Streetwise Hebrew

When an Israeli tells you "al tid'ag," or "don't worry," that's when you should probably start to worry. Guy Sharett teaches us how to talk about worrying – or making sure people don't – and what else this root, דאג, has up its sleeve. Hear the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Al tid'agi, al tid'ag, al tid'agoo – Don't worry – אל תדאג, אל תדאגי, אל תדאגו Al tid'ag – Don't...

The Hebrew word כאילו  is one of the words you'll hear most on the streets of Tel Aviv. It means 'as if,' but lots of Israelis use it in the same way we use 'kinda,' or 'like' in English. So just  ke'ilu  stick it  ke'ilu  anywhere  ke'ilu  in the sentence! Guy Sharett tells us more… Hear the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Ke'ilu – As if – כאילו "Lif'amim niraa ke'ilu k...

Eavesdrop on any phonecall on a bus or sherut in Israel, count to ten, and you'll probably hear  be'emet ? ('really?') 'Truth,'  emet , and its derivatives are found in all shapes and sizes in Hebrew. Host Guy Sharett teaches us some words and expressions with the alef-mem-tav root… we mean it!  Be'emet ! Hear the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: "Rak sheteda et haemet" –...

The Hebrew word דווקא does not have a direct English translation. Sometimes it means "actually" (as opposed to what you might think). At other times it means "particularly." So what does the saying לעשות דווקא (to do a דווקא) mean? Hear the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Davka – Actually, as opposed to what you may think – דווקא "ze lo kashe bichlal, ze davka kal" – It'...

We love using ראשי תיבות - acronyms - in modern Hebrew. We take the initials and between the last two letters we add inverted commas (two apostrophes) to show that it's an acronym rather than an ordinary word. Guy explains that the transformation from word to acronym is so extreme that some words even end up changing their gender! Hear the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions:...

The Hebrew word חיים, life, is so widely used that we just had to give it its own episode. Hear the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Chayim (pl.) – Life – חיים Ha-chayim shelcha nifl'aim – You're life is beautiful – החיים שלך נפלאים "Tni li lageshet el chayaich" – Let me approach your life – תני לי לגשת אל חייך Be-chaye-cha – Come on, please – בחייך Be-chayecha ta'avir ar...

The Hebrew word מת means dying and the word למות means to die. Today, Guy teaches us to use these words to mean 'cool' and 'happy.' As usual, prepositions must rear their ugly head. But don't worry, we're stronger! Hear the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Lamoot – To die – למות "Ata chayav lamoot alai" – You must go crazy about me – אתה חייב למות עליי "Ani meta aleyhem"...

Le, לְ, is how we say 'to' or 'for' in Hebrew. Guy teaches some cool expressions, and shows how we say stuff like 'for you' and 'to her.' Plus a bonus tip: How to do the most Israeli 'ch' sound! Hear the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: לי, לךָ, לךְ, לו, לה, לנו, לכם, לכן, להם, להן Lachem – To you (pl.) – לכם Lahem – To them – להם "Yesh li cheder mi-sheli" – I have a room...

The word סתם can mean many things in Hebrew: 'for no particular reason,' 'just kidding,' and it also has many more linguistic uses. Today we'll learn the most common uses of סתם by 'enlightened' Israelis, and hear an advert where Rivka from Jerusalem calls China to ask how long she should boil her rice. Hear the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Stam – Just like that, for...

Listen to anyone speak on their phone on an Israeli bus and chances are you'll hear them utter the word נכון ('right') every few seconds. Today, Guy teaches us how to use נכון in different circumstances and explains why we should never trust a shin (ש) when we see one. Hear the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Nachon – Right, correct, true – נכון "Nachon at yafa" – It's t...

What other ways are there to say 'goodbye' in Hebrew, apart from the ubiquitous,  yalla bye ? If you want to sound like an Israeli you can't just say the right words, you also have to sing them in the right tune. Guy explains. Hear the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Lehitraot – See you, until we see each other – להתראות Shalom ve-lo lehitraot – Adieu and not goodbye – ש...

Israelis love to indulge in the circular "how-are-you-how's-it-going-what’s-new" conversation chain, so it’s part of the verbal dance you need to know. Today Guy teaches us 11 ways, no less, of asking someone how they're doing. Let’s get on the dance floor! Words and expressions discussed: Ma hainyanim? (maina-nim) – ?מַה הָעִנְיָינִים Inyan – עִנְיָין Beseder – בְּסֶדֶר Az ma kore? – ?אָז מַה קוֹ...

