מבנה If you’ve spent some time learning Hebrew, you likely know the word for a building – בִּנְיָן (been-YAHN). This is also the word for a Hebrew verb form. Suppose you want to refer to something that is built but is not a building, per se, such as a storage shed or a compound. You would…
דגימה Yesterday, we had the Hebrew word for a demo – הַדְגָּמָה (hahd-gah-MAH) – because I’m doing a demo of Ulpan La-Inyan in Raanana this Sunday. To wish you a peaceful, turkey-filled Shabbat (for some of you, at least), I’m going to present a related word: a sampling – דְּגִימָה (de-ghee-MAH). For example, אֲנִי אוֹכַל…
הדגמה On Sunday morning, I’m doing a demo lesson of Ulpan La-Inyan in Raanana at Telfed (if you’re thinking of attending, let us know!). The Hebrew word for demonstration when speaking of demonstrating an item or service is הַדְגָּמָה (hahd-gah-MAH). The root is ד.ג.מ (d.g.m), which is the concept of sampling. So I’m doing…
לחסל Suppose you’ve got a tub of חוּמוּס (KHOO-moos) – hummus – in the fridge, and you’re having guests over that love to dip into it. You might say, together, we’ll polish off this חומוס. In Hebrew, you’d say, בְּיַחַד, נְחַסֵּל אֶת הַחוּמוּס הַזֶּה (be-YAH-khahd, ne-khah-SEHL et hah-KHOO-moos hah-ZEH). The word for to finish…
מתכון This word is related to the word for a plan or a program we had the other day – תָּכְנִית (tohkh-NEET). The Hebrew word for recipe is מַתְכּוֹן (maht-KOHN). You can listen to and watch the video of a cute song about Israel’s national snack right here. And you can find all kinds of מתכונים…
חשבון It’s all the same word. The root is ח.ש.ב (kh.sh.b), which means thinking. So your account at the bank, the study of mathematics and the bill at the restaurant are all חֶשְׁבּוֹן (khesh-BOHN).
לחזר In English we used to call this courting. Somehow I think the modern-day rendition – to pursue – sounds less romantic than the contemporary Hebrew – לְחַזֵּר (le-khah-ZEHR). For example, הוּא חִזֵּר אַחֲרֶיה (hoo khee-ZEHR ah-khah-REH-hah) – He courted/pursued her. You can listen to this word conjugated in context, in Ehud Banai’s רוּחוֹת הַצָּפוֹן (roo-KHOHT…
הקפאה The Biblical Hebrew root ק.פ.א (k.p.a) is the concept of congealment or thickening, but the root has evolved to the point where today it means frozenness. Thus a מַקְפִּיא (mahk-PEE) is the Modern Hebrew word for freezer – the place where one places ice cream. To freeze something is לְהַקְפִּיא (le-hahk-PEE). To say, I’m…
תכנית The Hebrew word for content is תּוֹכֵן (TOH-khen). Likewise, the word for activated content – or a plan/program – is תָּכְנִית (tohkh-NEET). For example, לְבֵית הַסֵּפֶר הַזֶּה יֵשׁ תָּכְנִית לִמּוּדִים מְצוּיֶּנֶת (le-VEHT hah-SEH-fehr hah-ZEH yesh tohkh-NEET lee-moo-DEEM me-tsoo-YEH-net) – This school has an excellent program of study (curriculum). Our תכנית… We…
ספרון If you’ve had even a bit of experience with the Hebrew language, chances are you know the word for book – סֵפֶר (SEH-fehr). Now, in English, we add -let to a noun to make it small and cute. For example, we add -let to pig to make piglet. Likewise, we add -let to book to make…
רכישת שפה To buy something is לִקְנוֹת (leek-NOHT). To acquire something, or to purchase, is לִרְכוֹש (leer-KHOHSH). The act of acquiring or purchasing is רְכִישָׁה (re-khee-SHAH). So the acquiring of a language is רְכִישַׁת שָׂפָה (re-khee-SHAHT sah-FAH). The ה in the word רכישה becomes a ת, as the word is connected to the following word in a linguistic…