Blog – Your Daily Dose of Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/חבל-על-הזמן-#.m4a” /]חֲבָל עַל הַזְּמַן You’ve just come back from a concert. Your friend asks: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/חבל-על-הזמן-#.m4a” /]איך היה? How was it? And you reply: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/חבל-על-הזמן-#.m4a” /]חבל על הזמן! This expression means literally, it’s a shame for the time – meaning a waste of time. But you say this ironically – the opposite is true, that…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/לשכור-#.m4a” /]לִשְׂכּוֹר American English says to rent, while British English says to hire. The Hebrew word for both of these in all their meanings is לשכור[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/לשכור-#.m4a” /] (also pronounced with a soft כ, like this[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/לשכור-#.m4a” /]), a simple verb of the root שׂ.כ.ר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/לשכור-#.m4a” /]. For example: [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/לשכור-#.m4a” /]אני שוכר רכב ואנחנו נוסעים…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/כלי-בית-#.m4a” /]כְּלֵי בֵּית The word כלי[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/כלי-בית-#.m4a” /] means tool or vessel, something we use to accomplish a task. כלִי נגינה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/כלי-בית-#.m4a” /] is a musical instrument, a tool (well, instrument) we use to play music. Multiple such instruments are כלֵי נגינה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/כלי-בית-#.m4a” /]. Housewares – those small “tools” we use in the household, such as tableware and…

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/תפיסה-#.m4a” /]תְּפִיסָה Perception is a very abstract concept. But like most abstract concepts, the Hebrew word for it – תפיסה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/תפיסה-#.m4a” /] – is based on something very physical, down-to-earth: לתפוס[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/תפיסה-#.m4a” /] – to grab or to hold. When we perceive something, we grab reality and hold it in our mind a certain way. Likewise, one of the…

חֹמֶר לְשִׁנּוּן[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-1.mp3″ /] Review Material You spent time on your Hebrew this week. Use these review materials to make it yours to keep.      To take full advantage of the review material, click on “Choose a study mode” in the bottom right corner of the box above. [audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-2.mp3″ /]שבת שלום, וסוף…