how to say "terror attack" in Hebrew

פיגוע

This past Wednesday evening four Jews (civilians) were murdered by Arab terrorists near חֶבְרוֹן (khehv-ROHN) - Hebron.

Modern Hebrew's word for such an attack is פִּגּוּע (pee-GOO-ah). The word comes from the root פ.ג.ע., which bears the concept of harm.

May we hear of no such פיגועים anywhere in the world, this coming year, or ever again.

how to say "first thing in the morning" in Hebrew...

על הבוקר

I'm really tired. I'm about to go to sleep. I want to write about being tired, but I've already done that in prior entries. Instead, I'm going to take my roommate's suggestion and write about the first thing in the morning.

אֲנִי צָרִיךְ לָקוּם עַל הַבּוֹקֵר (ah-NEE tsah-REEKH lah-KOOM ahl hah-BOH-kehr) - I need to get up first thing in the morning. על הבוקר means, literally, on the morning. But it's used to mean first thing in the morning.

That's it - I'm out.

שבת שלום - Shabbat Shalom, good weekend to all.

how to say "to go with the flow" in Hebrew...

לזרום

This is one aspect of a request from Izzy.

לִזְרוֹם (leez-ROHM) means, literally, to flow. For example, נָהָר הַיַּרְקוֹן זוֹרֵם בְּתֵל אָבִיב (nah-HAHR ha-yahr-KOHN zoh-REHM be-TEL ah-VEEV) - The Yarkon River flows in Tel Aviv.

לזרום is also used colloquially to mean to go with the flow.

how to say "to scatter flowers" in Hebrew... (I just came back from a Shlomo Artzi concert)

לפזר פרחים

Tonight I attended a concert in Jerusalem by Shlomo Artzi. The show was great, and I even saw a couple Ulpan La-Inyan all-star students.

In one of the songs (the one dedicated to Gilad Shalit), Shlomo sings, אֶת הַגֶּשֶׁם תֵּן רַק בְּעִתּו (et hah-GEH-shem ten rahk be-ee-TOH) - Just give the rain at its time, וּבָאָבִיב פַּזֵּר לָנוּ פְּרָחִים (oo-vah-ah-VEEV pah-ZEHR LAH-noo prah-KHEEM) - and in the spring, scatter for us flowers.

לְפַזֵּר (le-fah-ZEHR) is to scatter. And פרחים are flowers.

Now, here's the song - listen for these words...

how to say "goggles" in Hebrew...

משקפת שחייה

This one's also a request.


A few days ago I wrote about the word for swimming - שְׂחִיָּה (se-khee-YAH).

You may know the word for glasses - מִשְׁקָפַיִם (meesh-kah-FAH-yeem). The root of the word is ש.ק.פ (sh.k.f), whose core meaning is clarity and transparency. A verb of that root is לְהַשְׁקִיף (le-hahsh-KEEF) - to look out. For example, הַבָּיִת מַשְׁקִיף עַל הָעֵמֶק (hah-BAH-yeet mahsh-KEEF ahl hah-EH-mek) - the house looks out on the valley.

Going with the concept of clarity of vision, the Modern Hebrew word for binoculars is מִשְׁקֶפֶת (meesh-KEH-fet). The word for goggles is משקפת שְׂחִיָּה (meesh-KEH-fet se-khee-YAH), but most Israelis are likely to say, simply, משקפת.

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how to say "heatwave" in Hebrew...

שרב

This one was requested by Ruti. If you would like to request a word to be featured on Ktzat Ivrit, please click.

It's still summer in Israel. The bike ride from my rented German Colony apartment to Yeshivat HaKotel in the Old City (where I deliver Ivrit La-Inyan classes) requires that I take an extra shirt to change into when I arrive - since by the time I get to my destination, my shirt is too wet to run a class with the proper decorum.

It's not me on the bike... but the picture gets the point across.

A few weeks ago, however, it was so hot that even my second shirt wasn't enough. That type of weather is called, in Hebrew, שָׁרָב (shah-RAHV). The word appears in Biblical Hebrew, in Isaiah 49.

Another term commonly used by Israelis to describe such inclement weather is חַמְסִין (khahm-SEEN). According to Israeli environmentalist Dr. Oded Potchter, this word comes from Arabic and refers to the Arabian tradition that fifty such days a year exist (in the Middle East, I guess). The Arabic word for fifty is خمسون (khahm-SOON), which is pretty close to khahm-SEEN.

That's the major difference between שרב and חמסין - Hebrew versus Arabic.

how to say "to make fun" in Hebrew...


אתה צוחק עלי?

The Hebrew word for to make fun is the same word for to laugh - לִצְחוֹק (leets-KHOHK). In the case of making fun, add the word עַל - so that your sentence sounds would be translated literally into English, laughing on someone.

To ask someone (a male, in this example), Are you making fun of me? you'd say, ?אֲתָּה צוֹחֵק עָלַי (ah-TAH tsoh-KHEK ah-LAH-ee?).

Hear this expression pronounced in Hebrew.

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