Your Daily Dose of Hebrew

מָתֶמָטִיקָה Yesterday we saw that one of the meaning of the word חשבון is arithmetic, which comes from the authentic Hebrew root ח.ש.ב meaning thinking. Unlike חשבון, the word for math in general is the international one: מתמטיקה. For example: הנושא הראשון שלומדים במתמטיקה הוא חשבון. The first subject that (people) study in mathematics is arithmetic. Note the […]

חֶשׁבּוֹן, בְּבַקָּשָׁה The word חשבון refers to several things in Hebrew: artithmetic, an account, a bill, and even an ancient Biblical city ruled by the Amorite king Sihon. So to ask for the bill in a restaurant, you would say: חשבון, בבקשה. Check, please. Still sitting there ten minutes later, you might say to your waiter: […]

לְחַכּוֹת, לְהַמְתִּין The basic and commonly used word for to wait in Hebrew is לחכות. For example: חבר’ה, חכו לי בחוץ, אני תיכף יורד. Guys, wait for me outside, I’ll (a male) be right down. לחכות is a פיעל verb. But you may have encountered another word for to wait, one used mostly in official contexts such […]

לְהִתְפַּנּוֹת If you’ve taken our Level 1 course, you know forms of the simple verb לפנות – to turn. For example: אתה צריך לפנות שמאלה ברמזור. You (a male) need to turn left at the light. לפנות in a passive sense means available or turned from the other (busy) direction – פנוי. For example: עד עכשיו הייתי עסוק, אבל […]

סִדּוּרִים Looking at the word above, you might think I’m talking about prayer books. These are סידורים as well. But since סידור in its essence means putting things in order, it applies to both a prayer book with all the prayers set in the right order, as well as something that needs to get done to cross it off […]

חֹמֶר לְשִׁנּוּן Review Material Can’t read Hebrew yet? You spent time on your Hebrew this week. Use these review materials to make it yours to keep.  Flashcards . Scatter . Gravity . Test שבת שלום, וסוף שבוע נעים! Shabbat Shalom, and have a nice weekend!

לִפְצוֹת פֶּה This dramatic expression comes straight from the Bible, where the ground opens up its mouth to swallow up dissidents: וּפָצְתָה הָאֲדָמָה אֶת פִּיהָ וּבָלְעָה אֹתָם וְאֶת כָּל אֲשֶׁר לָהֶם. (במדבר ט”ז, ל’) The earth shall open its mouth and swallow them and all their belongings. (Numbers 16:30) Over time, לפצות פה – literally, to […]

מַרְצֶה While פרופסור does mean professor, it’s not the word that Israelis students tend to use to refer to the person who teaches them at the university level. The word they prefer is מרצה – literally, lecturer: גיגלתי אותה – היא מרצה בטכניון. I googled her – she’s a professor at the Technion. מרצה comes from […]

לְגַגֵּל Just as Google became not only a household term but also a verb in English, it has in Hebrew as well. Thus instead of לחפש באינטרנט – to search on the internet, Israelis today say simply לגגל – to google. For example: כבר לא צריך לחפש בספרייה – אפשר לגגל. (We) don’t need to search in the […]

כְּבָר The Hebrew word כבר means not just the literal already, but so much more. In some cases it means yet, as in: שרה, קנית כבר כרטיסים להופעה? Sarah, have you bought tickets yet to the show? And in other cases, when paired with a negating word such as לא – no and אין – there isn’t/aren’t, it means anymore: […]

מוֹפָע The Hebrew word for a show is מופע, deriving from the root י.פ.ע. For example: דוד, בדוק איזה מופעים יש בתל אביב ביום חמישי. David, check what shows there are in Tel Aviv on Thursday. To refer specifically to a performance such as a rock concert, use the word הופעה: הם הלכו להופעה של שלמה ארצי […]