Streetwise Hebrew

Asking for the bill is one of the most important things to learn in any language. But חשבון, in Hebrew, is about much more than just settling the account.

Guy explains how Israelis do self-reflection, how they break even… and how they don't give a damn.

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New Words and Expressions:

Heshbon, heshbonot (m.) – Bill, bills – חשבון, חשבונות

Heshbon bank – Bank account &ndash...

Are you playing by the כללים? A כלל is a rule or regulation, and it's a great Hebrew root to tackle together. Guy takes us through all the rules, regulations, generalizations, and exceptions.

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New Words and Expressions:

Klal, klalim – Rule, rules – כלל, כללים

Klalim le-chatsiyat kvish – Rules for crossing the street – כללים לחציית כביש

"Ve-ha-ikar, lo lefahed klal" &nda...

The Hebrew word איחוד means a union. Guy explains other words from the root אחד, which mean "association", "reunion", and "getting back together."

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New Words and Expressions:

Ichood – Union – איחוד

Ha-ichood ha-eropi – The European Union – האיחוד האירופי

Le'ached – To unite – לאחד

Gorem me'ached – A unifying factor – גורם מאחד

Me'oochad – U...

So how many times have you heard the sentence, "סמוך עליי, trust me, everything will be okay"? Guy explains the סמוך culture.

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New Words and Expressions:

Lismoch al mishehu – To trust someone, to count on someone – לסמוך על מישהו

Tismoch alai, smoch alai – Trust me (m.) – תסמוך עליי, סמוך עליי

Tismechi alai, smechi alai – Trust me (f.) – תסמכי עליי, סמכי עלי...

The Hebrew word for air is אוויר, while אווירה is atmosphere/ambience. There are other interesting words taken from אוויר, like fluffy or ceiling fan.

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New Words and Expressions:

Mezeg avir – Weather – מזג אוויר

Le'avrer et ha-heder – To air out the room – לאוורר את החדר

Hu me'avrer et ha-bayit – He airs out the house – הוא מאוורר את הבית

Le'avrer et ha-rosh...

Oftentimes, Israelis mix up the Hebrew words משכיר and שוכר. It's the difference between "renting" an apartment and "renting out" an apartment. It's a common mistake that you don't have to make! Guy explains.

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New Words and Expressions:

Liskor dira – To rent an apartment – לשכור

Baal/ba'alat ha-bayit – Landlord, landlady – בעל / בעלת הבית

Ani socher / socheret dira &nda...

The Hebrew word נצלן is an exploiter – someone who'll use you and then dump you without giving it a second thought. In this episode, Guy breaks down the word and its root נצל.

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New Words and Expressions:

Lenatsel – To make use of, to utilize – לנצל

Nitsool – Exploitation – ניצול

Nitsool kalkali – Economic exploitation – ניצול כלכלי

"Kol ehad menaseh le...

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.

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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 reti...

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.

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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 o...

The Hebrew word לברוח means to escape, but the same root has other interesting meanings in other verb formats. Guy also explains the meaning of חדר בריחה.

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New Words and Expressions:

Livro'ach – To escape – לברוח

"Ma ze be'etsem meshaneh mi-ma be'estem hem borchim" – What does it really matter what exactly they're running from – מה זה בעצם משנה ממה בעצם הם בורחים

Livro'...

Today we'll talk about the word חסר, missing, and its root. You don't want to miss it!

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New Words and Expressions:

Haser – Missing, lacking, deficient – חסר

"Ha-shir Ha-haser" – The missing song – השיר החסר

Ata haser li – I miss you – אתה חסר לי

At hasera li be-ramot – I miss you terribly – את חסרה לי ברמות

Hasar menoocha – Restless –...

The verbs of the Hebrew root kbl are everywhere: To get, to receive, to be hired, plus things which are just not done and are considered unacceptable.

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New Words and Expressions:

Lekabel – To receive – לקבל

Kibalti hoda'ah – I received a message – קיבלתי הודעה

"Ba-boker kibalit email katsar ve-nechmad" – In the morning I got a short and nice email – בבוקר קי...

The Hebrew word גירוש means expulsion and deportation, but the most commonly used word we get from this root is entirely different. Guy explains.

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New Words and Expressions:

Legaresh – To expel, to deport – לגרש

Gerush – Expulsion, deportation – גירוש

"Mishpacha she-higiah le-loov achrei gerush sfarad" – A family which arrived to Lybia after the expulsion of the J...

The Hebrew word קבלה has many meanings and uses, from receipts to acceptance. Guy explains how to use קבלה in its many forms and its plural.

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New Words and Expressions:

Kabala – Receiving – קבלה

Sh'ot kabala – Office hours – שעות קבלה

Kabala – Receipt – קבלה

Heshbonit – Invoice – חשבונית

Efshar kabala? – Could I have a receipt? – אפשר...

The word זול means cheap and is used in spoken Hebrew in all kinds of interesting ways. For example, what's זיל הזול? Guy explains.

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New Words and Expressions:

Zol – Cheap – זול

Periferia – Periphery, places outside the big cities – פריפריה

Yoker ha-mihya – Cost of living – יוקר המחיה

"Ad achshav ha-amira hayta ke'ilu, lechu la-periferia, ba-periferia zol, a...

When and how do you properly use the Hebrew root בצע? And where might we hear the phrase, רוצה לשמוע על המבצעים שלנו?

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New Words and Expressions:

Mivtsa – Military operation – מבצע

Mivtsa be-hanuyot – Sale – מבצע בחנויות 

Ha-mivtsa shel ha-medina – The best sale in the country – המבצע של המדינה

Rotse lishmo'a al ha-mivtsaim shelanu?' – Do you want...

The word רועד means shivering, shaking, and in this episode Guy explains its meaning and usage. Along the way we learn to say earthquake, and vibrato.

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New Words and Expressions:

Roed – Trembling, shivering – רועד

Kshe-tsiltsalt ra'ad kolech – When you called your voice trembled – כשצלצלת רעד קולך

Ha-kol shelach ra'ad – Your voice was trembling – הקול שלך רע...

The Hebrew word רעל means poison. Its root provides us with interesting words related to the military and to bosses, some of whom make our work environments toxic.

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New Words and Expressions:

Ra'al – Poison – רעל

Re'alim – Poisons – רעלים

Ra'al neged achbarim – Mouse poison – רעל נגד עכברים

Ra'al neged chuldot – Poison against rats – רעל נגד חולד...

The Hebrew word אירוע means an event, most often a happy event, like a wedding or bar/bat mitzvah. But its usage has changed lately. Guy explains.

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New Words and Expressions:

Eru'ah yeri – Shooting – אירוע ירי

Eru'ah dkira – Stabbing – אירוע דקירה

Eru'ah mitgalgel – Developing event – אירוע מתגלגל

"Yesh li eru'ah" – I have an event (wedding, bar/bat mi...