Blog – Your Daily Dose of Hebrew

לַעֲשׂוֹת עֲלִיָּה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/עליה-1.mp3″ /] Outside of Israel, getting called up to the Torah is called getting an aliyah. That last word is pronounced – at least in Ashkenazi communities – ah-LEE-yah, so that it sounds different from the word that means immigration to Israel – עליה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/עליה-2.mp3″ /]- aliyah. To an Israeli, however, these two words sound the…

נַתָּב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/נתב-1.mp3″ /] The Hebrew word for a lane on a highway is נתיב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/נתב-2.mp3″ /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/נתב-3.mp3″ /]סע בנתיב הימני. Drive in the right lane. (spoken to a male) A router – the device that calls and internet accounts – is a נתב[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/נתב-1.mp3″ /] in Hebrew. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/נתב-4.mp3″ /]הנתב שלנו התקלקל. Our router…

לִמְסִירָה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/למסירה-1.mp3″ /] There’s an Israeli website called אגורה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/למסירה-2.mp3″ /] (agora.co.il), where people can post an item they wish to give away, and others can come to pick it up. These are חפצים למסירה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/למסירה-3.mp3″ /] – objects for giveaway. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/למסירה-4.mp3″ /]היתה לי מדפסת למסירה, אבל זה כבר לא אקטואלי. I had…

צָרֶבֶת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/צרבת-1.mp3″ /] This one’s for my brother in law חנוך[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/צרבת-2.mp3″ /], who probably knows the technical term for heartburn. That sharp pain sometimes felt near the heart, called heartburn, really takes place in the digestive system. The unpleasant occurrence is named for how it feels, rather than how it transpires. Likewise, its Hebrew term…

אֵין לִי מֻשָּׂג[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אין-לי-מושג-1.mp3″ /] The Hebrew word for idea is רעיון[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אין-לי-מושג-2.mp3″ /], while the word for concept is מושג[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אין-לי-מושג-3.mp3″ /] – literally, that which is attained (intellectually). Hebrew’s equivalent for the expression I have no idea is אין לי מושג[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אין-לי-מושג-1.mp3″ /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/אין-לי-מושג-4.mp3″ /]אין לי מושג למה הם מתקשרים אלי כל…

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!

גַּלְגַּלֵּי עֵזֶר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/גלגלי-עזר-1.mp3″ /] The name of the Biblical series of locations called גִלגל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/גלגלי-עזר-2.mp3″ /], comes from a doubling of the root ג.ל.ל (g.l.l), referring to something round. These were gathering places for the people, sort of like King Arthur’s round table but for the whole nation. ג.ל.ל is also the root of another round object, גַלגל[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/גלגלי-עזר-3.mp3″ /]…

שׁוֹבָר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שובר-1.wav” /] The English word coupon is borrowed from French, where it means literally, piece cut off – as a physical coupon is typically a piece of paper cut off from the rest of a sign or document. Hebrew’s word for coupon or voucher borrows that concept: שובר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/שובר-1.wav” /] comes from the root שׁ.ב.ר (sh.b.r) meaning broken off. For…

מַדְפֶּסֶת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מדפסת-1.mp3″ /] The Hebrew word for printing is דפוס[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/מדפסת-2.mp3″ /]. With a root ד.פ.ס (d.p.s), one might think the word is of Semitic origin, so you may be surprised to learn that the word is borrowed from Ancient Greek (see related post). The root serves as the basis for several other Hebrew words, including the one for…

לְאַשְׁפֵּז[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לאשפז-1.mp3″ /] Walking along Allenby St. in Tel Aviv the other week, I heard a familiar tune. It was a woman singing to a crowd Gidi Gov’s אלף כבאים – A Thousand Firefighters. A verse in the second stanza goes: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/לאשפז-2.mp3″ /]אלף דוקטורים לא יצליחו לאשפז אותי. A thousand doctors won’t be able to hospitalize me….

חַיַּת מַחְמָד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/חית-מחמד-1.mp3″ /] While חיה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/חית-מחמד-2.wav” /] is the generic Hebrew word for animal, חית מחמד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/חית-מחמד-1.mp3″ /] is a pet – literally, a precious animal. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/חית-מחמד-3.mp3″ /]אני גר ליד חנות מזון לחיות מחמד. I live near a pet food shop (a shop of food for pets). Some other more specific kinds of חיות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/חית-מחמד-4.mp3″ /]…