Streetwise Hebrew

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 pronunciation course. The course consists of 4 modules, 31 high-definition videos, and a bonus vowel audio course with 400+ common daily practice words. Check out the course material and have the $50 discount applied automatically at to tlv1.fm/happy8 Listen to the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Ne’elam li ha-nayad – My phone has disappeared – נעלם לי הנייד Mishu ra’a oto – Has anyone seen it? – מישהו ראה אותו Ne’elma li ha-mitriya – My umbrella disappeared – נעלמה לי המטרייה Ne’elmu li ha-maftechot – I can’t find my keys – נעלמו לי המפתחות Koev li ha-rosh – I have a headache – כואב לי הראש

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 of 4 modules, 31 high-definition videos, and a bonus vowel audio course with 400+ common daily practice words. Check out the course material and have the $50 discount applied automatically at to tlv1.fm/happy8 Listen to the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon   New Words and Expressions: Masa (m.), masa’ot – Journey, journeys – מסע, מסעות Mas’ot ha-tslav – The Crusades – מסעות הצלב Linso’a – To travel – לנסוע Nesi’ah tova – Have a good trip – נסיעה טובה Yesh li nesi’ah me-ha-avoda – I have a work-related trip – יש לי נסיעה מהעבודה Nesi’at asakim – Business trip – נסיעת עסקים Masa asakim – Business trip (archaic) – מסע

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 – רוחניקי Dibur ruchniki – New agey talk – דיבור רוחניקי Ruchnikiyoot – New age-ism – רוחניקיות Ruchnik – New age-ist – רוחניק “Mu’arim be-am” – Enlightened Ltd. – מוארים בע”מ “Ani isha, ani ela” – I am a woman, I am a goddess – אני אישה, אני אלה “Ani kosemet, ani machashefa, ani feia” – I am a magician, I am a witch, I am a fairy – אני קוסמת, אני מכשפה, אני פיה “Ani bidiyuk mesayemet nikuy shel 21 yom” – I am just finishing a 21 day long cleansing – אני בדיוק מסיימת ניקוי של 21 יום Shake-im – Shakes – שייקים “Bli she-tichnanti ze yatsa bul al yom kippur” – Without any foresight, it fell smack on yom kippur – בלי שתכננתי ז

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 Expressions: Az erkod al madregot ha-rabanut – I’ll dance on the rabbinate stairs – אז ארקוד על מדרגות הרבנות Madrega, madregot – Steps, stairs – מדרגה, מדרגות Hadar madregot – Staircase – חדר מדרגות Madregot naot  – Escalator – מדרגות נעות, דרגנוע Darga, dargot – Rank, ranks – דרגה, דרגות Derug – Rating, ranking – דירוג Derug FIFA – FIFA rankings – דירוג פיפ”א Derug ashrai – Credit rating – דירוג אשראי Ledareg – To rank – לדרג Atem muzmanim ledareg otanu – You’re invited to rate us – אתם מוזמנים לדרג אותנו Israel medorget ba-makom ha-shmini be-hityakrut dirot ba-shana ha-achrona – Israel is ranked eighth in the world fo

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 – She touched – היא נגעה “Kashe biladecha” – It’s hard without you – קשה בלעדיך  Ki nagata bi – Because I was moved by you – כי נגעת בי “Bach lo nogea” – It doesn’t touch you – בך לא נוגע Ze lo noge’a lecha/lach – It doesn’t concern you – זה לא נוגע לך Be-noge’a le-mashehu – Concerning something – בנוגע למשהו “Shalom, ze be-noeg’ea la-dira” – Hi, it’s about the apartment – שלום, זה בנוגע לדירה “Shalom, ze be-nog’ea la-oto” – Hi, it’s about the car – שלום, זה בנוגע לאוטו Noge’a la-lev – Touching, moving – נוגע ללב Mi naga li ba-dvarim? – Who touched my stuff? – מי נגע לי בדברים Al tiga, al tig’ee, al tig’u – Don’t touch – א

