how to say "medal" in Hebrew

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מֶדַלְיָה

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Whereas metal is a substance, a medal is an award.


The Hebrew word for metal is מַתֶּכֶת (mah-TEH-khet), explained in yesterday's posting. מתכת comes from an authentic Hebrew root.


But the Hebrew word for medal - such as that achieved in the Olympics - is very similar to the English: מֶדַלְיָה (meh-DAHL-yah).

Both the English medal and the Hebrew מדליה derive originally from the Latin medalia, which was a coin equaling half a dinarius - in Hebrew, דִּינָר (dee-NAHR) - in value. מדליה appears in the Talmud. 


The word medal or מדליה may or may not be related to the English word metal.


In the construct state we get:


מֶדַלְיַת אָרָד 
bronze medal
(meh-DAHL-yaht ah-RAHD)


מדלית כֶּסֶף
silver medal
(meh-DAHL-yaht KEH-sef)


מדלית זָהָב
gold medal
(meh-DAHL-yaht zah-HAHV) 

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how to say "metal" in Hebrew

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מַתֶּכֶת

 

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The Hebrew word for metal - such as iron, gold and aluminum - is מַתֶּכֶת (mah-TEH-khet). It stems from the root נ.ת.כ (n.t.kh), meaning pouring or melting - since most forms of metal are formed by melting different types together. 


If you take a good look at the word, you'll see a dot in the ת (t). This dot signifies that the t sound was accentuated in the early years of the word's pronunciation, in order to account for the missing letter נ (n) from the root.

Though the root נ.ת.כ shows up in Biblical Hebrew, the word מתכת makes its first appearance in the Mishnah. Its plural is מַתָּכוֹת (mah-tah-KHOHT), as in:


מַתָּכוֹת יְקָרוֹת
precious metals
(mah-tah-KHOHT yeh-kah-ROHT)

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how to say "to teach a lesson" in Hebrew

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לְלַמֵּד לֶקַח 

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The Torah portion to be read this Shabbat by Jews around the world opens the book of דְּבָרִים - Deuteronomy, or literally, words (deh-vah-REEM), where words in this context refer to words of admonition. דברים, common in Biblical Hebrew with the primary meaning words, is today a literary term for words, while the common word used in Modern Hebrew is מִלִּים (mee-LEEM).


A more specific term for admonition is to teach a lesson, often one that isn't so pleasant for the learner. As does most of the language, Modern Hebrew retains terms from its classical, often quite ancient sources. 


To teach a lesson comes directly from Biblical Hebrew: לְלַמֵּד לֶקַח (leh-lah-MED LEH-kahkh).


ללמד means to teach. It's an active-intensive פִּעֵל (pee-EL) verb. You can learn to conjugate ללמד by studying this chart.

לקח means a lesson, specifically a moral or life lesson. It can be found all over the Holy Writings section of the Bible, perhaps most famously in the verse:

כִּי לֶקֶח טוֹב נָתַתִּי לָכֶם, תּוֹרָתִי אַל תַּעֲזֹבוּ 

For I have given you a good lesson, do not forsake my Torah

(kee LEH-kahkh tohv nah-TAH-tee lah-KHEM, toh-rah-TEE ahl tah-ah-ZOH-voo). 

לקח is related to the word לַקַּחַת (lah-KAH-khaht) - to take - and its root is ל.ק.ח (l.k.kh). So such a lesson is actually a taking or sorts.

Flipping the scenario, we get to learn a lesson - לִלְמוֹד לֶקַח (leel-MOHD LEH-kahkh). ללמוד is an active-simple פָּעַל (pah-AHL) verb of the same root as ללמד. Learn to conjugate it here.

ללמד לקח and ללמוד לקח are essential for personal growth, though ללמד לקח in a way the other person will hear, requires a high level of sensitivity. I think the best way ללמד לקח to someone else while maintaining דאגה (concern) for the other person, is for the teacher לִלְמוֹד אֶת הַלֶּקַח - to learn the lesson (leel-MOHD et hah-LEH-kahkh) first him/herself. It makes the world a better place.

שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם, וְסוֹף שָׁבוּעַ נָעִים לְכֻלָּם!

Shabbat Shalom, and a pleasant weekend to all!
(shah-BAHT shah-LOHM, veh-SOHF shah-VOO-ah nah-EEM leh-khoo-LAHM) 

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how to say "life coaching" in Hebrew

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אִמּוּן אִישִׁי

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In recent decades the helping professions received a new, now-popular member that arrived from the business world: life coaching. The Hebrew expression for this practice that helps people unleash their potential, is אִמּוּן אִישִׁי (ee-MOON ee-SHEE), which means, literally, personal coaching or training.


אימון is the noun form of the active-intensive פִּעֵל verb, to coach or to train: לְאַמֵּן (leh-ah-MEN). It is a modern application of the word for foster parent, אוֹמֵן (oh-MEN) in the masculine and אוֹמֶנֶת (oh-MEH-net) in the feminine, first appearing in Biblical Hebrew. The root is א.מ.נ (a.m.n), which may or may not be related to some other words, אָמֵן - amen (ah-MEN) and אֱמוּנָה - faith (eh-moo-NAH).

