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Jessi: Hello, and welcome to Hebrew Survival Phrases, brought to you by HebrewPod101.com. This course is designed to equip you with the language skills and knowledge to enable you to get the most out of your visit to Israel. You'll be surprised at how far a little Hebrew will go. Now, before we jump in, remember to stop by HebrewPod101.com and there you'll find the accompanying PDF and additional info in the post. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment!
Survival Phrases Lesson 16 - Counting
This lesson is very straightforward as we're going to cover counting from zero through ten. Let's jump right in.
Please note that counting things in Hebrew can be a bit tricky as objects in Hebrew have gender.
First we will list the masculine form of the numbers, and then the feminine form.
0 אֶפֶס efes
1 אֶחָד/אַחַת echad/achat
2 שְׁנַיִם/שְׁתַּיִם shnayim/shtayim
3 שְׁלוֹשָׁה/שָׁלוֹשׁ shlosha/shalosh
4 אַרְבָּעָה/אַרְבַּע arba'ah/arba
5 חֲמִישָׁה/חָמֵש khamisha/khamesh
6 שִׁשָּׁה/שֵׁשׁ shisha/shesh
7 שִׁבְעָה/שֵׁבַע shiv'ah/sheva
8 שְּמוֹנָה/שְּמוֹנֶה shmona/shmone
9 תֵּשַׁע/תִּשְׁעָה tish'ah/tesha
10 עֲשָׂרָה/עֶשֶׂר asara/eser
Neutral numbers (numbers of streets, public transport lines, and numbers as you read them one by one) are set in their feminine form. Furthermore, we also use "one" or אֶחָד/אַחַת, Echad/achat as the indefinite article meaning "a/an" after nouns. So we have אֶחָד, Echad after masculine nouns, and אַחַת, Achat after feminine nouns. For example, "One person (a man)" is Ish echad. Let's break down these two words and hear them one more time, אִישׁ אֶחָד, Ish echad. And "One person (a woman)" is אִשָּׁה אַחַת, Isha achat. Let's break down these two words and hear them one more time, אִשָּׁה אַחַת, Isha achat.
The number comes first, followed by the thing. To say "two people," you will say, שְׁנֵי אֲנָשִׁים, Shnei anashim. In this case, אֲנָשִׁים, anashim is the plural of אִישׁ, Ish. An exception is the singular form. In the singular form, the noun that you count comes first followed by the number. Please note that, in Hebrew, as you have seen, nouns have singular and plural forms and they can be feminine, or masculine or neuter.
If there are "five people," you have חֲמִשָּׁה אֲנָשִׁים, khamisha anashim.
Numbers can be very useful especially when shopping in Israel. Let's imagine you are buying some presents to bring back to your country. For example, imagine you would like to buy two bottles of עָרָק, Arak (Israeli alcohol) in a nice shop. "I would like to buy two bottles of Arak," for a male speaker is Ani rotze liknot shnei bakbukim shel arak bevakasha. Let's break down these two words and hear them one more time, אֲנִי רוֹצֵה לִקְנוֹת שְׁנֵי בַּקְבּוּקִים שֶׁל עָרַק בְּבַקָּשָׁה, Ani rotze liknot shnei bakbukim shel arak bevakasha.
Ani rotze, אֲנִי רוֹצֵה are the Hebrew words for "I would like." Next, you have the word לִקְנוֹת, Liknot, which means "to buy." Then, you have the number שְׁנֵי, Shnei "two," followed by בַּקְבּוּקִים, Bakbukim, which is plural for the object "bottle." Next is the word שֶׁל, Shel, which in English means, "of." Then, we have the word עָרַק, Arak meaning "Israeli alcohol" (what that you wanted to buy). Last is the word בְּבַקָּשָׁה, Bevakasha, which in English is "please."
For a female speaker, "I would like to buy two bottles of Arak." is אֲנִי רוֹצָה לִקְנוֹת שְׁנֵי בַּקְבּוּקִים שֶׁל עָרַק בְּבַקָּשָׁה, Ani rotza liknot shnei bakbukim shel arak bevakasha. Let's break down these two words and hear them one more time, אֲנִי רוֹצָה לִקְנוֹת שְׁנֵי בַּקְבּוּקִים שֶׁל עָרַק בְּבַקָּשָׁה, Ani rotza liknot shnei bakbukim shel arak bevakasha. אֲנִי רוֹצָה, Ani rotza are the Hebrew words for "I would like." Next is the word לִקְנוֹת, Liknot, which means "to buy." Then, you have the number שְׁנֵי, Shnei "two," followed by בַּקְבּוּקִים, Bakbukim, which is plural for the object "bottle." Following it is the word שֶׁל, Shel, which in English means "of." Then, we have the word עָרַק, Arak meaning "Israeli alcohol" (what that you wanted to buy). Last is the word בְּבַקָּשָׁה, Bevakasha, which in English is "please."