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, successful – מוצלח “Eich legadel yeladim mutslachim yoter” – How to raise outstanding children – איך לגדל ילדים מוצלחים יותר “Ha-achayot ha-mutslachot sheli” – My perfect sisters – האחיות המוצלחות שלי Hinne shuv achalti yoter midai – Here again, I ate too much – הנה שוב אכלתי יותר מדיי Im lo hayiti kacha, ulai hayiti mutslachat – If I wasn’t like that, I might have been a better person – אם לא הייתי ככה, אולי הייתי מוצלחת Ha-date haya mamash mutslach – The date was really great – הדייט היה ממש מוצלח Ha-date lo haya mutslach – The date was not great – הדייט לא היה מוצלח Ha-yeshiva hayta mutslachat – The meeting was great –

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” – My daughter (Ar.), you’ll make it – יא בנתי תצליחי Tatslichi! Tatsliach! – Good luck – תצליחי, תצליח Ani me’achel lach she-tatslichi / lecha she-tatsliach – I wish you to be successful – אני מאחל לך שתצליחי, שתצליח Behatslacha – Good luck – בהצלחה Ani batuach she-tatsliach – I am sure you’ll succeed – אני בטוח שתצליח “She-tatsliach amen”, “She-tatslichi amen” – May you succeed – שתצליח אמן, שתצליחי אמן Halevai she-tatsliach – May you succeed – הלוואי שתצליח Lehatsliach be-gadol – To make it bigtime – להצליח בגדול Elef kabaim lo yatslichu lechabot oti – One thousand firefighters won’t succeed in putting out my fire – אל

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 “Efshar mazgan?” – Could you put on the aircon? – אפשר מזגן Ata yachol lasim mazgan ‘vaksha? – Could you put the mazgan please? – אתה יכול לשים מזגן ‘בקשה Yesh mazgan? – Is there aircon? – יש מזגן Efshar lehadlik mazgan? – Could you turn the air conditioner on? – אפשר להדליק מזגן Efshar lechabot et ha-mazgan? – Could you turn off the air conditioner? – אפשר לכבות את המזגן Ha-mazgan hachi chadshani – The most innovative air conditioner – המזגן הכי חדשני Mazgenei tornado, Mazganim shel chevrat tornado – Tornado air conditioning units – מזגני טורנדו, מזגנים של חברת טורנדו Kar li ba-mazgan tamid – I am always cold in the

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 – ככל שתחתכו יותר קטן, זה יתבשל יותר מהר Marak katom – Orange soup – מרק כתום Ha-yerakot sheli mamash hitbashlu – My vegetables cooked really well – הירקות שלי ממש התבשלו Tnu le-ze lehitbashel al esh ktana – Let it cook on a low flame – תנו לזה להתבשל על אש קטנה “Ten lo lehitbashel” – Let him marinate in his own juices, let him simmer down – תן לו להתבשל “Ani mitbashelt le’at” – I simmer slowly – אני מתבשלת לאט “Eize erev mitbashel po” – What an evening is being cooked up here – איזה ערב מתבשל פה Ha-pri hivshil – The fruit ripened – הפרי הבשיל He’edim – He became red – האדים Hilbin – He became white, turned white – הלבי

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 to cook much more at home – היום כולנו נדרשים לבשל הרבה יותר בבית Ve-be-yichud bishvilchem yatsarnu et mitcham “zman bishulim” be-atar “bishulim” – And just for you we created a page called Zman Bishulim, on the Bishulim website – ובייחוד בשבילכם יצרנו את מתחם “זמן בישולים” באתר בישולים  Atar ha-matsi’a ra’ayonot yichudiyim le-bishul im yeladim – A website which offers unique ideas for cooking with children – אתר המציע רעיונות יחודיים לבישול עם ילדים Bishul – Cooking – בישול Bishulim beitiyim – Home cooking – בישולים ביתיים Ani be-emtsa ha-bishulim – I am in the middle of cooking – אני באמצע הבישולים Sadnat bishul –

