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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 10 - Apologies | |
| In today's lesson, we will cover phrases we use for apologizing. Now, as you haven't quite mastered Hebrew, it's probably very prudent to go over the phrases for apologizing as they just might come in handy. | |
| We'll start with "I'm sorry," which in Hebrew for a male speaker, is Ani mitztaer. Let’s break it down by syllable, Ani mitztaer. Now, let’s hear it again, Ani mitztaer. For a female speaker it is Ani mitztaeret. Let’s break it down by syllable, Ani mitztaeret. Now, let’s hear it again, Ani mitztaeret. | |
| Please note that we use Ani mitztaer (for a male speaker)and Ani mitzta'eret (for a female speaker) in the formal level of speech. | |
| Talking to a friend, thus changing to the informal level of speech, you will use Slicha. Let’s break it down by syllable, Slicha. Now, let’s hear it again, Slicha. | |
| We use Slicha and Ani mitzta'er (for a male speaker)and Ani mitzta'eret (for a female speaker) when you might have said or done something offensive, wrong, or embarrassing. Note that we ALSO use Slicha as "excuse me." Use this when you are trying to work your way through a crowd, at the subway station for instance, or when you are trying to get someone's attention in a store, or asking for directions. | |
| Now, what if someone says Slicha to you after they have done something wrong and you want to respond, "No problem" or "It doesn't matter." In this case, the proper response should be Ze beseder, which literally means, "It's nothing." Slicha Let’s break it down by syllable, Slicha. Now, let’s hear it again, Slicha. | |
| Ok, to close out today's lessons, 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 Behatzlacha! which means “Good luck!” in Hebrew. | |
| “I'm sorry/Excuse me.” (male speaker) - Ani mitztaer. | |
| “I'm sorry/Excuse me.” (female speaker) - Ani mitztaeret. | |
| “I'm sorry/Excuse me.” - Slicha. | |
| “No problem/It doesn't matter.” - Ze beseder. | |
| 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! |
17 Comments
HideHow many times per day do you usually use this phrase?
Hi Kris,
Yes, exactly! you got it 😄👍
Glad I could assist,
Best,
Roi
Team HebrewPod101.com
Toda raba Roi,
I think I've got it now. So to recap :
Male to female: slikha or silkhi li (imperative) or tislekhi li (future tense used as imperative)
Female to male: slikha or slakh li (imperative) or tislakh li (future tense used as imperative)
In my language (Dutch) we don't have male or female (not for nouns nor adjectives nor verbs, we obviously use he or she but that's it)
Grtz
Kris
Hi Kris,
Thanks for posting your questions!
When using imperatives, the identity of the listener/s (the person you're "commanding" to do something) is the one that determines both the gender and the number (plural/singular) if the verb. That's true to every other tense as well.
The identity of the speaker matters only when using one describes their own actions, as in "I walk", "I think" and so on.
I hope that answers your questions :)
Happy to help,
Roi
Team HebrewPod101.com
Shalom,
re: the verb to excuse.
Imperative: Slakh li or Silkhi li. does the speaker or listener determine the gender?
and the same question for the future tense : tislakh or tislekhi.
and does this rule apply to all other verbs?
eg. imperative of to give : ten or tni
Toda raba
Kris
Hi Byron!
Thank you so much for your feedback. Indeed those are typos. I'll hand to the Content Team to fix! ?
Idit
Team HebrewPod101.com
It looks to me like there are a couple of typos in the grammar notes above, which you might want to fix: "We use Slicha and Ani mitzraer (for a male speaker)and Ani mitzraeret (for a female speaker) ..." (para 5). Sliħah!
Hi Geoff,
Great to hear!
Please let us know if you encounter any misunderstandings or have questions.
Thanks,
Roi
Team HebrewPod101.com
I've completed Lessons 1 - 10.
All good, so far.
Hi Shelley Lynn,
You are very welcome! Please let me know if you have any more questions.
sincerely,
Yaara
Team HebrewPod101.com
Thanks, Yaara.