אישי, personal, comes from the word אִישׁ - man (eesh).

The word אימון is also used to create the names of other professions, such as:

אימון כּוֹשֶׁר 

personal training (literally, fitness training) 

(ee-MOON KOH-shehr)

אימון עִסְקִי

business coaching

(ee-MOON ees-KEE)

Here's a video worth watching along the lines of life and business coaching, of the man who wrote the book, The 4-Hour Workweek. Although this video is in English, you can use it to improve your Hebrew by selecting Hebrew as the subtitled language towards the bottom-right of the player.

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how to say "concern" in Hebrew

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דְּאָגָה

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If you've taken our Level 3 course, you know the phrases, אַל תִּדְאָג - don't worry (ahl teed-AHG) in the masculine, and אַל תִּדְאָגִי (ahl teed-ah-GHEE) in the feminine.

לִדְאוֹג, the active-simple פָּעַל verb meaning to worry or to be concerned (leed-OHG), also means to make sure something happens when used with the prefix -לְ (leh-) in the next word, as in the example:

אַתְּ דּוֹאֶגֶת לְהָבִיא אֶת הָשְּׂמִיכָה לַפִּיקְנִיק?

Will you make sure (literally, are you worrying) to bring the blanket to the picnic?

(aht doh-EH-ghet leh-hah-VEE et hah-seh-mee-KHAH lah-PEEK-neek)

The common word for concern, however, is דְּאָגָה (deh-ah-GAH).

For example:

דָּוִד: לָמָּה הֵבֵאת לִי מָרָק עוֹף?

שָׂרָה: שָׁמַעְתִּי שֶׁאַתָּה לֹא מַרְגִּישׁ טוֹב.

דָּוִד: תּוֹדָה עַל הַמָּרָק... וְגַם עַל הַדְּאָגָה.

David: Why did you bring me chicken soup?

Sarah: I heard you're not feeling well.

David: Thanks for the soup... and also for the concern.

(dah-VEED: lah-MAH heh-VEH-tah lee mah-RAHK ohf?

sah-RAH: shah-MAH-tee sheh-ah-TAH loh mahr-GHEESH tohv

dah-VEED: toh-DAH ahl hah-mah-RAHK... veh-GAHM ahl hah-deh-ah-GAH)

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how to say "positive psychology" in Hebrew

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פְּסִיכוֹלוֹגִיָה חִיּוּבִית

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טָל בֶּן שַׁחַר

Tal Ben Shahar

Israeli scholar Tal Ben Shachar and others, including Shawn Achor in this excellent Ted.com video, are proponents of a relatively new movement in psychology that focuses, rather than on repairing damage, on building strength and resiliency. 


Positive Psychology gets translated into Hebrew as פְּסִיכוֹלוֹגִיָה חִיּוּבִית (peh-see-khoh-LOH-ghee-YAH khee-yoo-VEET).


פסיכולוגיה, a feminine noun in Hebrew, is a term borrowed from English, which is in turn borrowed from Ancient Greek.


חיובית is the feminine form of the adjective meaning positive, where חִיּוּבִי (khee-yoo-VEE) is the masculine form.

The word comes from the root ח.ו.ב (kh.w.b) meaning debt or obligation. As for the relationship between ח.ו.ב and חיובי, this requires further research. If anyone reading this knows the relationship, feel free to post it as a comment.


Check out this introduction to פסיכולוגיה חיובית by one of its founders. Although this video is in English, you can use it to improve your Hebrew by selecting Hebrew as the subtitled language towards the bottom-right of the player.

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how to say "to smile" in Hebrew

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לְחַיֵּךְ

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On the Jewish calendar, this is the week leading up to the saddest day of the year, תִּשְׁעָה בְּאָב - the ninth of (the month of) Av (teesh-AH beh-AHV), the anniversary of the Great Temple's destruction - the symbol of hope, light, love, devotion and everything good - twice in Jewish history.


I've therefore chosen such positive elements of the Temple as a theme for this week's Ktzat Ivrit entries... so that together we can spread them and make the world a better-lit place - so that we can rebuild the Temple.


Smiling releases endorphins and other chemicals in the body that not only reduce stress levels, they make the smiling person feel good. But beyond the person smiling themselves, others catching a glimpse of a smile are also likely to have some positive feelings and even smile themselves. Smiling is contagious.

The Hebrew word for to smile is לְחַיֵּךְ (leh-khah-YEKH), a verb of the active-intensive פִּעֵל variety. Learn how to use לחיך in different contexts by studying this chart. 

Here's one example:

חִיַּכְתִּי אֵלֶיהָ וְהִיא חִיְּכָה אֵלָי בַּחֲזָרָה.

I smiled at her and she smiled back at me.

