how to say "printing" in Hebrew

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דְּפוּס

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Yesterday, we saw the Hebrew terms for population, which come from the Ancient Greek word for masses, όχλος (OHKH-lohs).


Today I'll introduce another Hebrew word that borrows from Greek.

Yesterday I visited two printing houses to pick up booklets for Ulpan La-Inyan, one in Raanana and the other in Tel Aviv. The Hebrew expression for printing house is בֵּית דְּפוּס (BEH-eet deh-FOOS).

by William Hook

דפוס comes from the Ancient Greek word τυπος (TOO-pohs) meaning a figure or type. דפוס - also the word for block-lettered writing - refers to the images printed on a piece of surface such as a piece of paper. 

Likewise, לְהַדְפִּיס (leh-hahd-PEES) is to print, an active-causative הפעיל verb.

דפוס has other similar meanings, including template and pattern.

That Greek word, τυπος, is the source of other words in Hebrew, such as טֹפֶס - a form - (TOH-fes) and טִפּוּס - a type (of thing or person) or a personality or "character" - (tee-POOS).

how to say "population" in Hebrew

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אֻכְלוּסִיָּה

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The word used in Modern-Hebrew to refer to a specifc population is the same as that used in Mishnaic times: אֻכְלוּסִיָּה (ookh-loo-see-YAH). 


For example, גֹּדֶל אֻכְלוּסִיַּת יְרוּשָׁלַיִם מִתְקָרֶבֶת לִשְׁמוֹנֶה מְאוֹת אֶלֶף תּוֹשָׁבִים - the size of the population of Jerusalem is approaching eight hundred thousand residents (GOH-del ookh-loo-see-YAHT yeh-roo-shah-LAH-yeem meet-kah-REH-vet leesh-moh-NEH meh-OHT EH-lef toh-shah-VEEM).

To refer to population in general, you'd use the word אֻכְלוּסִין (ookh-loo-SEEN). 


For example, הַרְבֶּה אֲנָשִׁים מֻדְאָגִים מֵהִתְפּוֹצְצוּת אוכלוסין - many people are concerned about population explosion (overpopulation) (hahr-BEH ah-nah-SHEEM mood-ah-GHEEM meh-heet-poh-tseh-TSOOT ookh-loo-SEEN).


This now-Hebrew word is actually borrowed from the Ancient Greek όχλος (OHKH-lohs), meaning masses.

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how to say "series" in Hebrew

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סִדְרָה

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Today was Israel's יוֹם הָעַצְמָאוּת - Independence Day, literally, the day of independence (yohm hah-ahts-mah-OOT).


To give you a comical glimpse into Israeli culture, I'll refer you to a series put out by Ynet called "Pini": pini.ynet.co.il.


The Hebrew word for a series of any kind is סִדְרָה (seed-RAH), from the word סֵדֶר (SEH-dehr), meaning order (yes, like the Passover Seder). That's because a series is a group of things set in a particular order.


Likewise, the related English word serial is סִדְרָתִי (seed-rah-TEE) in Hebrew. So a serial killer is a רוֹצֵחַ סִדְרָתִי (roh-TSEH-ahkh seed-rah-TEE) - if it's a male.


סדרה is also one of the terms for weekly Torah portion, though it is pronounced by the European or English-speaking rabbis who use the term as SED-rah.


שבת שלום, וסוף שבוע נעים לכולם!
Shabbat Shalom, and a pleasant weekend to all!

how to say "bereavement" in Hebrew

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שְׁכוֹל

War and bereavement have been, unfortunately, a part of life since the dawn of humanity. It is no wonder, then, that Biblical Hebrew has a salient word for bereavement - שְׁכוֹל (sheh-KHOHL).


A related word is שַׁכּוּל - bereaved (shah-KOOL). For example, בְּיוֹם הַזִּכָּרוֹן הָעָם עוֹמֵד בְּסוֹלִידָרִיּוּת עִם הַמִּשְׁפָּחוֹת הַשַּׁכּוּלוֹת - On Memorial Day, the nation stands in solidarity with the bereaved families (beh-YOHM hah-zee-kah-ROHN hah-AHM oh-MED beh-soh-lee-DAH-ree-yoot eem hah-meesh-pah-KHOHT hah-shah-koo-LOHT).


As do we at Ulpan La-Inyan.

how to say "endurance" and correction to last post

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סִבֹּלֶת

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Correction to previous post:

In the previous post, I introduced the Hebrew term for dryer. I had written מְכוֹנַת יִבּוּשׁ (meh-khoh-NAHT yee-BOOSH) as the title, then changed my mind and adjusted the body of the post, but I forgot to update the title as מְיַבֵּשׁ (meh-yah-BESH). Here's the corrected post.

Today's dose:

Those who have spent at least six months in Israel almost certainly know the term for be patient! - סַבְלָנוּת (sahv-lah-NOOT) - literally, patience. The root, ס.ב.ל (s.b.l) means ability to take on burden. In the Modern word סוֹבְלָוּת (sohv-lah-NOOT), the root is used to mean tolerance for others.

by zharcos

Another Modern-Hebrew word that invokes the root ס.ב.ל is סִבֹּלֶת (see-BOH-let) - stamina or endurance. For example, לַשַּׂחְיָנִית הַזֹּאת יֵשׁ סיבולת גְּבוֹהָה - this (female) swimmer has high endurance (lah-sahkh-yah-NEET hah-ZOHT yesh see-BOH-let gheh-voh-HAH).

