Blog – Your Daily Dose of Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/חי-נא-1.m4a” /]חַי, נָא A raw vegetable is חי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/חי-נא-2.m4a” /] – literally, alive. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/חי-נא-3.m4a” /]היא לא אוהבת לאכול בצל חי. She doesn’t like eating raw onion. For meat, however, use the word נא[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/חי-נא-4.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/חי-נא-5.m4a” /]לא הרבה אנשים אוכלים בשר נא. Not many people eat raw meat. נא referring to…

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/לנגן-1.m4a” /]לְנַגֵּן You’re at a bonfire in the beautiful Israeli desert. A guy pulls out a guitar and asks everyone: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/לנגן-2.m4a” /]מה לנגן? What should I play? What’s he’s saying literally is what to play? לנגן, an active-intensive verb, means to play a tune. Likewise, נגן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/לנגן-3.m4a” /] means music player and ניגון[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/לנגן-4.m4a” /] is a…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/תבוא-כל-יום-1.m4a” /]תָּבוֹא כָּל יוֹם! Turns out you and your falafel guy watched the same soccer game last night, and you’ve established a good rapport. Handing you your מנה פלאפל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/תבוא-כל-יום-2.m4a” /] – falafel portion, he might say to you (if you’re a male): [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/תבוא-כל-יום-1.m4a” /]תבוא כל יום! Come (back) every day! If you’re a…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/חריף-1.m4a” /]חָרִיף What do Israelis put in their falafel sandwich? חומוס[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/חריף-2.m4a” /] (hummus), טחינה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/חריף-3.m4a” /] (tahini), סלט[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/חריף-4.m4a” /] (a salad of cut up cucumbers and tomatoes) and חריף[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/חריף-1.m4a” /] of course! חריף means sharp or spicy – in the case of falafel, חריף refers to spicy sauce. חריף could also refer to a person…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/בשעה-הקרובה-1.m4a” /]בַּשָּׁעָה הַקְּרוֹבָה It’s 9pm and suddenly there’s a power outage. With your phone battery is at 3%, you find the number of a local electrician, but he can’t come right away. Instead, he says: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/בשעה-הקרובה-2.m4a” /]אני אגיע בשעה הקרובה. I’ll be over within the hour. In Hebrew, within the hour is in the close hour – or with…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/מנה-1.m4a” /]מָנָה פָלָאפֶל Hebrew has no word for a. That’s why you might come across a native Hebrew speaker saying something like “do you have car?” And that’s if they know the word do, which also doesn’t exist in Hebrew. If you’re ordering a falafel in English, you’d probably say “I’d like a falafel.” But to do so…

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/להתקרר-1.m4a” /]לְהִתְקָרֵר I love it when the weather gets warm – כשמזג האוויר מתחמם[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להתקרר-2.m4a” /]. The reflexive verb להתחמם[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להתקרר-3.m4a” /] derives from חום[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להתקרר-4.m4a” /] – heat. Likewise, to cool down is להתקרר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להתקרר-1.m4a” /] – also a reflexive verb – from קור[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להתקרר-5.m4a” /] – cold. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/להתקרר-6.m4a” /]חכה עד שהמרק יתקרר. Wait till the soup…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/לקלות-1.m4a” /]לִקְלוֹת, לִצְלוֹת While in English a roast might involve a person (who doesn’t actually get eaten), in Hebrew the term refers only to food. Well, it’s two terms, one for veggies and one for meat. לקלות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/לקלות-2.m4a” /] means to roast that which grows from the ground, such as sunflower seeds and chestnuts. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/לקלות-3.m4a”…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/רכיבים-1.m4a” /]רְכִיבִים This word appears on the vast majority of packaged foods in Israel: רכיבים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/רכיבים-1.m4a” /] – ingredients. It comes from the root ר.כ.ב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/רכיבים-2.m4a” /] meaning attaching or assembling. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/רכיבים-3.m4a” /]יש כאן רכיבים מפחידים ברשימה… There are some scary ingredients here on the list… In the singular form, רכיב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/רכיבים-4.m4a” /] generally refers not…