לטפח This is a nice word. Suppose you’ve got a garden full of greens and flowers. To really appreciate the garden (גִּנָּה – ghee-NAH) means to nurture it – לְטַפֵּחַ אֶת הַגינה (le-tah-PEH-akh et hah-ghee-NAH). Likewise, you might wish to nurture a boy – לטפח יֶלֶד (le-tah-PEH-akh YEH-led) – or a girl לטפח…
אמוּר ל… If you wish to express in Hebrew “I am supposed to be… [blank]”, you’d use the phrase אָמוּר ל (ah-MOOR le…), or אָמוּרָה ל (ah-moo-RAH le…), if you’re a female. It means, literally, I am said to… For example, right now I might say אֲנִי אָמוּר לִהְיוֹת בַּמִּטָּה (ah-NEE ah-MOOR lee-hyoht bah-mee-TAH)…
קומזיץ, מדורה A common word used in Israel for bonfires is קוּמְזִיץ (KOOM-zeets). This word comes from Yiddish and means, literally, come, sit (say the word out loud and right away you’ll notice the Germanic similarity in the sounds). To an Israeli, the word קומזיץ brings to mind the bonfire and all that is…
לקבל החלטה In English we talk about making a decision. In Hebrew, we talk about receiving or taking on a decision. The word for to receive is לְקַבֵּל (leh-kah-BEHL). The word for decision is הַחְלָטָה (hakh-lah-TAH); and to decide is לְהַחְלִיט (leh-hahkh-LEET). So I could say that I made a decision to eat yogurt every day – קִבַּלְתִּי הַחְלָטָה לֶאֱכוֹל יוֹגוּרְטְ כָּל יוֹם (kee-BAHL-tee hahkh-lah-TAH leh-eh-KHOHL…
אחיין, אחיינית Brother is אָח (ahkh); sister is אָחוֹת (ah-KHOHT). I would rate these as Level 2 words for Ulpan La-Inyan. Nephew is אַחְיָן (ahkh-YAHN), and niece is אַחְיָנִית (ahkh-yah-NEET). These are more likely to be encountered in a Level 3 or Level 4 discussion. For example, I would say, יֵשׁ לִי אחיינית חֲדָשָׁה (yesh lee…
I’m now taking requests for Ktzat Ivrit content – so if you’d like to learn a particular word or phrase or see one featured, let me know by following the “comments – I’m taking requests!” link below.
דודים, סבים The Hebrew word for uncle is דּוֹד (dohd); the word for aunt is דּוֹדָה (doh-DAH – more commonly pronounced DOH-dah). Why? Because the word דוד itself means dear one – aunts and uncles are people close or dear to a child (i.e. close enough for love and gifst but usually distant enough so the…
לסעוד If you know a bit of Hebrew, you probably know the word for restaurant – מִסְעָדָה (mees-ah-DAH). The root of that word is ס.ע.ד (s.a.d.), whose core meaning is satiation. The common word for to eat is לֶאֱכוֹל (le-eh-KHOL), but just like English has a finer word, to dine, Hebrew has לִסְעוֹד…
התקשרות Before I started teaching Hebrew with Ulpan La-Inyan, I was practicing psychotherapy. I did a Masters at Pepperdine University in clinical psychology with an emphasis in marriage and family therapy. One of the topics I got to explore a bit during the degree, but more so in a subsequent AEDP immersion course…
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מעסיק Perhaps you know the Hebrew word for a business – עֶסֶק (EH-sehk). If I were to state that he’s busy, I’d say, הוּא עָסוּק (hoo ah-SOOK); I were to say that a woman is busy, it would be, הִיא עֲסוּקָה (hee ah-soo-KAH). However, if I wanted to say, he’s preoccupied with something, I’d…