What's happened to Hebrew-speaking romantics in these days of Whatsapp, Facebook and Twitter? How do they convey their feelings in 140 characters? Guy Sharett analyzes a unique song called 'Smiley,' whose lyrics are a collection of one-liners, sometimes just one word long, taken from real online chats between Israeli couples. And, most importantly, which Hebrew word is used by Israelis to text the...

On this episode, we explore the root of the word ערב, which means evening, and explain what it's got to do with Western movies. Plus, why wasn't Miley Cyrus willing to say the name of a famous Israeli TV show host? Guy explains. Hear the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: "Erev tov lach, at mushlemet" – Good evening to you, you're perfect – ערב טוב לך, את מושלמת Erev tov le...

Yaffe  means 'beautiful,' but the noun  yofi  – 'beauty' – is used in Modern Hebrew to mean 'Great!' You've probably heard your Hebrew teacher saying it when you get an answer right in class. How do you say 'beauty queen,' for instance? Hear the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: "Ha-ra'ita eize yofi?" – Did you see this beauty? – הרָאית איזה יופי Yofi – Beauty – יופי Yafé,...

This week Guy does something a little bit different. He's joined in the studio by Grego Villalobos, an interpreter for the European Institutions in Brussels, originally from Peru. He also happens to be learning Hebrew, so he's an avid Streetwise Hebrew listener. This was a great opportunity for Guy to engage with a listener; to find out how Grego uses the podcast, what he finds most difficult abou...

The word זַיִן, which is also how we say the 7th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, is defined as the male reproductive organ. It is a word we hear a lot in Hebrew because it is in many slang terms – many of which are not necessarily related to sex. Today we learn a few of these sayings and find out the connection between the term 'friends with benefits' and Austrian composer Franz Schubert. Listen to...

Everyone's talking about הפסקת אש, ceasefire. Let's get to know the word הפסקה (break) and other words in its family which come from the root פסק. Hear the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions : Hafsakat-esh – Ceasefire – הפסקת אש Hafsaka – Break, stop, halting – הפסקה "Maga'im intensiviyim lehafsakat esh, ach ha-esh lo poseket" – There are intensive talks for a ceasefire, but...

Shalom means 'peace,' 'hello' and 'goodbye' – it's one of the most popular words in Hebrew, and the first one everybody learns. But there are other words, all derived from the root sh.l.m , that are very active in our language. Let's meet the family! Hear the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Shalom – Peace, hello, goodbye – שלום Shalom rav lachem ve-erev tov – Hello and g...

Mamad is a protected room we Israelis got intimately familiar with during the operation in Gaza. What does it stand for? What do they call it in the safety instructions in Amharic and Russian? And last but not least, let's analyze the Hamas Hebrew propaganda song. Listen to the All-Hebrew Version of the Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Az'aka – Alarm, siren – אזעקה "Yesh azaka kan b...

"Let's stay in touch," "Something has to change," "It's not you, it's me" – all languages have these disingenuous, non-committal and empty phrases. So how do we say them in Hebrew? Hear the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Ata achshav kvar lo muchan lehitchayev – You're no longer ready to commit – אתה עכשיו כבר לא מוכן להתחייב Mechuyavoot – Commitment – מחוייבות Chayav –...

All languages love the word 'to go' and Hebrew is no different. If you type the verb's root הלכ into Google you get two million results! And we'll take you through them all… Just kidding! How do we use this verb holech? Let's learn some of the most current expressions. Listen to the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Holech, holechet – Going – הולך, הולכת Lalechet – To go –...

Lizrok means 'to throw' in Hebrew, but how is it used in relationship lingo? Oh, and who is the most famous 'Varda' in Israel? Hear the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: "Ve-chamesh shanim itach zarakti la-pach" – And five years with you, I threw in the garbage – וחמש שנים איתך זרקתי לפח "Ulai tafsik lizrok aleyha kesef?" – Maybe you'll stop throwing money on her? – אולי ת...

One of the most used words in Israeli slang is actually from Arabic. Yalla is used to encourage someone to do something, but with the right intonation you can deliver an array of different notions. Yalla , press 'play!' Listen to the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   Words and expressions discussed: Yalla – יָאללָה Ya Allah – יָא אַללָה Yalla zazim – יָאללָה זָזִים Yalla lech ha-bayita Motti – יָאלל...

Sometimes you need to ask a driver, or anyone really, "Could you stop here, please?" Today we'll learn how to say it in Hebrew, and we'll also find out what it has to do with bowel movements. Hear the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Lo otser be-adom – He doesn't stop in red light – לא עוצר באדום "Tagid li eich la'atsor et ha-dma'ot – Tell me how to stop the tears – תגיד...