Blog – Your Daily Dose of Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/עברית-תקינה-1.m4a” /]עִבְרִית תַּקִּינָה If you’ve got some basic Hebrew under your belt, you may know the word for to fix – לתקן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/עברית-תקינה-2.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/עברית-תקינה-3.m4a” /]תקן לי את הטלוויזיה. Fix (my) TV for me. (spoken to a male) Thus something fixed is מתוקן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/עברית-תקינה-4.m4a” /]. And something fixed at its essence – correct or proper – is תקין[audioclip…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/סולמית-1.m4a” /]סֻלָּמִית You may know the word סולם[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/סולמית-2.m4a” /] – ladder – from the dream of Jacob: (וְהִנֵּה סֻלָּם מֻצָּב אַרְצָה וְרֹאשׁוֹ מַגִּיעַ הַשָּׁמָיְמָה… (בראשית כ”ח י”ב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/סולמית-3.m4a” /] And behold, a ladder resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven… (Genesis 28:12) To name the number sign that appears on the bottom-right of…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מתסכל-1.m4a” /]מְתַסְכֵּל Look closely at the word above. Listen to it pronounced. Though it looks like the word מסתכל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מתסכל-2.m4a” /] – looking at, it’s מתסכל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מתסכל-1.m4a” /] with the ת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מתסכל-3.m4a” /] before the ס[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מתסכל-4.m4a” /] – frustrating. Perhaps that’s how you’re feeling trying to compare these words. And while מסתכל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מתסכל-2.m4a” /] – looking at –…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מבוקש-1.m4a” /]רָצוּי, מְבֻקָּשׁ, נֶחְשָׁק Desired could mean one of several things in Hebrew. 1. רצוי There’s desired as in wanted – רצוי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מבוקש-2.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מבוקש-3.m4a” /]השגנו את התוצאה הרצויה. We achieved the desired result. and [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מבוקש-4.m4a” /]הוא לא מרגיש רצוי. He doesn’t feel wanted. 2. מבוקש Then there’s desired as in sought after in a positive sense, or wanted…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/המספר-שחויג-1.m4a” /]הַמִּסְפָּר שֶׁחֻיָּג To dial, in Hebrew, is לחייג[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/המספר-שחויג-2.m4a” /]. And just as the physical action of dialing is now only a figure of speech we use to mean tapping numbers rather than actually turning the dial on a rotary phone (visual aids for those of you who don’t know what a rotary phone is),…