Streetwise Hebrew

We all know the symptoms: Runny nose, cough, and headaches. What do Israelis say when they go to see their family doctor? Listen to the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Ani mekorar, mekoreret – I have a cold – אני מקורר, אני מקוררת Ani metsunan, metsunenet – I have a cold – אני מצונן, אני מצוננת Hatafti tsinun – I caught the cold – חטפתי צינון Ani metsunan/metsunenet kvar...

What happens when there's a disagreement between us and a service provider about money, arrival time, or about their deadline to finish the work? We check what was agreed upon and point to the facts. Today Guy explains how we do it in Hebrew. As part of our podcast's 8th birthday celebrations, we are giving all Streetwise Hebrew podcast listeners $50 USD towards Ruben Adery's full Hebrew pronuncia...

In Hebrew, עצור means stop!, imperative. When driving in Israel, if you suddenly hear עצור בצד (atsor ba-tsad) blaring from a loudspeaker, you better know what to do. Guy explains. Listen to the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Tamrur atsor – Stop sign – תמרור עצור Tamrur – Road sign – תמרור Ktov – Write! (Imp. m.) – כתוב "Atsor ba-tsad" – Pull over to the side – עצור בצד...

In Hebrew, עין הרע means the Evil Eye. There are folks here in Israel who perform ceremonies to get rid of עין הרע. On this episode, Guy explains the word רע (ra), and also discusses nasty gossip and the campaign to rid our society of it. As part of our podcast's 8th birthday celebrations, we are giving all Streetwise Hebrew podcast listeners $50 USD towards Ruben Adery's full Hebrew pronunciation...

The Hebrew word טוב means good. How would we use טוב when speaking to a well-behaving female dog? How about a male dog? The difference, as it turns out, is more than just changing the feminine/masculine form. And how about the saying, 'for your own good,' in Hebrew? There's a lot of goodness in this episode and Guy explains it all. Listen to the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   As part of our podca...

The Hebrew word אישור can mean to "green light" a new project. So what does a friend request on social media have to do with it? Guy explains. As part of our podcast's 8th birthday celebrations, we are giving all Streetwise Hebrew podcast listeners $50 USD towards Ruben Adery's full Hebrew pronunciation course. The course consists of 4 modules, 31 high-definition videos, and a bonus vowel audio co...

Does it make sense to dedicate an entire podcast episode to… nothing? Yes, yes it does! The word כלום, which means "nothing," often comes in the form of a double negative. Guy explains. As part of our podcast's 8th birthday celebrations, we are giving all Streetwise Hebrew podcast listeners $50 USD towards Ruben Adery's full Hebrew pronunciation course. The course consists of 4 modules, 31 high-de...

Every so often, Israeli tax authorities launch a public campaign targeting tax evaders. So how do we say in Hebrew evaders, evade, evasion, and other goodies from root עלמ in the hif'il verb format? Guy explains. As part of our podcast's 8th birthday celebrations, we are giving all Streetwise Hebrew podcast listeners $50 USD towards Ruben Adery's full Hebrew pronunciation course. The course consis...

The word נעלם means 'disappeared' or 'is missing.' In hitpael, the meaning becomes 'to ignore,' useful when you need to ignore someone, some thing, or more specifically in our case, dogs. We'll also cover what to do when you accidentally send someone a text message meant for someone else entirely. Listen to the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: "Gidi ata mit'alem mimeni" –...

The Hebrew word נעלם means 'disappeared' or 'is missing,' and in order to use it in different contexts, you'll need to know how to conjugate it. Also, what can science tell us about creating a real cloak of invisibility? Please don't disappear on us! As part of our podcast's 8th birthday celebrations, we are giving all Streetwise Hebrew podcast listeners $50 USD towards Ruben Adery's full Hebrew p...

The Hebrew word נסיעה, which means a ride, drive, or trip, comes in handy in a country like Israel, where it often seems like everyone's away on a trip or they can't stop talking about planning their next one. As part of our podcast's 8th birthday celebrations , we are giving all Streetwise Hebrew podcast listeners $50 USD towards Ruben Adery's full Hebrew pronunciation course. The course consists...

Have you been to an inner-child workshop? If not, I think the universe is trying to tell you something. How does the new age lingo of spiritual enlightenment sound in Hebrew? Listen to the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Ze lo kara stam'- It didn't happen just because – זה לא קרה סתם Ruach – Wind, spirit, ghost – רוח Ruchani – Spiritual – רוחני Ruchniki – New agey – רוחנ...

