Sign up for your free daily dose!

Jun 27, 2011

how to say "foreign language" in Hebrew...


שָׂפָה זָרָה


זָר (zahr) is the Hebrew core word for strange. The word you may know that means odd or weird - מוּזָר (moo-ZAHR) - comes from the same root. 


A foreign language - a strange language - is a שָׂפָה זָרָה. At Ulpan La-Inyan we work to make Hebrew less and less of a שפה זרה for you.


Now, שפה זרה is the term to use when identifying a language as foreign. For example, סִינִית זֹאת שָׂפָה זָרָה בִּשְׁבִילִי - Chinese is a foreign language to me (SEE-neet zoht sah-FAH zah-RAH beesh-vee-LEE).


If you're trying to say, however, that a poem or song or speech is written in a foreign language, there's a different term you'd use. 


What term is that?






Stay tuned for the answer.





Today's dose of Hebrew is sponsored by...
Check it out!