how to say “life-saving” in Hebrew
מַצִּיל חַיִּים, מַצִּילַת חַיִּים If you’re Jewish or have Jewish friends, you probably know someone named חיים – Chaim. Maybe you yourself are a חיים, in which case you probably also know that חיים (listen for a different pronunciation) means life. Why the difference in pronunciation? Because Israelis tend to use a Yiddish pronunciation for names, […]
how to say “bones” in Hebrew
עֲצָמוֹת The Hebrew word for bone is עצם, while more than one bone is עצמות. For example: כמה עצמות יש בגוף האדם? How many bones are there in the human body? and העצמות האלה יבשים. These bones are dry. Now, why does a masculine word like עצם have a feminine ות- ending? That’s just the way Hebrew […]
how to say “the human body” in Hebrew
גּוּף הָאָדָם The Hebrew word for person is אדם (named after Adam from the Bible). Likewise, a human being is בן אדם – literally, a son of Adam – regardless of the person’s gender. The word for body is גוף. Thus the human body is גוף האדם, as in: גוף האדם הוא דבר מורכב. The human body is a complex thing. […]
how to say “complex” in Hebrew
מֻרְכָּב Something complex is מורכב (מורכבת if we’re talking about a feminine object), as in: שרה, הסיפור הוא יותר מורכב ממה שאת חושבת. Sarah, the story is more complex than you think. Like the English word complex, מורכב gives off the sense that that which is complex is worthy of awe and respect, or at least […]
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. שבת שלום, וסוף שבוע נעים! Shabbat Shalom, […]
how to say “coexistence” in Hebrew
דּוּ-קִיּוּם Here’s a buzzword: דו-קיום means coexistence, as in: בירושלים וחיפה יש דוגמאות מובהקות של דו-קיום. In Jerusalem and Haifa there are salient examples of coexistence. -דו means co- or bi-, as in דו-לשוני – bilingual. קיום is one of the words for existence, of the root ק.ו.מ which we saw earlier this week.
how to say “truth” in Hebrew
אֱמֶת If you’ve got some basic Hebrew or Judaic background, you’re bound to know this word: אמת – truth. It appears in such expressions as: באמת? Really? and להגיד לך את האמת… To tell you the truth… But do you know how to say truths? It’s אמיתות, as in: האם אמיתות שונות יכולות להתקיים בו זמנית? Can […]
how to say “to take place” in Hebrew
לְהִתְקַיֵּם Hebrew has several words for to take place, but the most generic and useful one is להתקיים. For example: מתי תתקיים ההרצאה? When will the lecture take place? להתקיים is a התפעל verb of the root ק.ו.מ meaning standing or rising: something that takes place is as if standing in time and space somewhere. להתקיים also means to […]
how to say “lecture” in Hebrew
הַרְצָאָה Like yesterday’s word מובהק , the Hebrew word for lecture – הרצאה – first appears in Mishnaic Hebrew. But here it is in a modern context: בהרצאה שלה היא מצביעה על דוגמאות מובהקות של הצלחה. In her lecture, she points to salient examples of success. הרצאה is a noun form of the הפעיל verb […]
how to say “absolutely clear” in Hebrew
מֻבְהָק מובהק means absolutely clear or salient, as in: יש ראיות מובהקות שהוא היה כאן. There are absolutely clear (pieces of) evidence that he was here. מובהק comes from the root ב.ה.ק, which has to do with shining: something מובהק is so clear and distinct – salient – that it shines. מובהק first appears in Mishnaic Hebrew. Another word […]
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. שבת שלום, וסוף שבוע נעים! Shabbat Shalom, […]