Blog – Your Daily Dose of Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/אכילת-יתר-1.m4a” /]אֲכִילַת יֶתֶר Hebrew doesn’t have a verb like the English to overeat. Instead, Israelis are wont to say: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/אכילת-יתר-2.m4a” /]אכלתי יותר מדי. I ate too much. But there is a word for overeating the thing: אכילת יתר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/אכילת-יתר-1.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/אכילת-יתר-3.m4a” /]אכילת יתר יכולה להגיע להתמכרות. Overeating can become (arrive at) addiction.

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 . Scatter . Gravity . Test [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-2.mp3″ /]שבת שלום, וסוף שבוע נעים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend!

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/תקיפה-1.m4a” /]תְּקִיפָה, הַתְקָפָה, מִתְקָפָה (מַתְקֵפָה) Hebrew has two words for an attack, התקפה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/תקיפה-2.m4a” /] and תקיפה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/תקיפה-3.m4a” /], both of the root ת.ק.פ[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/תקיפה-4.m4a” /]. תקיפה, deriving from the simple verb לתקוף[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/תקיפה-5.m4a” /], refers to a one-time attack, or an assault. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/תקיפה-6.m4a” /]תקיפה מינית היא בעיה רווחת גם בעולם המודרני….

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/לספוג-1.m4a” /]לִסְפּוֹג If you’ve been in Israel over חנוכה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/לספוג-2.m4a” /] (Hanukkah), you certainly know the word for that special jelly doughnut – סופגניה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/לספוג-3.m4a” /]. סופגניה derives from the simple verb לספוג[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/לספוג-1.m4a” /] – to absorb, since the pastry is capable of absorbing lots of oil. לספוג is used in the literal sense, as well…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/גוף-תאורה-1.m4a” /]גּוּף תְּאוּרָה Since חנוכה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/גוף-תאורה-2.m4a” /] (Hanukkah) involves the themes of אור[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/גוף-תאורה-3.m4a” /] – light and Hellenism, which celebrated the human body – גוף האדם[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/גוף-תאורה-4.m4a” /], I thought I’d introduce a Hebrew term that combines these into a useful day-to-day expression. גוף תאורה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/גוף-תאורה-1.m4a” /] is a light fixture. Literally, it’s a body of…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/פתק-החלפה-1.m4a” /]פֶּתֶק הַחְלָפָה There’s a regular receipt – קבלה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/פתק-החלפה-2.m4a” /] – and there’s a receipt that a someone receiving a gift can use to exchange the item. In English this is a gift receipt, but in Hebrew it’s an exchange note – פתק החלפה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/פתק-החלפה-1.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/פתק-החלפה-3.m4a” /]יש פתק החלפה בתוך האריזה….

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/אריזה-1.m4a” /]אֲרִיזָה With חנוכה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/אריזה-2.m4a” /] (Hanukkah) is full swing and the Christian holidays coming soon, gifts are on people’s minds. You may know the Hebrew word for gift – מתנה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/אריזה-3.m4a” /]. But do you know the word for packaging – אריזה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/אריזה-1.m4a” /]? The word in context: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/אריזה-4.m4a” /]כשקונים מוצר, משלמים גם על…

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 . Scatter . Gravity . Test [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-2.mp3″ /]שבת שלום, וסוף שבוע נעים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend!

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להתעורר-1.m4a” /]לְהִתְעוֹרֵר To get up – the simple verb לקום[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להתעורר-2.m4a” /] – is used far more often than the reflexive להתעורר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להתעורר-1.m4a” /] – to wake up. I believe the same is true in English, so that you’re more likely to hear or ask: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להתעורר-3.m4a” /]מתי את קמה בבוקר? When do you get…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להתעורר-8.m4a” /]נְשָׁמָה שֶׁלִּי If you want to refer to someone as my love in Hebrew, you might use the literal אהובי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/נשמה-שלי-2.m4a” /] for a male and אהובתי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/נשמה-שלי-3.m4a” /] for a female. But Israelis use a different expression when saying my love when they exaggerate (or speak sarcastically): נשמה שלי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/נשמה-שלי-1.m4a” /] – literally, my soul. For…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/קומקום-1.m4a” /]קוּמְקוּם Nothing like a hot drink on a cold day. The Hebrew word for an apparatus that can help prepare such a drink is קומקום[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/קומקום-1.m4a” /]. In context: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/קומקום-2.m4a” /]תרתיח מים בקומקום. Boil water in the kettle. (spoken to a male) and [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/קומקום-3.m4a” /]קומקום בשווי מאתיים שקלים בתשעים ותשעה שקלים…