(khee-YAHKH-tee eh-ee-LEH-hah veh-HEE khee-yeh-KHAH eh-ee-LAH-ee beh-khah-zah-RAH)

Following the פיעל pattern of nouns, a smile is a חִיּוּךְ (khee-YOOKH).

If you've got a חיוך on your face, pass it on to someone else who could use it. I promise you, yours won't diminish.

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how to say "backup" in Hebrew

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גִּבּוּי

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The first Torah portion to be read this Shabbat by Jews around the world tells the story of two and a half Israelite tribes who wish to settle the land conquered on east bank of the Jordan River, while their brethren would settle the land on the west bank and westward. Moses expresses to these tribes his fear that they would abandon the others in the struggle to settle the promised land and therefore dramatically lower the morale necessary for the struggle. These tribes then assure Moses that their forces would not return to their families on the east bank until the job is done.


In effect, they say, we'll back you up.


The Modern-Hebrew word for to backup is לְגַבּוֹת (leh-gah-BOHT), from the originally-Aramaic word for back - גַּב (gahv). This active-intensive פִּעֵל verb becomes גִּבּוּי (ghee-BOO-ee) in noun form - backup.


For example:

אַל תִּדְאָגוּ, אֲנַחְנוּ נִתֵּן לָכֶם גִּבּוּי.

Don't worry (to a group), we'll back you up (literally, we'll give you backup).

(ahl teed-ah-GOO, ah-NAHKH-noo nee-TEN lah-KHEM ghee-BOO-ee)

In verb form:

כְּדַאי לְגַבּוֹת אֶת הַדִּיסְק הַקָּשִׁיחַ פַּעַם בְּחֹדֶשׁ.

It's worth backing up your (the) hard drive once a month.

(keh-DAH-ee leh-gah-BOHT et hah-DEESK hah-kah-SHEE-ahkh PAH-ahm beh-KHOH-desh)

שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם, וְסוֹף שָׁבוּעַ נָעִים לְכֻלָּם!

Shabbat Shalom, and a pleasant weekend to all!
(shah-BAHT shah-LOHM, veh-SOHF shah-VOO-ah nah-EEM leh-khoo-LAHM) 

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how to say "a bit sweet" in Hebrew

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מְתַקְתַּק

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Yesterday's entry introduced the Hebrew word for to tick - לְתַקְתֵּק (leh-tahk-TEK), whose present-tense (active participle) masculine-singular form is מְתַקְתֵּק (meh-tahk-TEK). Though yesterday's word sounds a lot like today's, the two mean completely different things. Moreover, מתקתֵק comes from English, while today's entry, מְתַקְתַּק (meh-tahk-TAHK), comes from an authentic Hebrew root. Here's a comparison on the two.


On רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה - Rosh Hashanah (rohsh hah-shah-NAH), Jews wish one another a שָׁנָה טוֹבָה וּמְתוּקָה - a good and sweet year (shah-NAH toh-VAH oo-meh-too-KAH). 


The word for sweet is מָתוֹק (mah-TOHK) in the masculine and מְתוּקָה (meh-too-KAH in the feminine).


To say something is a bit sweet or lightly sweet, you'd use the word מְתַקְתַּק (meh-tahk-TAHK) in the masculine and מְתַקְתְּקָה (meh-tahk-teh-KAH) in the feminine. מתקתק is a diminutive form of מתוק.

For example:


סָלָט יְרָקוֹת עִם חִטָּה מְתַקְתַּק
a lightly-sweet vegetable salad with wheat


פַּשְׁטִידַת תַּפּוּחֵי אֲדָמָה מְתַקְתְּקָה
a lightly-sweet potato quiche

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how to say "to tick" in Hebrew

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לְתַקְתֵּק

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The other day I introduced the Hebrew word לִדְפוֹק - to knock (leed-FOHK), which also means, in non-literal sense to move along smoothly.


The Hebrew word that means to tick is לְתַקְתֵּק (leh-tahk-TEK), an active-intensive פִּעֵל verb whose origin you might guess (English).

For example, the English expression stressing urgency, the clock's ticking, translates literally to:


.הַשָּׁעוֹן מְתַקְתֵּק
(hah-shah-OHN meh-tahk-TEK)


Like לדפוק, the word לתקתק also means, non-literally, to move along smoothly, especially in terms of a schedule.

For example:

בְּדֶרֶךְ כְּלָל הָעֲבוֹדָה לוֹקַחַת יוֹתֵר זְמַן מֵהַצָּפוּי, אָבָל הַיּוֹם הַכֹּל מְתַקְתֵּק.

Usually the work takes longer than expected, but today everything is ticking.

(beh-DEH-rekh keh-LAHL hah-ah-voh-DAH loh-KAH-khaht yoh-TEHR mee-DAH-ee zeh-MAHN meh-hah-tsah-FOO-ee, ah-VAHL hah-YOHM hah-KOHL meh-tahk-TEK)

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