Streetwise Hebrew

This is the fourth and final episode dedicated to ק-ד-מ, the root that keeps on giving. How do we say, "right of way," "unprecedented prices" and the "Pre-Eurovision contest" in Hebrew? Or how about, "I was here before you, lady!"? Listen to the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Kadima – Forward, onward – קדימה Zchut kdima – Right of way – זכות קדימה Matan zchut kdima – Gi...

Believe it or not, we Israelis aren't always running late. Some of us even tend to arrive ahead of schedule. Yes, you read that right! In Hebrew, we have a special verb which means  to arrive ahead of time . Guy explains. Hear the All-Hebrew Version of this Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Lehakdim – To be early, to show up early – להקדים Lif'amim anachnu makdimim – Sometimes we arr...

"Hey! Check out my Facebook page, and my Twitter, oh, and my TikTok account, and don't forget my Instagram page." In Hebrew this is called קידום עצמי, self promotion. On this episode, Guy explains words and phrases related to  promotion , all derived from the root ק-ד-מ. Listen to the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Kidum – Promotion – קידום Hu kibel kidum, hi kibla kidu...

There's a fairly new Hebrew slang term out in the wild which means "move on!" We Israelis say, תתקדם! The root קדמ in the binyan hitpael form will be our focus today, as Guy explains what advanced level courses and a mobile app upgrade have to do with קדמ. Listen to the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Mitkadem – Advanced – מתקדם Yoel mesamen she-kedai lehitkadem le'evran...

Everyone's talking about חיסונים, vaccinations, and so will we! Guy uses this trending topic as another opportunity to review the Hebrew verb format combo we all should know by heart: piel-pual-hitpael. To get your weekly dose, just press play! Listen to the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Chisun – Vaccine – חיסון Shtei menot chisun – Two vaccine doses – שתי מנות חיסון M...

There are so many ways to say, "You've gotta be kidding me," in Hebrew. In this episode, we'll learn a few of them and learn how we write LOL in Hebrew. Listen to the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Lits'hok – To laugh – לצחוק Tsochek mi she-tsochek aharon – He who laughs last, laughs best – צוחק מי שצוחק אחרון Al titschak/titschaki alai – Don't laugh at me – אל תצחק/תצח...

The Hebrew word צחוק means laughter. We combine צחוק with different verbs and prepositions to express how hard we laughed at something or just how funny something is. But as is often the case with Hebrew slang, when used in the right context, and with the appropriate intonation and word-pairing, the word צחוק can be no laughing matter. Hear the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Express...

The Hebrew word שרוף means burnt, and its root takes us on an exciting semantic road trip. Guy covers everything from a burning sensation to diehard football fans, seared vegetables to wasting time and money. Listen to the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Ze soref li ba-einayim – My eyes are burning – זה שורף לי בעיניים Soref le-someone ba+body part – My X is burning – שו...

The Hebrew word קטן looks small but its root holds a large number of slang expressions and verbs. Here's an example: what does קטן עליי, literally "small on me," mean in slang? Listen to the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Katan – Small – קטן Ze katan aleinu – Yes, we can do it – זה קטן עלינו Katan alai – Easy as pie – קטן עליי Ka tan  aleycha, ka tan  alayich – You can...

Sometimes we just gotta be honest with ourselves and say, "אני לא סובל אותו" (I can't stand him). Guy explains the Hebrew root סבל, which means suffering or misery, and how it is linked to muscular endurance, horrible traffic jams and passive verbs. Listen to the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Sevel – Suffering, misery – סבל "Ata garamta li sevel ve-yisurim" – You cause...

Is it okay to save an open parking spot for someone, shooing away other drivers? Well, that's what many Tel-Avivim do. It's called לשמור חניה, and it happens all the time. On this episode, Guy continues with the root שמר, explaining how to say 'watch your mouth?' in Hebrew and why you should never really say it. Listen to the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Elohim Yishmo...

The Hebrew words שומר, משמרת, שמירה, משמר, all come from the same shoresh, שמר. On this episode, Guy continues where he left off in the previous episode with the shoresh שמר and, along the way, explains how to avoid embarrassing moments when you're about to shake hands in Israel. Listen to the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Strudel – @ sign – שטרודל  Shomrim – Guards –...

The Hebrew word שימור (shimur) is an interesting one. We use שימור to say canned goods, the preservation of historic buildings, and even customer retention. Guy explains. Bonus: A rare Yemenite song for Hanukkah. Listen to the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Galut – Exile, diaspora – גלות Shimur ha-tarbut ha-teimanit – Conservation of the Yemenite culture – שימור התרבות...

