Your Daily Dose of Hebrew

  having trouble seeing the print? כָּל יוֹמַיִם, כָּל שֵׁנִי וַחֲמִישִׁי listen highly recommended  for further vocabulary growth The literal meaning of every other day in English is every two days. Its Hebrew equivalent is כָּל יוֹמָיִם listen.  But there’s another meaning, one seldom used, to the expression every other day as well, more along the lines of all the time or…

  having trouble seeing the print? אִי-וַדָּאוּת Human beings have a need for clarity and organization – we seek certainty in order to relax and go about our day. While certainty, in Hebrew, is וַדָּאוּת (listen and repeat), uncertainty is אִי-וַדָּאוּת (listen and repeat).  For example: קָשֶׁה אָבָל הֶכְרֵחִי לִחְיוֹת עִם אִי-וַדָּאוּת. It’s difficult but necessary to live with uncertainty. listen…

  having trouble seeing the print? שׁוֹבֵר לְבָבוֹת, שׁוֹבֶרֶת לְבָבוֹת highly recommended  for further vocabulary growth There are heartbreakers, and there’s everybody else. Sometimes there’s crossover.  The Hebrew term for heartbreaker when referring to a male is שׁוֹבֵר לְבָבוֹת (listen and repeat). Referring to a female, it’s שׁוֹבֶרֶת לְבָבוֹת (listen and repeat). שובר (listen and repeat) and שוברת (listen and repeat) come from the…

  having trouble seeing the print? לֵהָנוֹת Every season has its perks. But with the arrival of summer in the northern hemisphere, now’s the time that people are really starting to enjoy themselves. The Hebrew word for to enjoy is the same as that for to benefit – לֵהָנוֹת (listen and repeat).  Here’s an example using ליהנות in the…

  having trouble seeing the print? לִכְעוֹס watch video for full lesson! Check Out Our Conversational-Hebrew Program

מַדְהִים The Hebrew word for amazing is מַדְהִים (listen and repeat). This is an adjective deriving from the active-intensive הִפְעִיל verb, לְהַדְהִים (listen and repeat). For example: רָאִיתִי סֶרֶט מַדְהִים אֶתְמוֹל. I saw an amazing movie yesterday. listen and, in the feminine: אֵיזוֹ מוּזִיקָה מַדְהִימָה! What amazing music! listen The root is ד.ה.מ meaning amazement or being taken aback. Another…

  having trouble seeing the print? קְרֶם הֲגָנָה, קְרֶם שִׁזּוּף As it’s warming up in the northern hemisphere, now’s the time to get some sunscreen. The Hebrew term for sunscreen means literally, protection cream: קְרֶם הֲגָנָה (listen and repeat). The second word, הגנה (listen and repeat), is the noun form of the active-causative הִפְעִיל verb to protect – לְהָגֵן (listen and…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/media-files/whatsup-1.mp3″ /]מַה נִּשְׁמַע…? highly recommended  for further vocabulary growth   In English, we’ve got many ways of asking someone how they are feeling, what they are doing, etc, such as how are you? how’s it going? what’s up? how are you going (Australian)? how are you doing (American)? what’s going on? what’s happening? etc. In…

  having trouble seeing the print? תְּקוּפָה The Hebrew word for period of time or era is תְּקוּפָה (listen and repeat). I’ve known this for a long time, but not its full meaning – until I just researched it to present it to you. The word appears in the Bible, but its meaning has become less and less specific over…

  having trouble seeing the print? נְחִיתוּת, נַחַת watch video for full lesson! Check Out Our Conversational-Hebrew Program

  having trouble seeing the print? סוֹכְנוּת בִּיּוּן highly recommended for further vocabulary growth   Yesterday we saw some information about הַמּוֹסָד– the Mossad. Today we’ll look at the general term for intelligence agency – סוֹכְנוּת בִּיּוּן. The Hebrew word for agency is סוכנות, most recognizably in the Hebrew name of The Jewish Agency – הַסּוֹכְנוּת הַיְּהוּדִית, or simply הסוכנות–…