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 with one click – העברת כספים בטאץ’ Haavarot ksafim – Money transfers – העברות כספים Taase / taasi li haavara, Taavir / taaviri li – “Make me a money transfer” – תעשה/תעשי לי העברה, תעביר/תעבירי לי  Haavarot sachkanei kaduregel – Transfers of football players from one football club to another – העברות שחקני כדורגל Lo kolel haavarot – Not including transit to the hotel – לא כולל העברות Haavarat sichot – Transferring calls, call-forwarding – העברת שיחות Haavarat tmunot me-hanayad ha-yashan la-hadash – Transferring photos from the old smartphone to the new one – העברת תמונות מהנייד הישן לחדש Lehaavir data / Laasot haavarat d

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 please pass it on? – ?את יכול להעביר בבקשה At yechola lehaavir vaksha? – Could you please pass it on? – ?את יכולה להעביר בבקשה Efshar lehaavir? – Could you pass it forward? – ?אפשר להעביר Lehaavir kesef – To transfer money – להעביר כסף Ata yachol lehaavir et ha-salat? – Could you pass the salad please? – אתה יכול להעביר את הסלט At yechola lehaavir et ha-melach – Could you pass the salt? – את יכולה להעביר את המלח “lehaavir vish al ha-shulchan” – Wipe the table down – להעביר ויש על השולחן Ata yachol lehaavir li po vish katan? – A quick wipe here would be nice – אתה יכול להעביר לי פה ויש קטן Lehaavir et kita yud-bet ba-z

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 – היא לא יודעת מה עובר עליי Ma over aleicha/alayich, ha-kol beseder? – What’s going on with you, is everything ok? – מה עובר עלייך/עליך “Mi yode’a ma avar alay, ma avar alayich” – Nobody knows what I’ve been going through, what you’ve been going through – מי יודע מה עבר עליי, מה עבר עליך “Nira li over alav mashu” – I think he’s going through hard times – נראה לי עובר עליו משהו Ha-zman over le’at – Time is passing slowly – הזמן עובר לאט Ha-zman over – The time is passing by – הזמן עובר Zmancha avar – Your time has passed – זמנך עבר Ha-zman avar – Time is up – הזמן עבר “Laavor me-android le-iphone” – Move from Android

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 Hu avar – He passed, crossed – הוא עבר Maavar Taba – The Taba Crossing – מעבר טאבה Maavar gvul – Border crossing – מעבר גבול Onat maavar – Spring or fall – עונת מעבר Maavar chatsiya – Crosswalk – מעבר חצייה “Maavar dira be-click” – Moving apartments with one click – מעבר דירה בקליק Nos’im be-maavar – Transit passengers – נוסעים במעבר Moshav ba-maavar – Aisle seat – מושב במעבר “Efshar chalon?”, “efshar maavar?” – Could I have a window/aisle seat? – אפשר חלון, אפשר מעבר Maavarim – Passages, transitions – מעברים “Maavarim chalakim ve-neimim ve zormim bein accord le-accord” – Smooth, nice, flowing transitions between chor

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 ein perusha ashma” – I am responsible, but responsibility does not mean blame – אני אחראי, אבל אחריות אין פירושה אשמה Ashma – Blame, fault, charge – אשמה Rigshot ashma – Feelings of guilt – רגשות אשמה Ze be-ashmatech – It’s your fault – זה באשמתך Ha-sar omer she-ze lo be-ashmato – The minister says it’s not his fault – השר אומר שזה לא באשמתו Be-ashmat mi ze – Whose fault is it? – ?באשמת מי זה “Ze lo ashmati!” – It’s not my fault! – זה לא אשמתי Mode ba-ashma – Guilty as charged – מודה באשמה Lehodot ba-ashma – To plead guilty – להודות באשמה “Achra’im, lo ashemim” – Responsible, not guilty – אחראים, לא אשמים Ashem, ash

