Streetwise Hebrew

The Hebrew word ילד – 'child' – comes from the root 'y.l.d' – י.ל.ד – which has made a huge career for itself in Semitic languages. This is a great example of how one root behaves in different verb patterns, keeping the stem meaning but then providing us with exciting branches of it.

Hear the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon

New Words and Expressions:

Yeled – Kid, boy – ילד

Yalda – Girl – ילדה

"Kulanu yeladim shel ha-chayim" – We are all children of life – כולנו ילדים של החיים

"Yaldey ha-yare'ach" – "Children of the moon" – ילדי הירח

"Hu ya'aseh lach yeled" – He will have a child with you – הוא יעשה לך ילד

Ta'aseh li yeled – Give me a child – תעשה לי ילד

Hi yalda – She gave birth – היא ילדה

Hi yalda ben/bat – She gave birth to a boy/girl – היא ילדה בן/בת

"Eich shir nolad?" – How is a song born? – איך שיר נולד

Hu nolad – He was born – הוא נולד

"Ma nolad?" – What was born (a boy or a girl)? – מה נולד

Nolad lo ben – He had a boy – נולד לו בן

Nolda lahem bat – They have a little girl – נולדה להם בת

"Ani noladti la-shalom" – I was born to peace – אני נולדתי לשלום

"Rak etmol nolda" – She was just born yesterday – רק אתמול נולדה

Hi nolda – She was born – היא נולדה

Hu yiled – He delivered a baby – הוא יילד

Hi yilda – She delivered a baby – היא יילדה

Meyaledet – Midwife – מיילדת

Leyaled – To deliver (baby) – ליילד

Lehityaled – To speak or behave childishly – להתיילד

Hu holid – He fathered – הוא הוליד

"Zeh holid be'ayot chadashot" – It brought new problems – זה הוליד בעיות חדשות

Yaldoot – Childhood – ילדות

Yalduti – Infantile – ילדותי

Yaldutiyoot – Childishness / immaturity – ילדותיות

Huledet – Birth – הולדת

Yom huledet, yomuledet – Birthday – יום הולדת, יומולדת

Leida – Delivery (Of a baby) – לידה

Ta'arich leida – Date of birth – תאריך לידה

Yeluda – Birth rate – ילודה

Yaldon, yaldonet – Kiddo – ילדון, ילדונת

Playlist and Clips:

Arik Einstein – Yeladim shel Ha-chayim (lyrics)

Tslil Mechoovan – Yaldey hayare'ach (lyrics)

Shlomo Artzi – Nirkod Nishkach (lyrics)

Ha-keves ha-shisha-asar – Eich Shir Nolad (lyrics)

Sexta – Noladti La-shalom (lyrics)

Aris San – Rak Etmol Nolda (lyrics)

Mati Caspi – Yalduti Hashniya (lyrics)

Uzi Fuchs – Yaldonet (lyrics)

Guy shares his top 10 tips on how to rejuvenate your linguistic inner self:

1. Find stuff you love and read about it in Hebrew.

2. Songs on StreetwiseHebrew.com

3. Radio: Israeli National Radio in 10 languages

4. Flash cards all over your home

5. Saying new words out loud. Talk to AI and the Google Translate App.

6. Tandem with a Hebrew speaker. You can message me through Patreon with your location or timezone and we'll try to find other patrons with similar schedules willing to work on spoken Hebrew.

7. Facebook your Hebrew.

8. Likpotz la-mayim, לקפוץ למים, jump into the water.

9. Ani rotse/ Ani rotsa ledaber be'ivrit, אני רוצה לדבר בעברית, I want to speak Hebrew. Ani lomed/lomedet ivrit, אני לומד/ת עברית, I learn Hebrew. Ani chayav/chayevet, אני חייב/ת, I must, ledaber ivrit, to speak Hebrew.

10. Magazines, children books, newspapers, websites, inflight magazines.

Morfix online dictionary

El Al inflight magazine – Eng./Heb.

The Hebrew word פרישה means retirement, and these days פרישה המוקדמת is on everyone's mind. Guy explains פרישה and other words from its root פרש.

