Blog – Your Daily Dose of Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מימוש-עצמי-1.m4a” /]מִמּוּשׁ עַצְמִי If you’ve spent some time around Israelis, you’ve almost certainly heard the word ממש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מימוש-עצמי-2.m4a” /]. It literally means substance, but it’s far more commonly used to mean really, truly, very, exactly, etc. It’s a super-useful word. For example:   [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מימוש-עצמי-3.m4a” /]זה ממש יקר! That’s really expensive! Using the three letters of…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להתעטש-1.m4a” /]לְהִתְעַטֵּשׁ Your third-grader Israeli might argue with me and say, “to sneeze is לעשות אפצ’י![audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להתעטש-2.m4a” /]”, but the grown-up way of saying to sneeze remains להתעטש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להתעטש-1.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/להתעטש-3.m4a” /]אני לא מצליח לעבוד כי היא מתעטשת כל כמה שניות.  I’m not getting any work done because she sneezes every few seconds. להתעטש appears…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אני-לא-מצליח-1.m4a” /]אֲנִי לֹא מַצְלִיחַ לַעֲבוֹד The Hebrew word להצליח[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אני-לא-מצליח-2.m4a” /] means to succeed. But its uses reach much farther, so that it effectively means to be able to or to get something done. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אני-לא-מצליח-3.m4a” /]אני לא מצליח לעבוד עם כל הרעש הזה! I’m not able to get any work done with all this noise!…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לגנות-1.m4a” /]לְגַנּוֹת After the horrors of Paris Friday night, powers that be all around the world denounced the acts of terror. The Hebrew word for to denounce is לגנות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לגנות-1.m4a” /]. The root is ג.נ.ה (g.n.h), but since the ה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לגנות-2.m4a” /] makes a weak sound and disappears in many conjugations, the feminine ות-[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לגנות-3.m4a” /] ends…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/יציאה-1.m4a” /]יְצִיאָה The word יציאה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/יציאה-1.m4a” /] means exit or outing. But it also refers to an amusing comment with a certain shock value. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/יציאה-2.m4a” /]לסבתא היו כאלה יציאות ליד השולחן, שמתנו מצחוק. Grandma had such comments at the table, that we died of laughter.

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 Game Test [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-2.mp3″ /]שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם, וְסוֹף שָׁבוּעַ נָעִים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend!

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אלחוטי-1.m4a” /]אַלְחוּטִי I imagine that this post will be passe in a few years, when wired connections may be a thing of the past. But it’s relevant now, and that’s what matters to you. A wire or thread in Hebrew is a חוט[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אלחוטי-2.m4a” /], as in the Biblical-Hebrew verse from קהלת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אלחוטי-3.m4a” /] – Ecclesiastes: [audioclip…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/פליטת-פה-1.m4a” /] פְּלִיטַת פֶּה The simple verb לפלוט[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/פליטת-פה-2.m4a” /] means to emit or to divulge. Its noun version is פליטה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/פליטת-פה-3.m4a” /] – an emission. So an emission of the mouth – an involuntary one, to be sure – is a פליטת פה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/פליטת-פה-1.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/פליטת-פה-4.m4a” /]אחרי פליטת הפה של סבא, כולנו התחבאנו מתחת לשולחן….

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שלישייה-1.m4a” /]שְׁלִישִׁיָּה The Hebrew word for male or male-female twins is תאומים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שלישייה-2.m4a” /], so that in the singular, a twin might say: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שלישייה-3.m4a” /]יש לי אח תאום. I have a twin brother. or [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שלישייה-4.m4a” /]יש לי אחות תאומה. I have a twin sister. Triplets are a שלישייה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שלישייה-1.m4a” /] – literally, a trio…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מרכז-מבקרים-1.m4a” /]מֶרְכַּז מְבַקְּרִים If you live in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, you probably know that the region is also called המרכז[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מרכז-מבקרים-2.m4a” /] – the center, because it is the commercial center of Israel, as well as the most heavily-populated area. A center is a מרכז[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מרכז-מבקרים-3.m4a” /], of the root ר.כ.ז (r.k.z) meaning concentration. 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 Game Test [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-2.mp3″ /]שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם, וְסוֹף שָׁבוּעַ נָעִים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend!