Photo by ArmyAmber from Pixabay.com, CCO

On February 26, two days after Russia invaded Ukraine, thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel-Aviv and Haifa. Wrapped in Ukrainian flags, they protested against the war.

Earlier that day the Embassy of Ukraine in Israel posted on Facebook a call for volunteers: “the embassy has begun the formation of lists of volunteers who wish to participate in combat actions against the Russian aggressor”, the embassy wrote. Those who wish to participate in the protection of Ukraine, as it said in the post, should send an email with their details, including military specialty.

Israelis are not the only ones the Ukrainian government tried to recruit. A day after the above post was published, both Ukraine’s President and foreign minister invited anyone who wants to join the defense of Ukraine to fight side by side against the Russian forces. They formed a new unit called The International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine.

Israelis indeed conscripted. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis are estimated to have Ukrainian roots, including former Ukrainian citizens who have immigrated to Israel in the last three decades and their descendants. Many of them couldn’t remain indifferent. Thinking about the country where they were born and raised, and their families who still live there, they felt the need to act.

Due to Israel’s mandatory conscription, many of them are veterans. In Odessa, outside a military site, an Israeli reporter interviewed two of them in the next video. One, for example, made Aliyah 6 years ago, served in the Israeli army as a fighter, and is now back in his hometown, fighting on its behalf.

Another Israeli who made Aliyah more than twenty years ago, was on vacation in Ukraine when Russia invaded. He grew up in Israel, but couldn’t remain indifferent to his motherland’s situation. He conscripted to the Ukrainian army, ready to fight for the country he left as a child. Listen to his radio interview here.

The verb לְהִלָּחֵם means to fight. It belongs to binyan niph`al, and it’s conjugated as follows:

Check, for example, the headlines from the last week using the verb לְהִלָּחֵם. For more reading click on them.

סֶרְגֵיי מֵיִשְׂרָאֵל יִלָּחֵם לְצַד הָאוּקְרָאִינִים

Sergei from Israel will fight with the Ukrainians

הַיִּשְׂרְאֵלִים שֶׁמְּתַכְנְנִים לָטוּס וּלְהִלָּחֵם בְּאוּקְרָאִינָה

The Israelis who plan to fly and fight in Ukraine

עֵדוּת הַמִּתְנַדֵּבׅים הַיִּשְׂרְאֵלִים שֶׁנִּלְחָמִים נֶגֶד הָרוּסׅים

Testimony of Israeli volunteers fighting against the Russians

The root of the verb is ל-ח-מ. When inserted into noun patterns it creates the words:

For example:

יִשְׂרְאֵלִים, רוּבַּם לוֹחֲמִים לְשֶׁעָבַר בַּצָּבָא הַיִּשְׂרְאֵלִי, מְעוּנְיָנִים לְהִצְטָרֵף לַלְּחִימָה בְּאוּקְרָאִינָה. כּוּלָנוּ מְקַוִּים שֶׁיַּחְזְרוּ בְּשָׁלוֹם מֵהַמִּלְחָמָה.

Israelis, most of them are former combatants in the Israeli army, are interested in joining the fighting in Ukraine. We all hope they will return safely from the war.

Keep Calm and Stop War

The post The Israelis Who Fight in Ukraine first appeared on Hebrew Language Blog.

     

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• Reporting the Russo-Ukrainian Crisis in Hebrew

 

Photo by Rozbooy from Pixabay.com, CCO

In the late 80’s, after the post-Soviet Russian government opened the borders of the former Soviet Union, many Jews emigrated. More than one million came to Israel since then from the different countries of the former Soviet Union. With two out of every three new immigrants to Israel coming from Russia or the Ukraine, they are forming the majority of the immigrants. They integrate into the Israeli society, making Russian the fourth most spoken language in Israel.

In January 2022, on the backdrop of growing tension in the Russian-Ukrainian border, Israel was already preparing for the possibility of new thousands of immigrants from the Jewish Ukrainian community. The speculations over a Russian invasion were described by reporters with fears. Many used the Hebrew phrases: קוֹלוֹת מִלְחָמָה (sounds of war) and רוּחוֹת מִלְחָמָה (winds of war). Although the Russo-Ukrainian War is an ongoing war since 2014, the last escalation was described severely and the noun מִלְחָמָה (pronounced as mil-ha-ma) appears daily in Hebrew headlines:

עַל סַף מִלְחָמָה בְּאֵירוֹפָּה

On the brink of war in Europe

אׅיּוּמֵי מִלְחָמָה: הַאִם רוּסְיָה תִּפְלֹושׁ?

Threats of war: will Russia invade?

מֵחֲשָׁשׁ לְמִלְחָמָה: בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל מְצַפִּים לְגַל עֲלִיָּה

Fear of war: a wave of immigration is expected in Israel

Under this war alert (כּוֹנְנוּת מִלְחָמָה) many Israelis returned home from Ukraine. Some earlier than planned, some for a short period until things will hopefully calm down. Many of those returning in the next video, who were interviewed in the airport, mentioned the stress of the Israelis compared to the tranquility of the locals.