Hear the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon

New Words and Expressions:

Prisha me-ha-avoda – Retiring from work – פרישה מהעבודה

Prisha me-ha-avoda, Yetsi'ah le-pensia – Retiring from work – פרישה מהעבודה

"Kshe-at tets'ee le-pensya, mi yid'ag lach?" – When you retire, who will look after you? – כשאת תצאי לפנסיה, מי ידאג לך

Retirement age – Gil ha-prisha – גיל הפרישה

"Halom ha-prisha ha-mukdemet ha-mele'ah nimtsa rak be-heseg yadam shel israelim me'atim" – The dream of full early retirement is within reach for only a few Israelis – חלום הפרישה המוקדמת המלאה נמצא רק בהישג ידם של ישראלים מעטים

Prisha mukdemet mele'ah – Full early retirement – פרישה מוקדמת מלאה

Prisha mukdemet / pensia mukdemet – Early retirement – פרישה מוקדמת / פנסיה מוקדמת

"Hem lo parshu me-ha-avoda, aval hem ken parshu mi-merotz ha-achbarim" – They didn't retire from work, but they did step away from the rat race – הם לא פרשו מהעבודה, אבל הם כן פרשו ממירוץ העכברים

Prisha me-ha-hayim ha-politiyim – Retiring from political life – פרישה מהחיים הפוליטיים

Lifrosh me-ha-hayim ha-politiyim – To withdraw from political life – לפרוש מהחיים הפוליטיים

Lifrosh ba-si – To quit at your peak – לפרוש בשיא

Yalla, ani poresh – Ok, I am heading out – יאללה, אני פורש

Pensioner / pensionerit, gimlai / gimla'eet – Pensioner – פנסיונר / פנסיונרית, גמלאי /גמלאית

Gimla'eem – Pensioners – גמלאים

Gimla – Pension – גמלה

Hem lo mafrishim ksafim la-pensya – They are not setting aside funds for their pension – הם לא מפרישים כספים לפנסיה

Lehafrish – To set aside – להפריש

Hafrashat ksafim – Setting money aside – הפרשת כספים

Playlist and Clips:

Ministry of Finance – Kshe-tets'ee le-pensya

KAN TV – Prisha mukdemet

Knesset TV – Ehud Barak poresh

Gimla'eem – Pensioners

Ma HaBeaya – Shabak Samech

Ep. no. 327 about mukdam, early HEB

The Hebrew word יד means hand, but also so much more. Let's find out its other meanings, idioms, and expressions Israelis often use. And what's yad2? Guy gives us a hand with the lesson.

Hear the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon

New Words and Expressions:

Yad, yadayim – Hand, hands – יד, ידיים

Ten / tni li yad – Give me a hand – תן לי יד

Ani lo rotse latet le-zeh yad – I don't want to collaborate with this – אני לא רוצה לתת לזה יד

Bishvilech ha-yare'ach etslo ba-yadayim – For you the moon is in his hands – בשבילך הירח אצלו בידיים

Ani yad rishona – I am the first owner of the car – אני יד ראשונה

Eize yad ha-oto? – What ownership is the car? – איזה יד האוטו

Oto yad rishona – First hand car – יד ראשונה

Oto yad shniya – Second hand car – יד שנייה

Al yedey – By – על ידי

Al yedey mi? – By whom? – על ידי מי

Al yedey David – By David – על ידי דויד

Al yedey ha-yeled – By the child – על ידי הילד

Leyad / Al yad – Near – ליד / על יד

Ba-bayit leyad ha-mesila – At the house near the railroad tracks – בבית ליד המסילה

Rechev yadani – Manual car – רכב ידני

Teivat hiloochim yadanit – Manual gearbox – תיבת הילוכים

Suzuki swift yadanit – Manual Suzuki Swift – סוזוקי סוויפט ידנית

Yadit, yadiyot – Handle, handles – ידית, ידיות

Yadit ha-delet – The door handle – ידית הדלת

Avodat yad – Handmade / handicraft – עבודת יד

Lalechet Yad be yad – To walk hand in hand – ללכת יד ביד

lilchots yadayim – To shake hands – ללחוץ ידיים

Lechitsat yad – Handshake – לחיצת יד

Lakachat et atsmecha bayadaim – Pull yourself together – לקחת את עצמך בידיים

Leharim yadayim – Put your hands up – להרים ידיים

Lo leharim yadayim – Don't give up – לא להרים ידיים

Lishloach yadayim – To grope – לשלוח ידיים

Im yad al halev – With hand on heart – עם יד על הלב

Playlist and Clips:

The Idan Raichel Project – Bo'ee (lyrics)

Lea Shabbat – Yare'ach Ba-shamaiym (lyrics)

Yad2 Campaign

Rivka Zohar – Ha-bayit leyad ha-mesila (lyrics)

Teivat hiloochim yadanit – Manual gear

Yadiyot – Handles

Avodat Yad – Handmade

Ofra Haza – Yad Be-Yad (lyrics)

Ninet Tayeb – Be-sof Ha-olem (lyrics)

Yehudit Ravits – Lakachta et Yadi be-Yadcha (lyrics)

You can't be in the Start-up Nation and not know how to talk tech in Hebrew. Guy teaches us how to say "attachment," "text message," and "chat" in Hebrew, and how to conjugate the verb לסמס. Things are about to get geeky!

