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 41 - Foreign Exchange |
Exchanging money in Israel is quite convenient. One can exchange money at airports, banks, or withdraw money from an ATM. Rates applied when withdrawing money from an ATM are likely to be quite good. However, when using an ATM, it is advisable to make one large withdrawal as both the local bank and your home bank may charge fees. So, first things first, let's find a location that will exchange money. |
First, let's review some previous phrases and patterns we've already covered. |
In Hebrew, "Is there an ATM near here?" is ?יֵשׁ פֹה כַּסְפּוֹמָט בַּסְבִיבָה, Yesh po kaspomat basviva? Let's break it down by syllable, ?יֵשׁ פֹה כַּסְפּוֹמָט בַּסְבִיבָה, Yesh po kaspomat basviva? Now, let's hear it once again, ?יֵשׁ פֹה כַּסְפּוֹמָט בַּסְבִיבָה, Yesh po kaspomat basviva? |
Now, to ask for a bank, we can just replace the word for ATM with the word for bank and the phrase works just fine. "Is there a bank near here?" is ?יֵשׁ פֹּה בַּנְק בַּסְּבִיבָה, Yesh po bank basviva? Let's break it down by syllable, ?יֵשׁ פֹּה בַּנְק בַּסְּבִיבָה, Yesh po bank basviva? The only things that change are the things you are looking for. In this case, בַּנְק, Bank which you might have guessed, in English means "Bank." Let's break down this word and hear it one more time, בַּנְק, Bank. To recap, we have בַּנְק, Bank. All together, we have ?יֵשׁ פֹה כַּסְפּוֹמָט בַּסְבִיבָה, Yesh po bank basviva? |
For times when there is neither a bank nor an ATM, you can ask, "Where can I exchange currency?" In Hebrew, this is ?אֵיפֹה אֶפְשַׁר לְהַחְלִיף כֶּסֶף, Eifo efshar lehakhlif kesef? Let's break it down by syllable, ?אֵיפֹה אֶפְשַׁר לְהַחְלִיף כֶּסֶף, Eifo efshar lehakhlif kesef? Now, let's hear it once again, ?אֵיפֹה אֶפְשַׁר לְהַחְלִיף כֶּסֶף, Eifo efshar lehakhlif kesef? The first word אֵיפֹה, Eifo means, "where." Let's break down this word and hear it one more time, אֵיפֹה, Eifo. Then, we have אֶפְשַׁר, Efshar, which in English is "can." Then, you have לְהַחְלִיף, lehakhlif ("to exchange"). Last, we have the word כֶּסֶף, Kesef, which in English means, "money." To recap here, we have ?אֵיפֹה אֶפְשַׁר לְהַחְלִיף כֶּסֶף, Eifo efshar lehakhlif kesef? Literally, this means, "Where can I change money?" |
Exchanging currency is pretty straightforward. (You need to fill out some forms and then present the amount you want exchanged.) One extremely useful phrase is "Smaller denominations please." It's usually beneficial to have smaller amounts of currency on you for paying for the bus fare, taxi fare, and so on. |
In Hebrew, "Smaller denominations please" is שְׁטָרוֹת קְטַנִּים, בְּבַקָּשָׁה, Shtarot ktanim bevakasha. Let's break it down by syllable, שְׁטָרוֹת קְטַנִּים, בְּבַקָּשָׁה, Shtarot ktanim bevakasha. Now, let's hear it once again, שְׁטָרוֹת קְטַנִּים, בְּבַקָּשָׁה, Shtarot ktanim bevakasha. The first word שְׁטָרוֹת, Shtarot means, "paper money." Next, we have קְטַנִּים, Ktanim, which means, "small." Finally, you have בְּבַקָּשָׁה, Bevakasha "please." All together, we have שְׁטָרוֹת קְטַנִּים, בְּבַקָּשָׁה, Shtarot ktanim bevakasha. In English, this means, "In small denomination please." |
Finally, you can also use the phrase "Break this please" to indicate you would like smaller amounts of the currency. In Hebrew, "Break this please" is תִּפְרוֹט לִי אֶת זֶה, בְּבַקָּשָׁה, Tifrot li et ze bevakasha. Let's break it down by syllable, תִּפְרוֹט לִי אֶת זֶה, בְּבַקָּשָׁה, Tifrot li et ze bevakasha. Now, let's hear it once again, תִּפְרוֹט לִי אֶת זֶה, בְּבַקָּשָׁה, Tifrot li et ze bevakasha. The first word תִּפְרוֹט, Tifrot means, "to break." Let's hear it one more time, תִּפְרוֹט, Tifrot. Next, we have לִי, Li, which means, "to me." Then, we have the words אֶת זֶה, Et ze, which in English means "this." Last, we have the word בְּבַקָּשָׁה, Bevakasha "please." All together, we have תִּפְרוֹט לִי אֶת זֶה, בְּבַקָּשָׁה, Tifrot li et ze bevakasha. Literally, this means, "Can you change them?" |
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. |
"Is there an ATM near here?" - ?יֵשׁ פֹה כַּסְפּוֹמָט בַּסְבִיבָה, Yesh po kaspomat basviva? |
"Where can I exchange currency?" - ?אֵיפֹה אֶפְשַׁר לְהַחְלִיף כֶּסֶף, Eifo efshar lehakhlif kesef? |
"Smaller denominations please." - שְׁטָרוֹת קְטַנִּים, בְּבַקָּשָׁה, Shtarot ktanim bevakasha. |
"Break this please." - תִּפְרוֹט לִי אֶת זֶה, בְּבַקָּשָׁה, Tifrot li et ze bevakasha. |
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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