Dialogue

Vocabulary (Review)

Learn New Words FAST with this Lesson’s Vocab Review List

Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.

Or sign up using Facebook
Already a Member?

Lesson Notes

Unlock In-Depth Explanations & Exclusive Takeaways with Printable Lesson Notes

Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.

Or sign up using Facebook
Already a Member?

Lesson Transcript

Intro

Shira: Hello and welcome to HebrewPod101.com’s Absolute Beginner Season 1, Lesson 9 - Asking a Question in Hebrew. I’m your host, Shira.
Amir: Shalom, I’m Amir.
Shira: In this lesson, you will learn how to ask questions in Hebrew.
Amir: The conversation takes place at David and Sarah’s house.
Shira: It’s between Peter, David and Sarah.
Amir: The dialogue is informal.
Shira: Let’s listen to the conversation

Lesson conversation

Peter: זה... בשביל מזל טוב?
(Zeh... bish'vil mazal tov?)
David: זאת חמסה.
(Zot ħam'sah.)
Sarah: כן, זה בשביל המזל.
(Ken, zeh bish'vil ha-mazal.)
Peter: חמסה.
(ħam'sah)
Shira: Let’s listen to the conversation one more time slowly.
Peter: זה... בשביל מזל טוב?
(Zeh... bish'vil mazal tov?)
David: זאת חמסה.
(Zot ħam'sah.)
Sarah: כן, זה בשביל המזל.
(Ken, zeh bish'vil ha-mazal.)
Peter: חמסה.
(ħam'sah)
Shira: Let’s listen to the conversation with the English translation.
Peter: זה... בשביל מזל טוב?
(Zeh... bish'vil mazal tov?)
Shira: Is this for good luck?
David: זאת חמסה.
(Zot ħam'sah.)
Shira: This is a hamsa.
Sarah: כן, זה בשביל המזל.
(Ken, zeh bish'vil ha-mazal.)
Shira: Yes, it’s for luck.
Peter: חמסה.
(ħam'sah)
Shira: Hamsa.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Shira: I think a fitting subject for this cultural insight is the hamsa.
Amir: A hamsa is a very popular item seen all over Israel. It’s a hand that symbolizes the hand of God or the hand of Miriam according to some Jewish traditions.
Shira: The hamsa is a sign of protection and it’s thought to bring good luck to its owner.
Amir: Some of them have an eye in the center of the hand to symbolize its protection against the evil eye.
Shira: You can find them as necklaces, bracelets, or in its most popular form, the wall hanging.
Amir: The word hamsa comes from the Arabic word for “five” because of the five fingers on the hand.
Shira: And actually, the hamsa originally comes from Islamic culture and it was adopted by the Jewish people living in Arab countries.
Amir: Later it was brought over when these people made Aliyah and came to Israel.
Shira: For a while it was thought to be something only for mizraħi Jews, but lately it’s been adopted by Israeli culture in general.
Amir: So, if someone gives you a hamsa as a gift, consider it good luck.
VOCAB LIST
Shira: Now let’s go to the vocabulary for this lesson. First we have:
Amir: זה (zeh) [natural native speed]
Shira: This, that or it.
Amir: זה (zeh) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. זה (zeh) [natural native speed]
Shira: Next:
Amir: בשבילך (Bish'vil'kha) [natural native speed]
Shira: For.
Amir: בשבילך (Bish'vil'kha) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. בשבילך (Bish'vil'kha) [natural native speed]
Shira: Next:
Amir: מזל (mazal) [natural native speed]
Shira: Luck.
Amir: מזל (mazal) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. מזל (mazal) [natural native speed]
Shira: Next:
Amir: טוב (tov) [natural native speed]
Shira: Good.
Amir: טוב (tov) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. טוב (tov) [natural native speed]
Shira: And last:
Amir: כן (ken) [natural native speed]
Shira: Yes.
Amir: כן (ken) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. כן (ken) [natural native speed]
KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES
Shira: Let’s look at the vocabulary in this lesson.
Amir: So our first word is מזל (mazal).
Shira: Mazal means “luck” or “fortune”.
Amir: You’ve probably heard it in the expression מזל טוב (mazal tov).
Shira: Or Mazal Tov. This means “good luck”, but it’s used more like “congratulations” in this context.
Amir: Our last word is טוב (tov) or “good”.
Shira: As with all adjectives in Hebrew, tov has four versions.
Amir: You change it according to the noun it describes. To demonstrate this we have four examples for you, of course.
Shira: Of course! First up is masculine singular
Amir: אוכל טוב (ochel tov),
Shira: “Good food”. Now, feminine singular
Amir: מיטה טובה (mitah tovah),
Shira: “Good bed”. Next is masculine plural.
Amir: כלבים טובים (klavim tovim),
Shira: “Good dogs”. The last one is feminine plural
Amir: ילדות טובות (yaldut tovot),
Shira: “Good girls”. Okay, let’s move on to the grammar section.

Lesson focus

Shira: In this lesson, you will learn how to ask a question in Hebrew.
Amir: There are basically three ways to ask a question in Hebrew other than using an interrogative.
Shira: In our sample dialogue, Peter used voice inflection to ask his question.
Amir: ?זה בשביל מזל טוב (Zeh bish'vil mazal tov?)
Shira: This is really the easiest way to ask a question in Hebrew.
Amir: The second way is to add the word נכון or “correct” to the end of the sentence.
Shira: This is also pretty easy. Let’s hear it with Peter’s question.
Amir: ?זֶה בִּשְׁבִיל מַזָּל טוֹב, נָכוֹן
(Zeh bish'vil mazal tov, nakhon?)
Shira: The last way is the most formal way to ask a question in Hebrew.
Amir: You add the word האם to the beginning of the sentence. האם means “whether”.
Shira: האם means “whether”.
Amir: Here’s our sentence again with ?הַאִם זֶה בִּשְׁבִיל מַזָּל טוֹב
(Ha-im zeh bish'vil mazal tov?)
Shira: So it means “whether this is for good luck?”. Or “is this for good luck?”

Outro

Okay, that’s it for this lesson.
Shira: See you next time!
Amir: Le-hit’ra’ot!

Comments

Hide