What do you say when you want to buy a nice, traditional, necklace? For a male speaker, "I would like to buy a necklace," is אֲנִי רוֹצֵה לִקְנוֹת שַׁרְשֶׁרֶת אַחַת, Ani rotze liknot sharsheret achat. אֲנִי רוֹצֵה, Ani rotze are the Hebrew words for "I would like." לִקְנוֹת, Liknot is the verb "to buy." Let's break the word down and hear it again, לִקְנוֹת, Liknot. Next, we have שַׁרְשֶׁרֶת, Sharsheret "necklace." Let's break this word down and hear it again ,שַׁרְשֶׁרֶת , Sharsheret. Finally, you have אַחַת, achat used as an indefinite article meaning "a/an." Let's use the entire sentence now, אֲנִי רוֹצֵה לִקְנוֹת שַׁרְשֶׁרֶת אַחַת, Ani rotze liknot sharsheret achat.
For a female speaker, "I would like to buy a necklace," is אֲנִי רוֹצָה לִקְנוֹת שַׁרְשֶׁרֶת אַחַת, Ani rotza liknot sharsheret achat. אֲנִי רוֹצָה, Ani rotza are the Hebrew words for "I would like." לִקְנוֹת, Liknot is the verb "to buy." Let's break it down and hear it again, לִקְנוֹת, Liknot. Next, we have שַׁרְשֶׁרֶת, Sharsheret "necklace." Let's break it down and hear it one more time, שַׁרְשֶׁרֶת, Sharsheret. Finally, you have אַחַת, achat used as an indefinite article meaning, "a/an." Let's use the entire sentence now, אֲנִי רוֹצָה לִקְנוֹת שַׁרְשֶׁרֶת אַחַת, Ani rotza liknot sharsheret achat.
In this case, we use אַחַת, Achat after the noun שַׁרְשֶׁרֶת, Sharsheret, since שַׁרְשֶׁרֶת, Sharsheret ("necklace") is in the singular form.
Eventually, you change your mind, and decide to buy שָׁעוֹן, Shaon, meaning a "watch" in English. If you are a male, you would say, אֲנִי רוֹצֵה לִקְנוֹת שָׁעוֹן אֶחָד, Ani rotze liknot shaon echad. "I would like to buy a watch." Let's break it down and hear it one more time, shaon, אֲנִי רוֹצֵה לִקְנוֹת שָׁעוֹן אֶחָד, Ani rotze liknot shaon echad.
If you are a female, you would say, אֲנִי רוֹצָה לִקְנוֹת שָׁעוֹן אֶחָד, Ani rotza liknot shaon echad. "I would like to buy a watch." Let's break it down and hear it one more time, שָׁעוֹן, shaon, אֲנִי רוֹצָה לִקְנוֹת שָׁעוֹן אֶחָד, Ani rotza liknot shaon echad.
Please note that שָׁעוֹן, shaon is a masculine noun, so for this reason we have changed the indefinite article אַחַת, Achat to אֶחָד, Echad.
Ok, to close out today's lesson, we would like you to practice what you have just learned. I'll provide you with the English equivalent of the phrase and you're responsible for shouting it out loud. You'll have a few seconds before I give you the answer, so !בְּהַצְלָחָה Behatzlacha! which means "Good luck!" in Hebrew.
"One person."(male counter) - אִישׁ אֶחָד, Ish echad.
"One person."(female counter) - אִשָּׁה אַחַת, Isha achat.
"Five people." - חֲמִשָּׁה אֲנָשִׁים, khamisha anashim.
"I would like to buy two bottles of Arak please."(for a male speaker) - אֲנִי רוֹצֵה לִקְנוֹת שְׁנֵי בַּקְבּוּקִים שֶׁל עָרָק, בְּבַקָּשָׁה, Ani rotze liknot shnei bakbukim shel arak, bevakasha.
"I would like to buy two bottles of Arak please."(for a female speaker) - אֲנִי רוֹצָה לִקְנוֹת שְׁנֵי בַּקְבּוּקִים שֶׁל עָרָק, בְּבַקָּשָׁה, Ani rotza liknot shnei bakbukim shel arak, bevakasha.
"I would like to buy a necklace."(for a male speaker) - אֲנִי רוֹצֵה לִקְנוֹת שַׁרְשֶׁרֶת אַחַת, Ani rotze liknot sharsheret achat.
"I would like to buy a necklace."(for a female speaker) - אֲנִי רוֹצָה לִקְנוֹת שַׁרְשֶׁרֶת אַחַת, Ani rotza liknot sharsheret achat.
"I would like to buy a watch."(for a male speaker) - אֲנִי רוֹצֵה לִקְנוֹת שָׁעוֹן אֶחָד, Ani rotze liknot shaon echad.
"I would like to buy a watch."(for a female speaker) - אֲנִי רוֹצָה לִקְנוֹת שָׁעוֹן אֶחָד, Ani rotza liknot shaon echad.
Jessi: Alright! That's going to do it for today. Remember to stop by HebrewPod101.com and pick up the accompanying PDF. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment!

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