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Learn some phrases your professor won't teach you
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Shira: Hello everyone. Welcome back to HebrewPod101.com, All About Lesson 13. I'm Shira. |
Amir: [שלום, אני אמיר] (Sha'lom, a'ni Amir) In this lesson, you'll learn five phrases your Hebrew teacher might never teach you. |
Shira: No, no, don't get the wrong idea. We're not going to teach you any swear words or anything, just some real gritty Hebrew. |
Amir: I can guarantee that you can use each of these phrases every single day if you're in Israel. |
Shira: Yes, they're very frequently used phrases. We've included everything from how to have road rage in Hebrew to how to shout and glee. |
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Amir: Ok, so I'm sure you're all dying to pick up this new lingo. Let's get started, Shira. |
Shira: Ok. The top five phrases your teacher might never teach you are. |
Amir: [חבל על הזמן] (Khaval al hazman) |
Shira: "Fantastic" or "a waste of time." |
Amir: [אתה דפוק] (Ata da'fuk) |
Shira: You're crazy. |
Amir: [בלאגן] (Balagan) |
Shira: Miss. |
Amir: [סוף הדרך] (Sof ha'derekh) |
Shira: Excellent. |
Amir: [על הפנים] (Al hapa'nim) |
Shira: "Horrible." If you don't know them yet, you're going to be hearing them everywhere now. Let's hear them again, slowly. |
Amir: [חבל על הזמן, אתה דפוק, בלאגן, סוף הדרך, על הפנים] (Khaval al hazman, ata da'fuk, balagan, sof ha'derekh, al hapa'nim) |
Shira: Ok, so we're starting with a phrase I still can't stop using. In fact, I've noticed that everyone who's lived in Israel for some period of time can't stop saying this. |
Amir: Oh, really? |
Shira: It's so versatile that you can use it in good situations and bad situations. It's [חבל על הזמן] (Khaval al hazman). |
Amir: Ah, [חבל על הזמן] (khaval al hazman), yes. |
Shira: It can be [חבל על הזמן] (khaval al hazman), which is "Fantastic" or [חבל על הזמן] (khaval al hazman), which is "a waste of time." |
Amir: Now how can we translate something like [חבל על הזמן] (khaval al hazman). |
Shira: It's like saying something is a waste of time, as I said, but this phrase can have many good meanings, such as "great" or "fantastic." |
Amir: You can use this expression in so many ways. You'll hear it all the time. |
Shira: You can use it to describe your last date, a trip overseas or even food. |
Amir: And what is cool is that you can use it both in a good way or a bad way. |
Shira: Like, my date with Amir was [חבל על הזמן] (khaval al hazman). I think I'm in love. Or "My date with Amir was [חבל על הזמן] (khaval al hazman). He didn't even pay for the meal." |
Amir: Sorry. But unfortunately, sometimes you feel the need to tell someone what you really think of him or her, and then this phrase just won't do. |
Shira: So Amir, what do we say when we want to tell someone he's an idiot, out of his mind or something to that effect? |
Amir: Ah, we have the perfect phrase. [אתה דפוק] (Ata da'fuk) |
Shira: [אתה דפוק] (Ata da'fuk). Oh, yes. I've heard this while driving or even in the streets. |
Amir: Basically it means "you're knocked," so you're calling someone crazy. |
Shira: You're kind of saying that someone is messed up. |
Amir: Yes and it's very effective. But if you use it, you better be able to back it up, because you're likely to get into a very heated conversation. |
Shira: Yeah. Israelis like to stand their ground. So now we're going to turn from rage to disorder. |
Amir: Hebrew has a great word to describe disorder. |
Shira: Yes, even my American family has picked this one up. |
Amir: [בלאגן] (Balagan) |
Shira: [בלאגן] (Balagan) |
Amir: [בלאגן] (Balagan) is also a very versatile word. You can use it when you're talking about the state of your room, the current political situation or your relationship with your in-laws. |
Shira: It literally means "a mess." |
Amir: So how about something positive? |
Shira: Ok. Here's a positive phrase that you can use when you want to describe something that's out of this world. |
Amir: Ah, yes. That would be the English equivalent. The Hebrew for this is [סוף הדרך] (Sof ha'derekh). |
Shira: Literally it means "end of the road," and it's used in special occasions to describe something excellent. |
Amir: You only use it to describe the experience of a lifetime. |
Shira: So now let's move to the polar opposite of [סוף הדרך] (Sof ha'derekh), [על הפנים] (Al hapa'nim).. |
Amir: This is a funny expression. And it always cracks me up when I hear it translated literally and used in a sentence in English. |
Shira: Like, "Oh, Amir, I'm feeling so on the face today!" |
Amir: Exactly. |
Shira: English speakers have a tendency to do that because it's such a unique phrase. The meaning of the phrase is "terrible," but as I demonstrated, the literal translation is "on the face." |
Amir: And you use it when you're not feeling well. Or you can use it to describe anything from last night's party to the restaurant service. |
Shira: Like, "The service in this restaurant is [על הפנים] (Al hapa'nim)." |
Amir: Or "She's singing [על הפנים] (Al hapa'nim)." See? It can be used for so many occasions. |
Shira: Yes. I would say this is all really handy Hebrew to know. Sometimes I think text books are too formal, so you don't start learning things until you really start hanging out with Israelis. |
Amir: You could probably use each of these phrases every day if you liked. |
Shira: Yeah? Ok, let me try. So, let's see. Amir, let's say you're hanging out with your friends, and a friend of yours tells you about her favorite singer. You say, "Oh, I went to her concert. It was [סוף הדרך] (Sof ha'derekh)." Then she says, "[מה, אתה דפוק] (Ma, ata da'fuk) You didn't take me with you to the concert?" You say, "Oh, I'm sorry. It was a [בלאגן,] (balagan) and I couldn't find you." Then she says, "[חבל על הזמן] (Khaval al hazman), Amir. I'll never forget that you didn't take me." Then you tell her, "Stop. I'm joking. The concert was [על הפנים] (Al hapa'nim). She was so sick and she couldn't sing very well." So how was that? |
Amir: Very, very good. I noticed that you threw in a bonus word for us too. [סתם] (Stam) |
Shira: I did. It is one of those words that's impossible to translate literally. |
Amir: It's pretty much like saying "just kidding" in this context. But there are many more meanings for [סתם] (Stam) and the best way to learn them is to spend time with Hebrew speakers. |
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