Hear the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon

New Words and Expressions:

Telefon nayad, telefon cellulari – Cellphone – טלפון נייד, טלפון סלולרי

Titkasher elay la-nayad – Call me on my cellphone – תתקשר אליי לנייד

Pelephone – Cellphone – פלאפון

"Talpeni, talepni" – Call (Imp. fem) – טלפני, טלפני

"Mitkasher elayich at lo ona" – I am calling you, you don't answer – מתקשר אלייך את לא עונה

Telefon Kavi – Home phone, landline – טלפון קווי

Titkasheri elay rega lakavi – Call me on my landline for a sec. – תתקשרי אליי רגע לקווי

Mekoovan – Online – מקוון

Sheroot mekoovan – Online service – שירות מקוון

"Ba-boker kibalti email katsar ve-nechmad" – In the morning I got a short and nice email – בבוקר קיבלתי אימייל קצר ונחמד

Imeylim, meilim – Emails – אימיילים, מיילים

Doar electroni (doel) – Email – דואר אלקטרוני, דואל

"Lo sholchim misron bi-nhiga" – You don't send a message while driving – לא שולחים מסרון בנהיגה

Misron – SMS, message – מסרון

"Ata shloe'ach hoda'ah" – You're sending a message – אתה שולח הודעה

Lesames le-mishehu – To send an sms to someone – לסמס למישהו

Lehistames – To sms one another – להסתמס

Histamasnoo kama sha'ot – We chatted via sms for a few hours – הסתמסנו כמה שעות

Lishloach hoda'ah – To send a message – לשלוח הודעה

Shalachti lo hoda'ah – I sent him a message – שלחתי לו הודעה

Yisoom, yisoomon, aplikatsya – Cell phone application – יישום, יישומון, אפליקציה

Yisoomonim le-telefonim chachamim – Smart phone applications – יישומון לטלפונים חכמים

Leyasem – To implement – ליישם

Eich lehorid shirim – How to download songs – איך להוריד שירים

Patschan – Hacker – פצחן

Lefatse'ach – To crack – לפצח

Tsroofa – Attachement – צרופה

Mirshetet – Internet – מרשתת

Blog – Yoman reshet – בלוג

Lechotet – To chat – לצ'וטט

Playlist and Clips:

Shlomo Artzi – Talpeni, talpeni (lyrics)

Doda – Erev Avood (lyrics)

HOT TV – Commercial

Miri Messika – Af Ahat (lyrics)

Misron – Sms

Sarit Hadad – Hoshevet Alecha (lyrics)

Eich lehorid shirim

Ep. no. 155 about lehorid, to download

Ep. No. 208 about limsor, to pass HEB

If you've ever considered becoming a Streetwise Hebrew patron but haven't gotten around to it, now might be the best time to join and gain access to our all-Hebrew episodes.

Starting January 1st, our entry level Patron tier will see its first ever price increase since we started using Patreon more than 10 years ago. The price change only applies to new patrons who sign up after the end of this year. Existing patrons and those who sign up in the coming days will continue paying the current monthly rate.

By signing up before the end of the year, you're effectively getting a 37% discount, because the current $5 tier will go up to $8.

Existing Patrons, at all tiers, will not see any change to their monthly fees.

Go to patreon.com/streetwisehebrew and see if it's right for you.

Many things "happen" here in the Holy Land, which is why the root "kara" – ק.ר.ה – with all its derivatives, is so popular. Guy Sharett explains how it's related to murder, earthquakes, and soy milk, and finishes with an anecdote (in Hebrew) about a lady called Carmela.

