Free Hebrew lessons – May 2011 – Training – Day 68 – Last lesson

Shalom ^averim (Hello friends),

Today we will not have a lesson. Not today and not next week…     
 

Today’s menu: Termination

Attention: The underlined letters represent the accent.

After 17 months, 67 lessons and hundreds of Hebrew words, I have decided to close this course.

I hope that you enjoyed the lessons as much as I did, even if sometimes they were not so easy, as I promised…

I found many new friends here, some of you came just accidentally, some heard about my Heblish course from friends, some were simply looking for a way to learn Hebrew and some of you are my friends or customers.

I tried to bring something new and refreshing, and I really enjoyed the journey, but I find that it takes me far from my target, which is to sell Israeli jewelry.

I hope to see you here, when you decide to visit Israel.

Be’ahava (with love),

Yaron Gordon
Goood

Free Hebrew lessons – May 2011 – Training – Day 67

Hi,
Ma nishma?

In our previous lesson we learned how to say “please speak slower” in formal and informal ways. We also mentioned the phrase “ma nishma” (what’s new?).

Today we will learn the common questions for “how do you feel?”     
 

Today’s menu: Practice Hebrew – Some common questions

Attention: The underlined letters represent the accent.

In our previous lesson I told you that today we will learn how to ask someone how he/she feels, except for what we already learned “ma nishma?”

When we meet someone, we usually ask him/her about his/her situation.

Let’s see the difference between English and Hebrew:

So, when you meet someone and want to ask him this polite question, it is best to use:

Ma shlom^a for masculine and ma shlome^ for feminine, but what if you want to ask about someone’s else situation, like “how is your mother?”

In lesson 21 we learned to say “mom, father, brother, sister, grandmother” and “grandfather,” and in lesson 26 we learned how to say “daughter” and “son.” You can take the table below as a semi refresher for those relatives, and also to learn how to ask the right question.

In these cases, the first two words will be “Ma shlom…” – look at the table below:

* Even though “son” is “ben” and “daughter” is “bat,” we have to add the “the” (the “ha” letter) before the words “ben” and “bat” because they need a “definite article.” We learned about the “definite article” in lesson 7.

Although number of today’s lesson is “67,” the most important number this week is “63.”  Why?  Because, two days ago Israel celebrated its 63rd(!!) Independence Day (Yom Ha’atsmaut). 

I wasn’t around yet on our first Independence Day in 1948, but in my lifetime I have seen Israel grow from a tiny, almost friendless country struggling for survival every day, into a strong, independent democratic country that is a shining example of what can be accomplished with hard work, perservance, and God.  I hope you will join me in this joyous celebration of freedom.

Lehitraot in lesson 68…  ;-)

You are welcome to join our group on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=230884728509.

Free Hebrew lessons – May 2011 – Training – Day 66

Shalom,
Ma nishma?

In our previous lesson we learned more about adjectives. We learned about “heavy” and “light” (kaved ve’kal), “beautiful” and “ugly” (yafe ve’me^oar) and also about “long” and “short” (aro^ ve’katsar).

Let’s see what we have today…     
 

Today’s menu: Practice Hebrew

Attention: The underlined letters represent the accent.

Before we start the lesson, last week I promised to teach you how to say “please speak slower,” because sometimes it’s necessary when you speak with an Israeli.

I will teach you to say it in two different ways, and my suggestion to you is to remember the second way.

One way to say “please speak slower” is:
   – Bevakasha daber leat when you speak to a man, and
   – Bevakasha dabri leat when you speak to a woman.

The problem with this saying is that it sounds like a command, even though you use the word “bevakasha” (please). That’s because the word “speak” (daber or dabri) is an imperative form.

The other way to say “would you speak slower” is:
   – “Ata mu^an ledaber ktsat yoter leat?” when you speak to a man, and
   – “At mu^ana ledaber ktsat yoter leat?” when you speak to a woman.

Here, it’s more like you are requesting an action, rather than demanding.

I opened this lesson with: “Shalom, ma nishma?”

In lesson 15 I taught you that for “What’s new?” you should ask “ma nishma?”

“Ma nishma?” is not the literal translation for “what’s new?” except for the word “ma” which is “what.”

As we learned in lesson 37, “new” is ^adash (m), or ^adasha (f). On the other hand, “nishma” means “we will hear…”

In this lesson we started to learn some of the subtle distinctions in language; that you can say something using the “right” words, but the meaning is not what you intended.  As always in these lessons, I will teach you the more everyday way to communicate in Hebrew. If you ever have questions, of course I am available through Facebook to address them individually.

I want to keep this lesson short, but next week I will teach you a few more phrases, related to the popular question (what’s new?). Don’t miss it…

Lehitraot in lesson 67…

You are welcome to join our group on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=230884728509.