Both the English word card and its Hebrew equivalent כרטיס are ultimately Greek in origin – χάρτης (khartēs).
Likewise, a greeting card is כרטיס ברכה – literally, a blessing card.
For example:
איזו חמודה, היא שלחה לנו כרטיס ברכה לקראת ראש השנה!
She’s so cute, she sent us a greeting card for Rosh Hashanah!
Unlike its English counterpart, כרטיס can also refer to a ticket, as in:
יש לי שני כרטיסים ספייר להופעה, רוצים לבוא?
I have two spare tickets for the show, want to come?
Now, כרטיס refers to a ticket that gets you in to places you want to be. If, however, you’re talking about a parking or traffic ticket, the word is דו”ח or דוח.
A credit card is כרטיס אשראי. Playing cards are קלפים.