In Hebrew, שירה means singing. It can also be used to mean poetry. It depends on the context. On this episode, Guy reviews the words that stem from the root ש/י/ר and several well-known phrases that make use of them. Check Out the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Nurit – Buttercup – נורית Agav – Speaking of, apropos – אגב Shira – Singing, Poetry – שירה Shira be-tsibur – S...

What do courage, poor acting, and pet adoption have to do with one other? They have the same Hebrew root אמצ. On this episode, Guy explains the word אומץ, courage, and its root. Listen to the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Omets – Courage – אומץ Kibalti/tafasti/azarti omets – I mustered up my courage – קיבלתי אומץ Eize omets – How brave – איזה אומץ Ein li et ha-omets le...

There are several confusing verbs in Hebrew. Some are even spelled the same. This is an episode that you will want to follow along with the show notes as you listen. We wouldn't want to cause any more confusion! Check Out the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon New Words and Expressions: "Tamid ohev, tamid nifga" – He always loves, he always gets hurt – תמיד אוהב, תמיד נפגע Nifga, he gets hurt, nif'al,...

In Hebrew, we say, ?נפגעת ממני (Were you offended by me?) We can also say, ?פגעתי בך (Did I offend you?) And even though these two basically mean the same thing, the way we use them in spoken Hebrew determines who is to blame, the speaker or the spoken to. Guy explains. Check Out the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Hu nifga – He was hit, hurt – הוא נפגע Nifga, nifga'im –...

How do we say, "I don't want to offend you" in Hebrew? How about "bullseye"? Or perhaps "fragile"? On this episode, Guy covers the verb לפגוע (lifgo'a), meaning to hurt, and its usage in everyday Hebrew. Check Out the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: "Pachot ve-adayin, adayin poge'a" – It's hurting less, but it's still hurting – פחות ועדיין, עדיין פוגע Pagata be-emun ha-t...

What do we mean when we say קפה מחוזק (roughly translated as strengthened coffee), and is it legitimate to drink it at 1:30 PM? Or when we say הוא מתחזק (he's getting stronger) about someone? It's not what you might think. Check Out the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Eich lechazek et kol ha-rosh – How to strengthen the head voice – איך לחזק את קול הראש Lehazek – Strengt...

It's asked as a question but it's actually a statement: ?תחזיק רגע That's how we ask a friend to hold our bags while we run into another store to buy something. And how would we say, "I think highly of him" (or not so highly)? Guy explains. Check Out the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Tachzik/tachziki/tachziku rega – Hold this for a sec. – תחזיק/תחזיקי/תחזיקו רגע 'Tachz...

Israelis sometimes use a single word to review a movie or tv series: "!חזק" In Hebrew, חזק (pronounced  hazak ) means strong. So what are they trying to convey and how else can we use the word חזק? Guy explains. Check Out the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Hazak – Strong – חזק Klaf hazak – High card – קלף חזק Hazak! – Deep, intense, powerful, moving – !חזק Hazak be- mas...

The Hebrew word לחפש means "to search for." So what does "המורה סתם מחפש אותי" or "לכי חפשי ת'חברים שלך" mean? Both are slang and they don't mean what you might think they mean! On this episode, Guy covers the root ח.פ.ש and explains several ways to say, "take a hike!" Listen to the All-Hebrew Version of This Episode   New Words and Expressions: Lechapes – To search for, to look for – לחפש Chipus...

The Hebrew word לנסות,  to try , is very handy in everyday conversation. People always say, "try this," "don't try that," "try these pants on," "try this dish." On this episode, Guy tries to explain it all. Listen to the All-Hebrew Version of This Episode   New Words and Expressions: Nasui – Married – נשוי Linso'a – To travel – לנסוע "Nisiti meod lehilachem ba-ruchot" – I really tried to fight the...

Vé- ( and  in Hebrew) is sometimes pronounced Va- or Oo-, depending on the usage. So when is the letter ו at the beginning of a word pronounced Vé, Va or Oo? And should Hebrew learners invest their time to learn these elaborate rules? Listen to the All-Hebrew Version of This Episode   New Words and Expressions: Ve – And – ו (letter vav) "Al safsal ba-gan yoshevet, u-frachim bi-se'ara" – "She's sit...

The word נגד means  against , and its root gives us the Hebrew words for contrast, contradiction and conflict. We'll also head over to the Knesset in Jerusalem to hear an up or down vote take place. Hear the All-Hebrew Version of This Episode   New Words and Expressions: Neged – Against, nay – נגד  Be'ad – For, yea – בעד Hatsba'ah ba-knesset – A vote in the knesset – הצבעה בכנסת Haver knesset – Me...