לְקַטֵּר listen and repeat Can’t read Hebrew yet? Imagine a boiling teapot, with steam rising from its spout. That’s approximately the image evoked in Hebrew when describing someone complaining non-stop, as לְקַטֵּר listen and repeat means literally to smoke a pipe or to burn incense. For example: תַּפְסִיקִי לְקַטֵּר עַל הַשְּׁכֵנִים וְתַעֲשִׁי מַשֶּׁהוּ.(to a female) Stop complaining so much about the neighbors and…
קַרְחוֹן listen and repeat Can’t read Hebrew yet? Yesterday we saw the word for ice – קֶרַח listen and repeat. קרח appears in Biblical Hebrew, but the original readers of the Bible had no need for a term for iceberg, since none could be found anywhere near the land of Israel. So Modern Hebrew had to invent a word – קַרְחוֹן For…
קֶרַח listen and repeat Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Hebrew word for ice is קֶרַח listen and repeat. For example: הַהַחְלָקָה עַל קֶרַח הִיא סְפּוֹרְט שֶׁנִּכְנֶסֶת לָאָפְנָה בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל.(The) ice skating is a sport that is becoming fashionable in Israel. listen Don’t try to combine קרח with another word to refer to ice cream – that’s גְּלִידָה listen and repeat.
קָרוֹב לְוַדַּאי listen and repeat Can’t read Hebrew yet? Hebrew has a way of sounding a bit overconfident sometimes. We use surely to mean probably, as in: הוּא בֶּטַח יַגִּיעַ תּוֹךְ שְׁתֵּי דַּקּוֹת. He’ll probably (surely) arrive within two minutes. listen And we mean to say more than likely, we’re literally…
מַסּוֹק listen and repeat Can’t read Hebrew yet? The people at the Academy of the Hebrew Language work hard to introduce newly-constructed authentic Hebrew words into the vernacular, trying to catch up with the masses who already use foreign words for inventions of recent centuries such as the telephone (the term they came…
חֹמֶר לְשִׁנּוּן Review Material listen and repeat Can’t read Hebrew yet? Review, practice and test yourself on this week’s doses of Hebrew! Flashcards Game Test שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם, וְסוֹף שָׁבוּעַ נָעִים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend! listen and repeat
תַּיָּרוּת listen and repeat Can’t read Hebrew yet? While a tour in Modern Hebrew is a סִיּוּר listen and repeat, a tourist is a תַּיָּר listen and repeat (a male) or a תַּיֶּרֶת listen and repeat (a female). The latter words – תייר and תיירת – come from the biblical story of the spies sent to scout the land of Canaan (Israel):…
תִּקְוֹת וַחֲלוֹמוֹת listen and repeat Can’t read Hebrew yet? Sunshine after a rainy season, for some, brings renewed energy. It’s a time of the budding of hopes and dreams… and sometimes their fulfillment too. Hope in Hebrew is תִּקְוָה listen and repeat, which you may recognize from the name of Israel’s national anthem,…
מַסְלוּל הַמְרָאָה listen and repeat Can’t read Hebrew yet? There’s talking and movement in the cabin. Soon passengers are instructed to fasten their seat belts and watch a safety video, and then the crew is told to take their seats for takeoff. Soon there’s a loud, sustained whooshing sound as the engines go into high gear, and the…
נְשִׂיאוּת listen and repeat Can’t read Hebrew yet? Tomorrow, the Israeli Knesset will elect a new president to represent the Jewish State to the world. The Hebrew word for president is נָשִׂיא listen and repeat if he’s a male and נְשִׂיאָה listen and repeat if she’s a female. The word comes from the root נ.שׂ.א (n.s.a) meaning lifting: the president is…
שֶׁטַח listen and repeat Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Hebrew word for territory is the same as that for area in the geometric sense: שֶׁטַח listen and repeat. For example: כַּמָּה מֶטְרִים מְרֻבָּעִים שֶׁטַח הַדִּירָה? How many square meters is the apartment? listen and הֵם גָּרִים בַּשְּׁטָחִים. They live in the territories….