Hear the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon

New Words and Expressions:

Karah – Happened – קרה

"Ma kara la-yeled" – What happened to the child – מה קרה לילד

Ma kara, ma kara? – What on earth? – מה קרה, מה קרה

Ma koreh achi? – What's going on, dude? – מה קורה אחי

Az ma od koreh itach – So what else is happening with you? – אז מה עוד קורה איתך

Ma koreh im… – What's happening with… – מה קורה עם

Ma kara im – What happened to… – מה קרה עם

Tagidi ma kore itach? – Tell me, what's happening with you – תגידי מה קורה איתך

Ma koreh itach? – What on earth is going on with you? – מה קורה איתך

Ma leazazel koreh itcha? – What the hell is going on with you? – מה לעזאזל קורה איתך

Ze ma she-kara – This is what happened – זה מה שקרה

Ze lo kore li – It's not happening to me – זה לא קורה לי

Ze lo yikre shuv – It won't happen again – זה לא יקרה שוב

Kara mashehu? – Did something happen? – קרה משהו

Nu ve-kara mashehu? – So did something happen? – נו, וקרה משהו

Mikreh, mikrim – Case, cases – מקרה, מקרים

"Ani gam kacha mikreh avud" – Anyway I am a lost cause – אני גם ככה מקרה אבוד

Mikre katseh – Edge case – מקרה קצה

Mikre cherum – Emergency – מקרה חירום

Be-mikre cherum ata yachol tamid lehitkasher elai – In case of an emergency you can always call me – במקרה חירום אתה יכול תמיד להתקשר אליי

Mikrey retsach – Murder cases – מקרי רצח

"Ani rotseh lifgosh ota pit'om be-mikreh – I want to meet her suddenly, by chance – אני רוצה לפגוש אותה פתאום במקרה

Be-mikreh – Accidentally – במקרה

Ze kara be-mikreh – It happened accidentally – זה קרה במקרה

Yesh lachem be-mikreh chalav soya? – Do you happen to have soy milk by any chance? – יש לכם במקרה חלב סויה

Le-mikreh she – In case you need me, here is my number – למקרה שתצטרך אותי, הנה המספר שלי

Be-mikreh shel re'idat adama – In case of an earthquake – במקרה של רעידת אדמה

Bechol pgisha mikrit – At every random meeting – בכל פגישה מקרית

Mikri – Random – מקרי

Mikriyoot – Coincidence – מקריות

Playlist and Clips:

Matti Caspi – Yemei Binyamina (lyrics)

Moshe Peretz – Ma Kore Itach (lyrics)

Ozi Zoltak – Afilu Lo At (lyrics)

Meir Ariel – Pluga Ba-kav (lyrics)

Arik Lavie – Haya o lo haya (lyrics)

Ep. no. 16 Cursing Drivers in Hebrew HEB

Ep. no. 79 about the flow of conversation HEB

From leaking documents to a leaky faucet at home, the root דלפ is an interesting one, and from which we get the Hebrew word for whistleblower.

Hear the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon

New Words and Expressions:

Ha-mazgan dolef – The air conditioning unit is leaking – המזגן דולף

Tsinor dolef – Leaking pipe – צינור דולף

Dlifa – Leaking – דליפה

"Yesh lanoo dlifa ba-mazgan" – We have a leak in our AC unit – יש לנו דליפה במזגן

"Yesh lanoo dlifa me-hatikra'" – We have a leak from our ceiling – יש לנו דליפה מהתקרה

Dlifat gaz – Gas leak – דליפת גז

Dlifot neft – Oil spills – דליפות נפט

Dalaf tik mismachim – A dossier was leaked – דלף תיק מסמכים

Ha-meida dalaf – The information leaked – המידע דלף

Eich dalaf ha-meida? – How did the information leak? – איך דלף המידע

Dlifat meida – Information leak – דליפת מידע

Mi hidlif et ha-meida? – Who leaked the info? – מי הדליף את המידע

Hu hidlif mismachim – He leaked documents – הוא הדליף מסמכים

Hi hidlifa mismachim – She leaked documents – היא הדליפה מסמכים

Hadlafat meida – Information leak – הדלפת מידע

Madlif – Leaker, whistleblower – מדליף, מדליפה

Mi ha-madlif/a? – Who is the leaker? – מי המדליף

Ha-sirton hudlaf – The video was leaked – הסרטון הודלף

Ha-sirton ha-mudlaf – The leaked video – הסרטון המודלף

Ha-pratim ha-mudlafim – The leaked details – הפרטים המודלף

Playlist and Clips:

Danny Litani – Shalechet (lyrics)

Midrag – Dlifat gaz

Dlifat neft – Fuel leak

Calcalist – Neft, politika ve-goofot

Hidlifa

Nurit Galron – Shalechet (lyrics)

"Od, od, od!" – we're always wanting more. How do we ask for more milk, for an encore or for another goal in a football game? You guessed it, we use "od." Guy Sharett tells us more…

Hear the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon

New Words and Expressions:

