יְשׁוּעָה, גְּאֻלָּה, הַצָּלָה listen and repeat ישועהיְשׁוּעָה listen and repeat is the best translation of the English salvation. It carries with it a lofty, sometimes divine connotation. The word’s root is י.שׁ.ע (y.sh.a), and the verb to save, when used in loftier contexts, is לְהוֹשִׂיעַ listen and repeat, an active-causative verb of the פ”י variety. גאולהA
יְלָדִים, בָּנִים listen and repeat 1 – ילדים, ילדות The Hebrew words for boy and girl are יֶלֶד listen and repeat and יַלְדָה listen and repeat, respectively. Likewise, a group of boys and girls – children* – are יְלָדִים listen and repeat. For example: כַּמָּה יְלָדִים יֵשׁ לָהּ?How many children does she have? listen Strictly speaking, יְלָדוֹת listen and repeat means girls, but this term is not
גֶּבֶר, אִישׁ, אָדָם Whereas English has one word in use for man, Hebrew has three. גֶּבֶר refers to a man in everyday speech, regardless of his stature. For example: הוּא הָיָה יֶלֶד, וּבִן לַיְלָה הוּא נִהְיָה גֶּבֶר. He was a boy, and overnight he became a man. Incidentally, גבר also
לוֹחֵם Hebrew’s word for warrior or fighter is לוחם when referring to a male and לוחמת when referring to a female. Israelis use the term to distinguish combat soldiers from non-combat soldiers, whom they call (not always with admiration) jobniks: הוא היה בצבא לוחם או ג’ובניק? In the army, was
אִמָּהוֹת If you’ve been around Israelis, you surely know the word for mom – אמא. But you may be surprised to learn that this term of endearment, אמא, is actually a word in Aramaic, while the Hebrew word for mother is אם. What about multiple mothers? That’s אמהות, as in:
סָבְתָא שֶׁלִּי The Hebrew word סבתא means grandmother – or more accurately, grandma. The proper term, which you’ll only find in formal settings, is סבה. Likewise, grandfather or grandpa is סבא, while סב is the obscure, technically-correct term for grandfather. Here’s a colloquial example: סבתא שלי הייתה ניצולת שואה. My
בְּרוּכִים הַבָּאִים The English word welcome is a composite of the words well and come, so that it might be rephrased as (I wish you) well (as you) come (to visit me). Thus Hebrew’s ברוך הבא – blessed is the comer – is a fairly direct translation. Now, ברוך הבא is
הַחְלָמָה מְהִירָה, רְפוּאָה שְׁלֵמָה It’s flu season in Israel, and the hospitals have been overfull recently with flu patients. The traditional Jewish way of wishing someone a speedy recovery is saying רְפוּאָה שְׁלֵמָה, which means, literally, a complete healing. But a more common expression in Modern Hebrew is הַחְלָמָה מְהִירָה –
קוֹרְאִים לִי… שְׁמִי… In English, we say, my name is… In Hebrew, we say that literally as well, with …שְׁמִי (if you say the long version, …הַשֵּׁם שֶׁלִּי, you’ve given yourself away as a foreigner). You’d use …שמי in slightly formal settings or in a context where you’re trying to