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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 8 - I Don't Understand
Today, we shall see a very useful phrase meaning, "I don't understand." It is very useful because many times you won't immediately understand what people are saying.
As we have seen before in Hebrew, there are different ways to say things depending on the gender of the speaker and listener. If a man is speaking, in Hebrew, "I don't understand" is אֲנִי לֹא מֵבִין, Ani lo mevin. Let's break it down by syllable, אֲנִי לֹא מֵבִין, Ani lo mevin. Now, let's hear it once again, אֲנִי לֹא מֵבִין, Ani lo mevin. The first word Ani means "I." Let's break down this word slowly now, אֲנִי, Ani. לֹא Lo, which in English is "No," follows this. Last, we have the word מֵבִין, Mevin, which in English means, "understand." To recap, we have אֲנִי לֹא מֵבִין, Ani lo mevin. Literally, this means, "I don't understand."
If a woman is speaking, in Hebrew, "I don't understand" is אֲנִי לֹא מְבִינָה, Ani lo mevina. Let's break it down by syllable, אֲנִי לֹא מְבִינָה, Ani lo mevina. Now, let's hear it once again, אֲנִי לֹא מְבִינָה, Ani lo mevina. The first word אֲנִי, Ani means "I." Let's break it down this word slowly, אֲנִי, Ani. לֹא Lo, which in English is "No," follows this. Last, we have the word מְבִינָה, Mevina, which in English means "understand." To recap, we have אֲנִי לֹא מְבִינָה, Ani lo mevina. Literally, this means "I don't understand."
Now let's look at another phrase, "I don't know." In Hebrew, if a man is speaking, "I don't know" is אֲנִי לֹא יוֹדֵעַ, Ani lo yodea. Let's say it slowly now, אֲנִי לֹא יוֹדֵעַ, Ani lo yodea. The word יוֹדֵעַ, Yodea literally means "To know." If a woman is speaking, "I don't know" is אֲנִי לֹא יוֹדַעַת, Ani lo yoda'at. Let's say it slowly now, אֲנִי לֹא יוֹדַעַת, Ani lo yoda'at. The word יוֹדַעַת Yoda'at literally means "To know."
Another way to express that you don't understand is asking someone "What does it mean?" This phrase in Hebrew is ?מָה זֶה אוֹמֵר, Ma ze omer? Let's break it down by syllable, ?מָה זֶה אוֹמֵר, Ma ze omer? Now, let's hear it once again, ?מָה זֶה אוֹמֵר, Ma ze omer? The first word מָה, Ma means "What." Let's break down this word and hear it one more time, מָה, Ma. Next, we have זֶה Ze, which in English is "this." Last, we have the word אוֹמֵר, Omer, which in English means "mean." To recap here, we have ?מָה זֶה אוֹמֵר, Ma ze omer? Literally, this means "What does it mean?"
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.
"I don't understand."(male speaker) - אֲנִי לֹא מֵבִין, Ani lo mevin.
"I don't understand."(female speaker) - אני לא מבינה, Ani lo mevina.
"I don't know." (male speaker) - אֲנִי לֹא יוֹדֵעַ, Ani lo yodea.
"I don't know." (female speaker) - אֲנִי לֹא יוֹדַעַת, Ani lo yoda'at.
"What does it mean?" - ?מָה זֶה אוֹמֵר, Ma ze omer?
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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