Blog – Your Daily Dose of Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פתח-#.m4a” /]פֶּתַח With the Ashkenazic pronunciation, this word sounds just like the one for Passover – פסח[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פתח-#.m4a” /]. But Modern Hebrew renders it with a t sound – פתח[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פתח-#.m4a” /]. It means doorway or opening, and is related to the word for to open – לפתוח[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פתח-#.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פתח-#.m4a” /]הכלב עומד שם בפתח עם פרצוף כזה…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פרצוף-#.m4a” /]פָּנִים, פַּרְצוּף You may know the Yiddish expression א שיינע פנים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פרצוף-#.m4a” /] – a pretty face, with פנים pronounced POH-nim. Modern Hebrew renders the word pah-NEEM, and this is likely closer to how the Israelites of the Bible pronounced the word. It means face and can be masculine or feminine but always plural as in: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פרצוף-#.m4a”…

The momentous holiday of פסח[audioclip url="https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/פסח-תשעט-#.m4a" /] (Passover) can bring with it lots of joy, bonding and a sense of liberation. But along with all the fun it can also bring aggravation and a sense of bondage... especially if cleaning for it gets overdone. Here are a few handy Hebrew terms that you can use...

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/מוכר-#.m4a” /]יָדוּעַ, מֻכָּר Hebrew has two words for to know. לדעת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/מוכר-#.m4a” /], at least in Modern Hebrew, is to know information, such as history or a language, while להכיר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/מוכר-#.m4a” /] is to know someone or be familiar with something – in Biblical Hebrew, to recognize. However, someone who is known can be either ידוע[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/מוכר-#.m4a” /] if he’s…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/שחקן-#.m4a” /]שַׂחְקָן You may know the Hebrew word for to play – לשחק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/שחקן-#.m4a” /]. This is a פיעל verb of the root שׂ.ח.ק[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/שחקן-#.m4a” /]. A player is a שחקן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/שחקן-#.m4a” /] if he’s a male and שחקנית[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/שחקן-#.m4a” /] if she’s a female, for example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/שחקן-#.m4a” /]הוא שחקן כדורגל מפורסם. He’s a famous…