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 – טעם MoSHE – Stressed at the end of the word MOshe – Stressed in the beginning of the word Hat’ama – Accentuation – הטעמה YAkov / ya-ah-KOV – Jacob – יעקב BAruch / baRUCH – ברוך YAniv / yaNIV – יניב DAvid / daVID – דויד Ashdod version of French names: JACqueline, RObert, BAbette, MIchel, MOrris  French version: JacqueLINE, roBERT, BaBETTE, miCHEL, moRRIS MAzel toff (Yiddish) – Congratulations – מזל טוב maZAL tov (IL) – Congratulations – מזל טוב shiv’AH (IL) – Shiva – שבעה SHIva (US) – Shiva – שבעה ooGA – Cake – עוגה OOga (child language) – Cake – עוגה MashkanTA (formal) – Mortgage – משכנתאMashKANta (colloquial) – Mo

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 – Giving the right of way – מתן זכות קדימה Kodem – Before – קודם Ani hayiti kodem – I was here first – אני הייתי קודם Kdimut – Priority – קדימות Yesh lahem kdimut, hem ovdim be-beit cholim – They have priority, they work in a hospital – יש להם קדימות, הם עובדים בבית חולים Takdim – Precedent – תקדים Takdim mishpati – Legal precedent – תקדים משפטי Mechir hasar takdim – Unprecedented price –  מחיר חסר-תקדים Hasar takdim, harsrat takdim, hasrei tadkim, hasrot takdim – חסר תקדים, חסרת תקדים, חסרי תקדים, חסרות תקדים Mechina kdam tsva’it – Pre-army preparatory program – מכינה קדם-צבאית Kdam Eurovision – Pre-Eurovision – קדם-איר

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 arrive ahead of time – לפעמים אנחנו מקדימים Efshar ulai lehakdim tipa? Ze beseder im ani akdim tipa? – Is it possible to arrive earlier? – אפשר אולי להקדים טיפה Yesh mashehu yoter mukdam? – Is there something earlier than this? – יש משהו יותר מוקדם Hikdamti tipa – I’m here a bit early – הקדמתי טיפה Ani makdim tipa – I am running a bit early – אני מקדים טיפה Ani akdim tipa – I’ll be a bit early – אני אקדים טיפה Tuchal/tuchli lehakdim tipa? – Would you be able to arrive a bit earlier? – תוכל, תוכלי להקדים טיפה Yesh lecha tor be-eser, ata yachol lehakdim tipa? – You’ve got an appointment for 10am, would you be able to come e

“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 kidum – He/She got a promotion – הוא קיבל קידום, היא קיבלה קידום Kidum mechirot – Sales promotion – קידום מכירות Kidum no’ar – Youth development – קידום נוער Kidum atarim – Website optimization – קידום אתרים Kidum digitali, kidum be-google – Search engine optimization – קידום דיגיטלי, קידום בגוגל Kidum atsmi – Self promotion – קידום עצמי Ata chayav lekadem organit et ha-atar shelcha – You have to promote your website organically – אתה חייב לקדם אורגנית את האתר שלך Lekadem et tahalich ha-shalom – To advance the peace process – לקדם את תהליך השלום Ani rotse lekadem bi-vracha et… – I’d like to give a warm welcome to… – אני רו

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 – Yoel signals we should start moving towards them – יואל מסמן שכדאי להתקדם לעברן Titkadem, titkadem, ata ro’e oti? Ani ro’e otcha – Keep going, keep going, do you see me? I can see you – תתקדם, תתקדם, אתה רואה אותי? אני רואה אותך Nu, eich ze mitkadem? – So, how is it coming along? – נו, איך זה מתקדם Kurs mitkadem – Advanced- קורס מתקדם Ramat matchilim – Beginner level – רמת מתחילים Rama beinonit – Intermediate level – רמה בינונית Ramat mitkadmim – Advanced level – רמת מתקדמים Hitkadem le-, Titkadem le- – Move to the next stage – התקדם ל-, תתקדם לי Bo’u nitkadem – Let’s continue going forward / Let’s advance to the