Your Daily Dose of Hebrew

צָרֶבֶת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/צרבת-1.mp3″ /] This one’s for my brother in law חנוך[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/צרבת-2.mp3″ /], who probably knows the technical term for heartburn. That sharp pain sometimes felt near the heart, called heartburn, really takes place in the digestive system. The unpleasant occurrence is named for how it feels, rather than how it transpires. Likewise, its Hebrew term…

אֵין לִי מֻשָּׂג[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אין-לי-מושג-1.mp3″ /] The Hebrew word for idea is רעיון[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אין-לי-מושג-2.mp3″ /], while the word for concept is מושג[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אין-לי-מושג-3.mp3″ /] – literally, that which is attained (intellectually). Hebrew’s equivalent for the expression I have no idea is אין לי מושג[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אין-לי-מושג-1.mp3″ /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אין-לי-מושג-4.mp3″ /]אין לי מושג למה הם מתקשרים אלי כל…

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 Game Test [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-2.mp3″ /]שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם, וְסוֹף שָׁבוּעַ נָעִים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend!

גַּלְגַּלֵּי עֵזֶר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/גלגלי-עזר-1.mp3″ /] The name of the Biblical series of locations called גִלגל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/גלגלי-עזר-2.mp3″ /], comes from a doubling of the root ג.ל.ל (g.l.l), referring to something round. These were gathering places for the people, sort of like King Arthur’s round table but for the whole nation. ג.ל.ל is also the root of another round object, גַלגל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/גלגלי-עזר-3.mp3″ /]…

שׁוֹבָר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שובר-1.wav” /] The English word coupon is borrowed from French, where it means literally, piece cut off – as a physical coupon is typically a piece of paper cut off from the rest of a sign or document. Hebrew’s word for coupon or voucher borrows that concept: שובר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שובר-1.wav” /] comes from the root שׁ.ב.ר (sh.b.r) meaning broken off. For…

מַדְפֶּסֶת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מדפסת-1.mp3″ /] The Hebrew word for printing is דפוס[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מדפסת-2.mp3″ /]. With a root ד.פ.ס (d.p.s), one might think the word is of Semitic origin, so you may be surprised to learn that the word is borrowed from Ancient Greek (see related post). The root serves as the basis for several other Hebrew words, including the one for…

לְאַשְׁפֵּז[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לאשפז-1.mp3″ /] Walking along Allenby St. in Tel Aviv the other week, I heard a familiar tune. It was a woman singing to a crowd Gidi Gov’s אלף כבאים – A Thousand Firefighters. A verse in the second stanza goes: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לאשפז-2.mp3″ /]אלף דוקטורים לא יצליחו לאשפז אותי. A thousand doctors won’t be able to hospitalize me….

חַיַּת מַחְמָד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/חית-מחמד-1.mp3″ /] While חיה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/חית-מחמד-2.wav” /] is the generic Hebrew word for animal, חית מחמד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/חית-מחמד-1.mp3″ /] is a pet – literally, a precious animal. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/חית-מחמד-3.mp3″ /]אני גר ליד חנות מזון לחיות מחמד. I live near a pet food shop (a shop of food for pets). Some other more specific kinds of חיות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/חית-מחמד-4.mp3″ /]…

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 Game Test [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-2.mp3″ /]שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם, וְסוֹף שָׁבוּעַ נָעִים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend!

בְּרַחֲבֵי הָאָרֶץ[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ברחבי-הארץ-1.mp3″ /] When Hebrew speakers ask me where Ulpan La-Inyan is located, I answer: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ברחבי-הארץ-2.mp3″ /]המשרד שלנו בירושלים, אבל יש לנו שלוחות ברחבי הארץ. Our office is in Jerusalem, but we have branches all over the country. ברחבי הארץ[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ברחבי-הארץ-1.mp3″ /] means literally, in the expanses of the land, where the core word in…

שְׁלוּחָה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שלוחה-1.mp3″ /] One of the key terms in a phone directory is extension – in Hebrew, שלוחה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שלוחה-1.mp3″ /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שלוחה-2.mp3″ /]נא המתינו להעברת השיחה לשלוחה. Please wait for the call to be transferred to the extension. (the standard recording you might have heard has a female voice) The word שלוחה comes from…