a unique word for each. ניסיון[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ניסיון-2.m4a” /] means experience in the sense of having undertaken something of having gone through something, such as a job. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ניסיון-3.m4a” /]בקורות חיים, צריך לציין ניסיון עבודה. On a resume, one should mention work experience. ניסיון…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/יבשה-1.m4a” /]יַבָּשָׁה If you’ve got an intermediate level of Hebrew, you probably know the word for dry – יבש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/יבשה-x-2.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/יבשה-x-3.m4a” /]בניגוד לתל אביב, בירושלים יבש בקיץ. As opposed to Tel Aviv, in Jerusalem it’s dry in the summer. And dry land? That’s יבשה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/יבשה-1.m4a” /] (make sure you listen to the pronunciation). For…

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 Blast from the Past Crossword Puzzle! [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/כתרים-1.m4a” /]כְּתָרִים Since my genes are on my side as far as visits to the dentist go, I had to use Google Images to make sure that tooth crowns actually existed. I imagined them as gold and silver tooth encasements, but it turns out that such shiny conspicuous pieces are found mostly in the mouths of…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/רופא-שיניים-1.m4a” /]רוֹפֵא שִׁנַּיִם Raise your hand if you like going to the dentist. I actually don’t mind. I have good tooth genes. But if you don’t like going, I get it. The way to say dentist in Hebrew is super-intuitive: רופא שיניים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/רופא-שיניים-1.m4a” /] – literally, teeth doctor, where שיניים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/רופא-שיניים-2.m4a” /] means teeth and רופא[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/רופא-שיניים-3.m4a”…