לפרק Yesterday we had the word for to assemble – לְהַרְכִּיב (le-hahr-KEEV). What about to disassemble, or to take something apart? That’s לְפָרֵק (le-fah-REK). For example, אֲנַחְנוּ פֵּרַקְנוּ אֶת הָאָרוֹן (ah-NAHKH-noo peh-RAHK-noo et hah-ah-ROHN) – We took apart the closet (closets in Israel are usually not walk-in. לפרק comes from the root, פ.ר.ק…
להרכיב You may have just heard this word on RustyMike Radio on the Adam in the Morning Show. If you need to assemble a piece of furniture – or a team of people, for that matter – the word you’d use in Hebrew is לְהַרְכִּיב (le-hahr-KEEV). For example, אֲנַחְנוּ מַרְכִּיבִים צֶוֶת מִקְצוֹעִי…
Early registration deadline Today is the last day to receive a 50-shekel discount on our November-December conversational Hebrew classes. Our courses will be taking place in Jerusalem and Raanana starting a week from today. Get our schedule at calendar.ulpan.com… and sign up at register.ulpan.com! And if you’re not yet familiar with…
איזור, שטח, תחום I don’t think I’ve done an entry with three words before. Thanks, Josh, for the suggestion for this entry. The English word area can refer to a few things. One is the area where something exists – also called vicinity. In Hebrew, this is אֵזוֹר (eh-ZOHR). For example, הוּא גָּר בָּאֵזוֹר (hoo…
אסון Last night, an Israeli Air Force jet of the most advanced in the world crashed in Makhtesh Ramon. The pilot and navigator are missing at this moment. Here’s the YNet article in Hebrew, and here it is in English. The Hebrew word for tragedy or disaster is אָסוֹן (ah-SOHN). I hope…
סיכון Perhaps you know the Hebrew word for dangerous – מְסוּכָּן (me-soo-KAHN). Likewise, the word for danger itself is סַכָּנָה (sah-kah-NAH). The word for risk comes from the same root – ס.כ.נ (s.k.n): סִכּוּן (see-KOON). Radio-show lineup I’ve got my radio show of Israeli music explained at noon today (as every week), on…
ארנק If you’re already conversational in Hebrew, chances are you know the word for wallet or purse (carried, usually, by men) – אַרְנָק (ahr-NAHK). But did you know the origin of the word? It comes from the ancient Greek word for sheep skin – arnakis. Ulpan La-Inyan classes… are not free, but they’re…
שותף Perhaps you know the Hebrew word for to participate – לְהִשְׁתַּתֵּף (le-heesh-tah-TEHF). The root is ש.ת.פ (sh.t.p) – the concept of sharing. A partner in a financial situation – be it people sharing a house (roommates/house mates), partners in a business venture, or partners in a noble cause (which, inevitably, demands capital) –…
לפענח When I walked up to my first exhibit at the British Museum last Monday, I was surprised, excited and humbled to find myself face-to-face with the Rosetta Stone. Thanks for the picture, Mark! Yes, this stone is the namesake of some of the best software for learning a foreign language. The…
מגוחך No connection to anything, just a word that popped into my head: the Hebrew word for absurd is מְגֻחָך (me-goo-KHAHKH). For example, קוֹפִים עָפִים מִסָּבִיב לַיָּרֵחַ זֶה דָּבָר מְגוּחָך (koh-FEEM ah-FEEM mee-sah-VEEV lah-yah-REH-ahkh zeh dah-VAHR me-goo-KHAHKH) – Monkeys flying around the moon is something absurd. You know what else is מגוחך?…
לזייף כֶּסֶף מְזֻיַּף (KEH-sef me-zoo-YAHF) is counterfeit money. לְזַיֵּף (le-zah-YEF) is to counterfeit. The root of both is ז.י.פ (z.y.p/f). One can also counterfeit a decent voice while singing. In English we call this phenomenon singing off-key. In Hebrew, we call it לזייף – to sing off-key – or זִיּוּף (zee-YOOF) – the act of singing…