Learn Hebrew for free with Your Daily Dose of Hebrew and Ulpan La-Inyan.
having trouble seeing the print? כַּנָּ”ל listen and repeat For those of you in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv… Our Level 2 and 4 courses are set to start soon! Jerusalem . Tel Aviv In most societies, people are assumed nice until proven otherwise. That’s why we say “nice to meet you” in English, נָעִים מְאֹד listen…
having trouble seeing the print? לִפּוֹל בֵּין הַכִּסָּאוֹת listen and repeat At Ulpan La-Inyan, we try not to let such things happen. Suppose a teacher is delivering a daily lecture to a group of forty students. While many students – especially more vocal ones – may prosper, others are bound to fall between the…
having trouble seeing the print? אֶזְרַח listen and repeat The Torah portion to be read this week by Jews around the world tells the story of the Exodus from Egypt. As those who have attended a סֵדֶר פֶּסַח listen and repeat – Passover seder – know, the People of Israel rose and left the enslaving nation…
having trouble seeing the print? תַּגְבִּיר אֶת הַוּוֹלְיוּם listen and repeat When we speak in English of raising volume, we mean making the volume more powerful or stronger. That’s the literal meaning of the active-causative Hebrew verb לְהַגְבִּיר listen and repeat, which is used in the expression: לְהַגְבִּיר אֶת הַוּוֹלְיוּם to raise the volume listen …
having trouble seeing the print? חֶמְאַת בָּטְנִים listen and repeat I recently discovered, thanks to my intern, Craig, that peanut butter is available in Israel. I suppose I should have known that, since the Hebrew term for peanut butter has been in use for decades. The term is חֶמְאַת בָּטְנִים listen and repeat….
having trouble seeing the print? כְּבַד שְׁמִיעָה, קְשֶׁה שְׁמִיעָה listen and repeat Last week I posted about the Hebrew words for blind, deaf and mute. Responding to the post, my student and friend Ruti asked whether the terms in Hebrew provoke the same politically-correct sensitivity as they do in English. My answer is that it depends…
having trouble seeing the print? מַסְטוּל, מְסֻמָּם listen and repeat Despite political differences, Jews and Arabs have been exchanging cultural ideas and linguistic features for generations, so that much of Hebrew slang comes from Arabic (here’s a partial list). One word borrowed is that for high or drunk: מַסְטוּל listen and repeat when referring…
having trouble seeing the print? אִלֵּם listen and repeat The Torah portion to be read this Shabbat by Jews around the world depicts the great leader Moses… who was also hard of speaking. The Hebrew word for a mute is אִלֵּם listen and repeat when referring to a male, and אִלֶּמֶת listen and repeat when referring to…
having trouble seeing the print? עוֹלָמִי listen and repeat Today, Christians around the world are celebrating the well-known and beloved holiday, Christmas. one Jew’s answer to the popularity of Christmas One gift that Christianity has delivered to the world is an emphasis on kindness. Here’s how to say global kindness in Hebrew:…
having trouble seeing the print? הָאֶחָד וְהַיָּחִיד listen and repeat The English expression the one and only translates to Hebrew literally – הָאֶחָד וְהַיָּחִיד listen and repeat when referring to a male, and הָאַחַת וְהַיְּחִידָה listen and repeat when referring to a female. For example: אֲנִי שָׂמֵחַ לְהַצִּיג אֶת הָאַחַת וְהַיְּחִידָה, רִיטָה. I’m happy to present…
having trouble seeing the print? שְׁכוּנָה listen and repeat On the streets of Israel you’ll hear people using the word שְׁכוּנָה listen and repeat– literally, neighborhood (related words discussed here) – to refer to something disappointingly amateurish. How did this expression come to be? Einat Kedem explains that the source lies in contrasting two levels of soccer (football) games: professional and neighborhood (less…