how to say “sorry to disappoint” in Hebrew
צַר לִי לְאַכְזֵב My father, who grew up in Israel, raised me speaking Hebrew in the US. Thanks to him, when I came to live in Israel as an adult, I was already equipped with conversational Hebrew. But since my education took place in the States, I was missing some higher-register expressions such as צר […]
Weekly YDDH Review
חֹמֶר לְשִׁנּוּן 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://ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/review-2.mp3″ /]שבת שלום, וסוף שבוע נעים! Shabbat […]
how to say “fracture” in Hebrew
שֶׁבֶר Once I was riding my bike on Azza Street in Jerusalem, made a bad turn and fell with my hand breaking the fall. I came away with a שבר – a fracture. שבר refers not only to a physical break or fracture, but to many other things as well: a fraction, a failure, and even emotional anguish. For example: כשנחרב […]
daily video – how to say “fracture” in Hebrew
how to say “date honey” in Hebrew
סִילָאן I know lots of women named תמר – Tamar (date), and I’ve met one or two named דבש – Dvash (honey) as well. דבש mentioned in the Bible refers to date honey – דבש תמרים. Over time, Jews started using bee honey – דבש דבורים – as their main form of honey, so דבש came to refer […]
daily video – how to say “date honey” in Hebrew
how to say “on the rise” in Hebrew
בַּעֲלִיָּיה Aliyah – Jewish immigration to Israel – means literally rising up. I’ve done it – perhaps you have as well. בעלייה means on the rise, so that we might say: העלייה לארץ בעלייה. Aliyah to Israel (the country) is on the rise. ב usually means in, but in this case it’s on. If that doesn’t make 100% […]
daily video – how to say “on the rise” in Hebrew
how to say “if it’s not too much trouble” in Hebrew
אִם זוֹ לֹא טִרְחָה גְּדוֹלָה Empathy is a key element in persuasion: if I want to get someone to do something, acknowledging the fact that I’m causing them inconvenience will make them more likely to accept my request. אם זו לא טרחה גדולה accomplishes just that. It means literally, if this isn’t too much trouble. People […]