Do not confuse the word סיבולת with the word for a stalk of grain or an ear of corn - שִׁבֹּלֶת (shee-BOH-let). In Biblical times, this confusion apparently spawned a war (see Judges 12:6). 

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how to say "dryer" in Hebrew

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מְיַבֵּשׁ

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This one's for Shimon.


Last week I introduced the Hebrew term for washing machine - מְכוֹנַת כְּבִיסָה (meh-khoh-NAHT keh-vee-SAH), where מכונת is the construct state of the word מְכוֹנָה - machine (meh-khoh-NAH).

The machine that dries the clothing - a dryer - is called a מְיַבֵּשׁ (meh-yah-BESH) - literally, that which dries things. מייבש is a form of the active-intensive פיעל verb, לְיַבֵּשׁ - to dry (leh-yah-BESH). And לייבש comes from the word for dry - יָבֵשׁ (yah-VESH).

מייבש can also be used to refer to a hair dryer.

And לייבש is also used as a slang word meaning to leave someone high and dry.

how to say "laundry" in Hebrew

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כְּבִיסָה

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If Passover preparations weren't enough cleaning, this week's Torah portion discusses some more - both physical and spiritual.

The Modern and Biblical Hebrew word for to wash clothing is לְכַבֵּס (leh-khah-BES), an active-intensive פיעל verb of the root כ.ב.ס (k.b.s). For example, הַחֻלְצָה מְלֻכְלֶכֶת - צָרִיךְ לְכַבֵּס אֹתָהּ - the shirt is dirty - it needs to be washed (literally, someone needs to wash it) - (hah-khool-TSAH meh-lookh-LEH-khet - tsah-REEKH leh-khah-BES oh-TAH).

According to the pattern of פיעל verbs, the act of laundering should be כִּבּוּס (kee-BOOS). But Biblical Hebrew doesn't always follow the rules that later grammarians set. Instead, the word for laundry is כְּבִיסָה (keh-vee-SAH). 


A washing machine is a מְכוֹנַת כְּבִיסָה (meh-khoh-NAHT keh-vee-SAH).


שבת שלום, וסוף שבוע נעים לכולם!
Shabbat Shalom, and a pleasant weekend to all!

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how to say "stillness" in Hebrew

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דְּמָמָה

Tonight I was walking in the Rehavia neighborhood of Jerusalem and noticed that Coffee Shop was closed. I continued on my way and passed another closed eatery, where outside where six paper bags were housing six burning candles - one for each million.


Tomorrow at 10am the people of Israel will stand still for a long moment at the sound of a siren. It will be a moment of stillness or a moment of silence - רֶגַע שֶׁל דְּמָמָה (REH-gah shel deh-mah-MAH).

דממה comes from the root ד.ו.מ (d.w.m) referring to stillness and silence. A common usage of this root in the military is the command, עֲמוֹד דּוֹם - stand (silently) at attention (ah-MOHD dohm).

Some synonyms of דממה are דּוּמִיָּה (doo-mee-YAH) - absolute silence, and שֶׁקֶט (SHEH-ket) - quiet.

how (and why) to say "to dial" in Hebrew

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לְחַיֵּג

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As language develops, words sometimes depart from their original meaning to take on a similar but new meaning.


Take, for example, the English verb to dial meant something else to do with the word day in its original Latin, but today its main meaning is to press numbers on a keypad. 


Likewise, the Hebrew word for to dial - לְחַיֵּג (leh-khah-YEG) - comes from the root ח.ו.ג (kh.w.g), which has to do with circles. This root appears in the children's song, עוּגָה עוּגָה עוּגָה (OO-gah OO-gah OO-gah) - Cake, Cake, Cake, in the word נָחוּגָה (nah-KHOO-gah) - we shall go around (see a translation and transliteration as well as a video of the song).


What do circles have to do with dialing? You may recall a predecessor of the iPhone, the rotary phone, which had a round dial, as depicted here:

how to say "replacement" in Hebrew

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תַּחְלִיף

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Course starts May 14 in Jerusalem.

הַחֻפְשָׁה שֶׁלִּי - my vacation  (hah-khoof-SHAH sheh-LEE) - was great. I feel rested and strong. I hope you (those celebrating) have been having a wonderful spring holiday season as well. In Israel, Passover means we're just getting started with the spring holidays.

by mysza831

To replace or exchange something is לְהַחְלִיף (leh-hahkh-LEEF) - for instance, when I bought a shirt and a pair of pants at Renuar last week, I asked, ?אֶפְשַׁר לְהַחְלִיף אֹתָם אִם אֲנִי רוֹצֶה (ef-SHAHR leh-hahkh-LEEF oh-TAHM eem ah-NEE roh-TSEH) - might I exchange them if I want? 


להחליף is an active-causative הִפְעִיל verb. So it follows that the act of replacing or exchanging is הַחְלָפָה (hahkh-lah-FAH). 


But a replacement - the item or person in a role that comes in place of something else - is a תַּחְלִיף (tahkh-LEEF).


The teachers at Ulpan La-Inyan מַחְלִיפִים אֶחָד אֶת הַשֵּׁנִי לִפְעָמִים - they replace one another sometimes (mahkh-lee-FEEM eh-KHAH et hah-sheh-NEE leef-ah-MEEM). And although teachers come and go, and their roles get transferred from one person to the next, בְּאֶמֶת, אֵין לָהֶם תַּחְלִיף - really, there's no replacement for them (beh-eh-MET EH-een lah-HEM tahkh-LEEF) - since each teacher brings his or her own unique set of gifts and talents to the classroom with which they engage their students.

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