These days, it seems as if everything is measured by ratings and rankings. Businesses ask us to rate them even before we've left their doors. It's all a bit too much sometimes. So how do we rank something in Hebrew? Guy explains the root דרג which includes within it the Hebrew words for army rank, escalators and the highest echelons. Listen to the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expr...

The Hebrew word נוגע means touching and, just like in English, it has both a physical and emotional meaning. The root starts with the letter נ ( nun ), but in certain words based on this root, the נ disappears! Guy explains. Listen to the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: "Nag'ah ba-shamayim" – She touched the sky – נגעה בשמיים Hu naga – He touched – הוא נגע Hi nag'ah – Sh...

The Hebrew dictionary says that מוצלח means "successful, accomplished." But as Guy explains, מוצלח has some interesting nuanced uses that you really should discover. Listen to the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: "Yossi, yeled sheli mutslach" – Yossi, my perfect boy – יוסי, ילד שלי מוצלח Lehatsliach (Hif'il) – To succeed – להצליח Mutslach – Good, excellent, perfect, succe...

The Hebrew word להצליח means  to succeed , but there's much more to it than just that. In past tense, we use הצליח to compliment a baker on their delicious cake, the owner of a well-behaved dog and even a parent whose child is an absolute sweetheart. Listen to the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Lehatsliach – To succeed in doing something – להצליח "Ya binti tatslichi" –...

Nothing pairs better with a hot and humid Israeli summer than מזגן, air conditioning. So what should we say to the taxi driver who's got all the windows rolled down? And why did the air temperature in our trains make such big national headlines? Listen to the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Mazgan – Air conditioning – מזגן "Erkondishen" – "air condition" – אייר קונדישן "...

What does the phrase תן לו להתבשל ('ten lo lehitbashel') mean? As Guy will explain, we can use the verb להתבשל, which means to let something cook, not only when speaking about vegetables, but also about… people! Listen to the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: "Ke-chol she-tachtechu yoter katan, ze yitbashel yoter maher" – The smaller you cut it, the faster it will cook – כ...

The Hebrew word בישול means cooking, but it is also used on the football field and in police investigations. Interesting, right? Bonus: A special Israeli-Berliner way to ask for the bill. Listen to the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/posts/52521863   New Words and Expressions: Levashel – To cook – לבשל Ha-yom kulanu nidrashim levashel harbe yoter ba-bayit – Today we all have...

The Hebrew word העברה ( ha'avara ) means a transfer of something or someone, usually from one place to another. The transfer could involve money, digital files, and even… football players! Listen to the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/streetwisehebrew   New Words and Expressions: Ha'avara – Transfer, transferring, removing – העברה Ha'avarat ksafim be-touch – Money transfer wi...

The Hebrew word להעביר is a verb we use a lot. It helps us pass our מונית שירות fare to the driver, forward emails to colleagues, transfer money to friends or family, and even nudge our significant other to change the TV channel. Guy explains. Listen to the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Monit sherut – Shared taxi – מונית שירות Ata yachol lehaavir vakasha? – Could you p...

We pick up from where we last left off with the Hebrew root ע.ב.ר. And in this episode, we focus on verbs from binyan paal. Plus, Guy reveals a special mantra to recite when driving through an intersection, just as your traffic light is about to turn red. Listen to the All-Hebrew Version on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: "Hi lo yodaat ma over alai" – She doesn't know what I am going through...

There is a lot of ground to cover with the Hebrew root ע.ב.ר., so we will dedicate the next few episodes to it. This episode is all about its nouns. We talk about the weather, border crossing, chord transitions, allergies, airport transit, and even cover some history about immigrants from the 1950's. Listen to the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Avar – Past tense – עבר H...

After the terrible tragedy in Har Meron, public calls to find those responsible, האשמים, grow louder. In order to better understand what's going on in Israeli media, Guy felt it was necessary to cover the word אשמה and its shoresh אשמ. This episode is all about blame, guilt, charges and allegations. Listen to the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: "Ani achrai, aval achrayut...

This episode is all about the location of the stress we place on spoken Hebrew words and names, and what happens when we shift that emphasis around. Guy explains why the way Israelis and Americans say "Mazal Tov" differs so greatly, and how these shifts in stress play out in the spoken language. Listen to the All-Hebrew Version on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Ta'am – Word stress, emphasis...