Your Daily Dose of Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/כנראה-1.mp3″ /]כַּנִּרְאֶה People in Israel have gone back to school and work. Apparently, Passover is over. The Hebrew word for apparently is כַּנִּרְאֶה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/כנראה-1.mp3″ /] – literally, as appears or as is seen. It is also used to mean it looks as if or it’s likely that. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/כנראה-2.mp3″ /]כַּנִּרְאֶה שֶׁהֵם יָבֹאוּ לְבַקֵּר בַּשָּׁבוּעַ הַבָּא. It looks like they’ll come…

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 I’m taking a vacation for the holiday, so this will be the last dose of Hebrew until April 12. In the meantime… [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/חג-פסח-שמח.mp3″…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לחפש-בנרות-1.mp3″ /]לְחַפֵּשׂ בַּנֵּרוֹת Earlier this week we saw a Hebrew expression invoking an entire Biblical experience to say really, really dark – חֹשֶׁךְ מִצְרַיִם[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לחפש-בנרות-2.mp3″ /]. Here’s another vivid term, this time for to search meticulously – לְחַפֵּשׂ בַּנֵּרוֹת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לחפש-בנרות-1.mp3″ /], literally to search by candlelight or with (the) candles. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לחפש-בנרות-3.mp3″ /]כְּדֵי…

אִישִׁי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אישי-1.mp3″ /] There’s private – פְּרָטִי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אישי-2.mp3″ /], as in private school – בֵּית סֵפֶר פְּרָטִי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אישי-3.mp3″ /]. And then there’s personal – אִישִׁי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אישי-1.mp3″ /], as in: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/אישי-4.mp3″ /]זֹאת הוֹדָעָה אִישִׁית בִּמְיֻחָד עֲבוּרְכֶם. This is a personal message especially for you (plural). While פרטי comes from the word פְּרָט[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/אישי-5.mp3″ /] –…

פְּרָטִי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/פרטי-1.mp3″ /] When Hebrew speakers talk about the individual versus society in philosophical and political discussions, we talk about הַפְּרָט וְהַכְּלָל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/פרטי-2.mp3″ /] – the individual (literally, the detail) and the society (literally, that which is general). Thus something private – belonging to the individual – is פְּרָטִי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/פרטי-1.mp3″ /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/פרטי-3.mp3″ /]אֲבַקֵּשׁ…

חֹשֶׁךְ מִצְרַיִם[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/חושך-מצרים-1.mp3″ /] A language’s more colorful expressions often come from the traditions and experiences of its culture. When Israelis want to say that it’s really, really dark, they don’t just say: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/חושך-מצרים-2.mp3″ /]מְאֹד, מְאֹד חָשׁוּךְ. Rather, they’ll invoke the ninth plague wrought upon the ancient Egyptians with the expression חֹשֶׁךְ מִצְרַיִם – darkness…

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!

תְּשׁוּקָה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/תשוקה-1.mp3″ /] Like English, Hebrew has several words for to yearn, to long for: לְהִתְגַּעְגֵּעַ[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/תשוקה-2.mp3″ /] is to long for or to miss someone, so that גַּעְגוּעִים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/תשוקה-3.mp3″ /] are longings. לְהִכָּסֵף[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/תשוקה-4.mp3″ /] the verb and כִּסּוּפִים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/תשוקה-5.mp3″ /] the noun are more flowery terms for this. And then there’s לְהִשְׁתּוֹקֵק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/תשוקה-6.mp3″…

לַחְגּוֹר חֲגוֹרָה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לחגור-חגורה-1.mp3″ /] English has a couple of generic words for donning any article of clothing – to put on, to dress oneself in, to wear. Hebrew has a special verb for many different articles, sometimes deriving from the name of the article itself. For example, to put on a belt is לַחְגּוֹר חֲגוֹרָה[audioclip…

רִיטוּאַל, פֻּלְחָן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/פולחן-1.mp3″ /] Describing a ritual, Israelis might use either the word borrowed from English – רִיטוּאַל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/פולחן-2.mp3″ /], or the ancient Hebrew word borrowed from Aramaic – פֻּלְחָן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/פולחן-3.mp3″ /]. Here’s an example using the latter: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/פולחן-4.mp3″ /]הַמֶּחְקַָר עַל פֻּלְחָנִים פָּגָנִיִּם עָשׂוּי לִהְיוֹת מְרַתֵּק. Research about pagan rituals can be fascinating.

צָב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/צב-1.mp3″ /]   Strictly speaking, צָב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/צב-1.mp3″ /] refers to a tortoise – a land turtle – while צַב יָם[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/צב-2.mp3″ /] – literally, sea tortoise – is a turtle that swims. But Israelis tend to use צב for both. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/צב-3.mp3″ /]כְּשֶׁהָיִתִי יֶלֶד, מְאֹד אָהַבְתִּי אֶת צָבֵי הַנִּינְגָ’ה. When I was…