Your Daily Dose of Hebrew

  נֶהֱדָר  listen and repeat Can’t read Hebrew yet?     Like English, Hebrew has lots of words to describe something as great. Some of these are מְצֻיָּן  listen and repeat – excellent, מְעֻלֶּה  listen and repeat – excellent or of great quality, and נֶהֱדָר  listen and repeat – wonderful or glorious.   It can also mean beautiful.   For example:…

  לְאַבֵּד, לְהַפְסִיד  listen and repeat Can’t read Hebrew yet?     In most cases, English is the one with more words for a single idea. Sometimes, however, Hebrew is.   One example is to lose, where Hebrew has two words:   לְאַבֵּד  listen and repeat, an active-intensive verb, refers to losing a person or an…

  שִׁלְשׁוֹם  listen and repeat Can’t read Hebrew yet?     Today, in Hebrew, is הַיּוֹם  listen and repeat.   Yesterday is אֶתְמוֹל  listen and repeat.   And two days ago? That’s שִׁלְשׁוֹם  listen and repeat.   For example:   דִּבַּרְתִּי אִתּוֹ שִׁלְשׁוֹם. I spoke with him the day before yesterday.  listen    The modern usage of שלשום…

  פְּרִיצַת דֶּרֶךְ  listen and repeat Can’t read Hebrew yet?     To break into a house is לִפְרוֹץ לְתוֹך בַּיִת  listen and repeat, where לפרוץ  listen and repeat is a simple verb of the root פ.ר.צ (p.r.ts) and means to break in or to break through. Likewise, a פְּרִיצָה לְבַיִת  listen and repeat is a break-in to (one’s) home….

  פֵּרוֹת מְיֻבָּשִׁים  listen and repeat Can’t read Hebrew yet?   Today in Israel sales of dried fruits will be up by several hundred percent as the country marks the occasion of ט”וּ בִּשְׁבָט  listen and repeat – Tu Bishvat, the 15th of the Hebrew month of Shevat – when Jews celebrate the budding of spring.  …

  רַכֶּבֶת תַּחְתִּית  listen and repeat Can’t read Hebrew yet?     The word תַּחַת  listen and repeat means below or under, while מִתַּחַת  listen and repeat means underneath (literally, from under) as in:   הַנְּיָרוֹת נִמְצָאִים מִתַּחַת לַשֻּׁלְחָן. The papers are under the table.  listen    תחת also means one’s behind in slang.    תַּחְתִּית  listen and repeat means the bottom…

  הוֹרָאוֹת  listen and repeat Can’t read Hebrew yet?     The word תּוֹרָה  listen and repeat comes from the root י.ר.ה (y.r.h) meaning instruction, so that the Torah could also be called the Book of Instruction. Here’s a video about this.   This same root gives rise to the common word for instruction, הוֹרָאָה  listen and repeat,…

  אוֹדוֹתֵנוּ  listen and repeat Can’t read Hebrew yet?     Just as English has various words for about – regarding, in reference to, etc – so does Hebrew.   עַל  listen and repeat is the most common word, as in:   אֲנַחְנוּ לֹא מְדַבְּרִים עַל אֹתוֹ אָדָם. We’re not talking about the same person.  listen   …

  מַעְיָן  listen and repeat Can’t read Hebrew yet?     The common Hebrew name מַעְיָן  listen and repeat – given mostly to girls but also to boys – means spring or well.   For example:   אֵזוֹר בֵּית שְׁאָן נִקְרָא “עֵמֶק הַמַּעְיָנוֹת.” The Beit Shean region is called “The Valley of the Springs.”  listen    A…