Your Daily Dose of Hebrew

מַמְטֵרָה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ממטרה-1.mp3″ /] The common Hebrew word for rain is גֶּשֶׁם[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ממטרה-2.mp3″ /], while the word for rain shower or torrent is מָטָר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ממטרה-3.mp3″ /]. Both come from Biblical Hebrew, and both serve as roots for several other useful words. מטר becomes מִטְרִיָּה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ממטרה-4.mp3″ /] – umbrella, as well as a word that people trying…

הַקֹּטֶב הַצְּפוֹנִי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/קוטב-1.mp3″ /] The Hebrew word קֹטֶב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/קוטב-2.mp3″ /] means pole, as in one of two points at the ends of an object. Thus הַקֹּטֶב הַדְּרוֹמִי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/קוטב-3.mp3″ /] is the South Pole, while הַקֹּטֶב הַצְּפוֹנִי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/קוטב-1.mp3″ /] is the North Pole. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/קוטב-4.mp3″ /]הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ זוֹרַחַת כָּל הַיּוֹם בַּקַּיִץ בַָּקֹּטֶב הַצְּפוֹנִי. The sun…

זְרִיחָה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/זריחה-1.mp3″ /]   The Hebrew word for sunrise is זְרִיחָה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/זריחה-1.mp3″ /], which comes from the simple verb לִזְרוֹחַ[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/זריחה-2.mp3″ /] meaning to shine or to rise when referring to the sun. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/זריחה-3.mp3″ /]נִשְׁאַרְנוּ עֵרִים כָּל הַלַּיְלָה, עַד הַזְּרִיחָה. We stayed awake all night, until sunrise. You may recognize this word’s…

  גְּבִירָה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/גבירה-1.mp3″ /]   Last week I posted about what a man is called Hebrew. I said that while Hebrew has three common words for this, it only has one for woman – אִשָּׁה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/גבירה-2.mp3″ /]. Several people emailed me, asking why I did not include the word גְּבֶרֶת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/גבירה-3.mp3″ /] as another way…

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!

לְהַקְלִיד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להקליד-1.mp3″ /] While you’ll find many Israelis saying לְהַדְפִּיס[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להקליד-2.mp3″ /] (to print) when they mean to type, the proper Hebrew word for to type is the active-causative לְהַקְלִיד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להקליד-1.mp3″ /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להקליד-3.mp3″ /]הִיא מַקְלִידָה מַהֵר מְאֹד. She types very fast. Though the root of להקליד is the three-letter ק.ל.ד (k.l.d), it…

פָּנָס בָּעַיִן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/פנס-בעין-1.mp3″ /] A black eye is called such because of how it looks. Going a step further, Hebrew tells a story of how that bruise got there: the term for black eye is פָּנָס בָּעַיִן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/פנס-בעין-1.mp3″ /] – a flashlight in the eye. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/פנס-בעין-2.mp3″ /]אָמַרְתִּי לָהּ שֶׁהַשִּׂמְלָה לֹא יָפָה, וְהִתְעוֹרַרְתִּי…

מְפַצֵּל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מפצל-1.mp3″ /] The root of the Hebrew word for monster, מִפְלֶצֶת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מפצל-2.mp3″ /], is פ.ל.צ (p.l.ts) which has to do with horror. Don’t confuse מפלצת with a word of a similar root: מְפַצֵּל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מפצל-1.mp3″ /], whose root is פ.צ.ל (p.ts.l). מפצל is a splitter for power outlets and other outlets. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מפצל-3.mp3″…

מִפְלֶצֶת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מפלצת-1.mp3″ /] I’m excited for Jurassic World, a sequel to Jurassic Park ten years in the making. Some describe dinosaurs – in Hebrew, דִּינוֹזָאוּרִים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מפלצת-2.mp3″ /] – as monsters. The Hebrew word for monster is מִפְלֶצֶת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מפלצת-1.mp3″ /], a word that appears once in Biblical Hebrew (מְלָכִים א’, פֶּרֶק ט”ו[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מפלצת-3.mp3″ /] – I Kings,…

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!