Blog – Your Daily Dose of Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/שווה-1.m4a” /]שָׁוֶה, בְּשֹׁוִי The Hebrew word for worth or valued at is שווה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/שווה-2.m4a” /], the same word as equal. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/שווה-3.m4a” /]הבית הזה שווה מיליון דולר. This house is worth a million dollars. In Hebrew slang, שווה means great or worthwhile. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/שווה-4.m4a” /]זה סרט ממש שווה. It’s a really great (worth your time) movie….

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ציור-1.m4a” /]צִיּור The Hebrew word for to draw is the active-intensive פיעל verb לצייר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ציור-2.m4a” /]. It comes from the root צ.י.ר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ציור-6.m4a” /], the same as that of צורה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ציור-7.m4a” /] – form. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ציור-3.m4a” /]הוא נורא אוהב לצייר. He really likes to draw. A drawing or a painting is ציור[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ציור-1.m4a” /]. For…

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/לך-מפה-1.m4a” /]לֵךְ מִפֹּה Make sure to read this post carefully and listen to the audio, because using לך מפה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/לך-מפה-1.m4a” /] in the wrong context can get you in trouble. When giving someone directions, you might want to tell them to go via one route instead of another. To say that, point and use…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/צאנס-אחרון-1.m4a” /]הִזְדַּמְּנוּת אַחֲרוֹנָה, צַ’אנְס אַחֲרוֹן This is not only a lesson, but also a special announcement for people who made aliyah in 2017. If you’ve got some Hebrew under your belt (and if you’ve taken our Level 2 course) may know the Hebrew word for last – אחרון[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/צאנס-אחרון-2.m4a” /] for something masculine and אחרונה[audioclip…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/סמטה-1.m4a” /]סִמְטָה If you’ve taken our Level 1 course, you know the word for street – רחוב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/סמטה-2.m4a” /], which appears in Biblical Hebrew. A denomination of a street – an alley is סמטה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/סמטה-1.m4a” /], a word first appearing in Mishnaic Hebrew. In the plural, it’s סמטאות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/סמטה-3.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/סמטה-4.m4a” /]הסמטאות בעיר…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מפחיד-1.m4a” /]מַפְחִיד The Hebrew word for fear is פחד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מפחיד-2.m4a” /]. For example, one might react to hearing a loud motorcycle storming by right in front of them with: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מפחיד-3.m4a” /]איזה פחד! How scary! (what fear!) פחד is a three-letter word, which means it is primed to function as a root. Thus we have…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ליצן-1.m4a” /]לֵיצָן Since the recent cinematic version of Stephen King’s It has turned clowns into objects of fear, I feel it is my duty to bring back the genuine smile to the clown experience by teaching you the Hebrew word for it – ליצן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ליצן-1.m4a” /] – and linking you to a favorite Israeli children’s…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להתנהג-1.m4a” /]לְהִתְנַהֵג To behave is to conduct oneself in a certain way. Thus Modern Hebrew draws upon the Biblical root נ.ה.ג[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להתנהג-2.m4a” /] meaning to conduct, to drive (such as a chariot) and creates the reflexive התפעל verb להתנהג[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להתנהג-1.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להתנהג-3.m4a” /]הוא מתנהג בצורה פראית! He behaves in a wild manner! Other…

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/חפצים-1.m4a” /]חֲפָצִים The word for Hebrew word for object is חפץ[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/חפצים-2.m4a” /], though that three-letter root originally meant desire, as in: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/חפצים-3.m4a” /]…כי חפץ בבת יעקב… (בראשית ל”ד, י”ט) …for he desired the daughter of Jacob… (Genesis 34:19) So the object of desire came to be known as a physical object or simply a thing. Thus…