מִן, מִ-, מֵ- Can’t read Hebrew yet? The word מִן means from. You’ll find it in Biblical Hebrew, in Rabbinic writings and in literary contexts of Modern Hebrew. You’re more likely, however, to encounter the abbreviated, prefix versions: -ִמin most contexts and -מֵwhere the following sound historically would become difficult to pronounce using…
עַבְדּוּת listen and repeat Can’t read Hebrew yet? לַעֲבוֹד listen and repeat means to work. But whereas an עוֹבֵד listen and repeat is a (male) worker or an employee, an עֶבֶד listen and repeat is a (male) slave. The feminine versions of these are employee–עוֹבֶדֶת listen and repeat and slave/maidservant–אָמָה listen and repeat. And slavery is עַבְדּוּת listen and repeat. For example: …
לְהוֹצִיא listen and repeat Can’t read Hebrew yet? We saw yesterday that לָצֵאת listen and repeat means to go out or to leave. Using the same root (י.צ.א – y.ts.a), Hebrew creates another term – to take out: לְהוֹצִיא listen and repeat, in the active-causative verb form. For Biblical example: הוֹצִיאוּ אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵאֶרֶץ…
לָצֵאת, לַעֲזוֹב listen and repeat Can’t read Hebrew yet? Also featured in our Passover video is one of the Hebrew terms for to leave: לָצֵאת listen and repeat. לצאת – an active-simple verb of the root י.צ.א (y.ts.a) – means literally to go out or to exit, so that יְצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם listen and repeat is the exiting of Egypt or the Exodus. Here are a couple of colloquial usages of לצאת: …
יְלָדִים, בָּנִים 1 – ילדים, ילדות The Hebrew words for boy and girl are יֶלֶדand יַלְדָה, respectively. Likewise, a group of boys and girls – children* – are יְלָדִים. For example: כַּמָּה יְלָדִים יֵשׁ לָהּ? How many children does she have? Strictly speaking, יְלָדוֹתmeans girls, but this term is not used as often…
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
The links are now corrected in the online version of yesterday’s Dose of Hebrew, which you can find here. I apologize for the inconvenience. Keep learning and enjoying! אִבְחוּן listen and repeat Can’t read Hebrew yet? In Biblical times, diagnosis was done not by medical professionals (these did not exist), but…
מִבְחָן, בְּחִינָה Can’t read Hebrew yet? English has two words for that event that fills students with anticipation or dread – test and exam. Hebrew does too. מִבְחָןand בְּחִינָה, both of the root ב.ח.נ (b.kh.n), are more or less synonymous. They do have subtle differences in usage, though, with מבחן tending to refer…
אַתָּה נִרְאֶה חִוֵּר listen and repeat Can’t read Hebrew yet? The Hebrew word for pale is חִוֵּר listen and repeat when referring to a male, and חִוֶּרֶת listen and repeat when referring to a female. But when used as an adverb, חיור is the right word for both males and females. For example: אַתְּ נִרְאֵית…
לְסַפֵּר סִפּוּר listen and repeat Can’t read Hebrew yet? פֶּסַח listen and repeat – Passover – is coming up, the holiday when Jews tell over the story of the Exodus. But whereas in Biblical and Mishnaic Hebrew, to tell something over is לְהַגִּיד listen and repeat (hence the הַגָּדָה שֶׁל פֶּסַח listen and repeat – the Passover Haggadah or the…
מַהֵר, מָהִיר Can’t read Hebrew yet? If you’ve got some basic Hebrew down, you likely know the word for fast or quickly – מַהֵר , for example: הַמְּכוֹנִית נוֹסַעַת מַהֵר. The car drives (travels) fast. Now, that’s fast as an adverb, describing an action such as the driving or traveling of the car. But if you want to…