Od – More, else, still – עוד

Ken, od tipa – Yes, a tiny bit more – כן, עוד טיפה

Efshar od chalav? – May I have a bit more milk? – אפשר עוד חלב

"Ma od bikasht?" – What else did you ask for? – מה עוד ביקשת

Ma od vaksha? – What else would you like? – מה עוד בבקשה

Od mashehu? – Anything else? – עוד משהו

Ma od, ata rotseh gam café? – What else, do you want a cup of coffee as well? – מה עוד, אתה רוצה גם קפה

Mi od ba? – Who else is coming? – מי עוד בא

Tagidi li od paam – Tell me one more time – תגידי לי עוד פעם

"Od ha-paam" – One more time – עוד הפעם

"Ata od tegaleh et ha-olam" – You'll still discover the world – אתה עוד תגלה את העולם

Yesh adayin zman, yesh od zman – There's still time – יש עוד זמן, יש עדיין זמן

Daber iti be-od yomayim – Talk to me in two days – דבר איתי בעוד יומיים

Od me'at – In a bit – עוד מעט

Kol od – As long as – כל עוד

"Kol od oleh ha-boker" – As long as the sun is rising – כל עוד עולה הבוקר

Kol od hu medaber kacha, ani lo adaber ito – As long as he talks like this, I won't talk to him – כל עוד הוא מדבר ככה, אני לא אדבר איתו

"Od lo tamu kol pla'ayich" – Your wonders are not over yet – עוד לא תמו כל פלאייך

Od lo achalti – I haven't eaten yet – עוד לא אכלתי

"Eich eda ve-odeni yeled" – How will I know, when I am still a child? – איך אדע ועודני ילד

Playlist and Clips:

Erik Berman – Ma Od Bikasht? (lyrics)

Pablo Rosenberg – Tagidi Li Od Pa'am (lyrics)

Gidi Gov – Inyan shel Zman (lyrics)

Yoni Rechter & Eli Mohar – Kol Od (lyrics)

Rami Kleinstein – Od Lo Tamu Kol Pla'ayich (lyrics)

Ha-kol Over Habibi – Odeni yeled (lyrics)

Lior Peleg, our beloved editor and technical producer, is leaving us. As a tribute to him, we'll explore his full name and learn some cool stuff about it, especially about Or, light.

Hear the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon

New Words and Expressions:

Peleg, plagim – Brook, stream – פלג, פלגים

"Ve-haya ke-ets shatul al palgei mayim" (Psalms 1:3) – "And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water" – והיה כעץ שתול על פלגי מים

Ha-peleg ha-matoon – The moderate stream – הפלג המתון

Or, orot – Light – אור, אורות

"Ha-or shelcha me'ir, adayin zoher" – Your light, me'ir, is still shining- האור שלך, מאיר, עדיין זוהר

Ha-ner shelcha, Meir, adayin bo'er- Your candle, Meir, is still burning – הנר שלך, מאיר, עדיין זוהר

Le'ha'ir – To light – להאיר

"Et chadar ha-ambatia, moomlatz le'hair be-menorat tikra" – "It is advisable to illuminate the bathroom with a ceiling lamp." – את חדר האמבטיה מומלץ להאיר במנורת תקרה

"Chalon echad haya mu'ar" – One window was lit – חלון אחד היה מואר

Hu choshev she-hu mu'ar – He thinks he's enlightened – הוא חושב שהוא מואר

Lehadlik et ha-or – To turn on the light – להדליק את האור

Ata yachol lehadlik et ha'or? – Could you turn on the light? – אתה יכול להדליק את האור

Tadlik, tadliki, tadliku – Turn on the light (imperative) – תדליק, תדליקי, תדליקו את האור

Lechabot et ha-or – To turn off the light – לכבות את האור

Techabeh, techabi, techabu et ha-or – Turn off the light (imperative) – תכבה, תכבי, תכבו את האור

Hu mechabe et ha-or – He turns off the light – הוא מכבה את האור

Lekabel or yarok – To get the green light – לקבל אור ירוק

Hotsaa la'or – Publishing house – הוצאה לאור

Lehotsi la'or sefer – To publish a book – להוציא לאור ספר

Motsi la-or – Publisher – מוציא לאור

Oru einav – His eyes lit up, he was glad – אורו עיניו

Playlist and Clips:

Diane Kaplan – Al Palgei Mayim

King James Bible – Psalm 1

Psalm 1 – Automated machine reading (Italian)

Ehud Banai – Blues Kna'ani (lyrics)

Leha'ir – To light

Shlomo Artsi – Leyad Ha-bayit she-garti bo (lyrics)

Sarit Haddad – Shir Eres (lyrics)

Aviv Geffen – Or Ha-yare'ach (lyrics)