On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. The doubts and question marks disappeared from the headlines, which became short and firm: מִלְחָמָה בְּאֵירוֹפָּה (war in Europe) or הַפְּלִישָׁה לְאוּקְרָאִינָה (invasion of Ukraine). The Hebrew verb לִפְלֹושׁ means to invade. It belongs to binyan pa’al, and it’s conjugated as follows:

On that day, the verb appears consistently on the news:

רוּסְיָה פָּלְשָׁה לְאוּקְרָאִינָה

Russia has invaded Ukraine

כּוֹחוֹת צְבָאׅיׅיּם פָּלְשׁוּ לְקִיֶיב

Military forces invaded Kiev

פּוּטׅין פָּלַשׁ לַמְּדִינָה הַשְּׁכֵנָה

Putin has invaded the neighboring country

The root of the verb לִפְלֹושׁ is פ-ל-ש. When inserted into a noun pattern it creates the word פְּלִישָׁה (invasion, pronounced as pe-li-sha). On February 24 the fears were realized, and the Ukrainian president declared: הֵם פָּלְשׁוּ לַשֶּׁטַח שֶׁלָּנוּ (they invaded our territory). On the second day of invasion Kiev streets were empty, as the Israeli reporter in the capital described:

Text vocabulary

Europe = אֵירוֹפָּה

Russia = רוּסְיָה

Ukraine = אוּקְרָאִינָה

War = מִלְחָמָה

Invasion = פְּלִישָׁה

Territory = שֶׁטַח

Country = מְדִינָה

Keep Calm and Stop War

The post Reporting the Russo-Ukrainian Crisis in Hebrew first appeared on Hebrew Language Blog.

     

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• The Israelis Who Fight in Ukraine

 

Photo by Tama66 from Pixabay, CCO

Located in the crossroads between three continents, Israel is on one of the world’s busiest migration flyways. Twice a year, 500 million birds fly over Israel. They leave Europe in the autumn on their way to Africa, making the long journey back in the spring. With hundreds of species passing through a small area, Israel became one of the world’s top birdwatching destinations.

The Hebrew noun for bird is צִיפּוֹר (pronounced as tzi-por). Although the word ends with a consonant like most masculine nouns, it is actually a feminine noun. Its plural form also belongs to the list of exceptions and ends with the masculine plural ending – צִיפּוֹרׅים (pronounced as tzi-po-rim). To read more about the Hebrew plural form click here. Despite the masculine endings, the two nouns are feminine and all the verbs and adjectives referring to decline as feminine, too. For example:

צִיפּוֹר קְטַנָּה.

Little bird.

צִיפּוֹרׅים יָפוֹת.

Beautiful birds.

הַצִּיפּוֹר פָּרְשָׁה כְּנָפַיים וְעָפָה.

The bird spread its wings and flew away.

הַצִּיפּוֹר פָּצְתָה מַקּוֹר.

The bird opened its beak.

הַצִּיפּוֹרׅים צִיְּצוּ לְלֹא הַפְסָקָה.

The birds chirped non-stop.

A catchy Hebrew song about migratory birds is one of my favorite:

Notice the feminine form of the verbs in the short lyrics:

צִפּוֹרִים! צִפּוֹרִים!
לְאָן אַתֶּן עָפוֹת? לְאָן אַתֶּן עָפוֹת?
קַר לָנוּ קְצָת בַּנּוֹצוֹת
לַדָּרוֹם אָנוּ עָפוֹת

צִפּוֹרִים! צִפּוֹרִים!
מָתַי אַתֶּן חוֹזְרוֹת? מָתַי אַתֶּן חוֹזְרוֹת?
כְּשֶׁהַחֹרֶף יַעֲבֹר
לַצָּפוֹן שׁוּב נַחֲזֹר

In 2008, in a national survey of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, over 150,000 people voted and chose the national bird of Israel. In a special ceremony which took place in the President’s house in Jerusalem, the President of Israel, has declared: the hoopoe (דּוּכִיפַת) is the national bird of Israel.

The other nine finalists for the title were:

Some of them appear in the next song about a cheerful chorus of birds on a cypress tree:

Lyrics:

על ראש הברוש שבחצר
שמחה והמולה,
שם כל הציפורים בעיר
הקימו מקהלה.

העפרונית הסולנית
ניקתה את הגרון,
שילבה כנף, זקפה מקור
וגם פצחה ברון.

ציף ציף, שריק שרק
בול בול בול בול ביל בל
לה לה לה…
וכל מי ששמע אמר,
אח איזו מקהלה.

פתאום הפסיק את השירה
פשוש אחד זעיר,
אם אין מילים ואין תווים
הוא לא מוכן לשיר.

“אנחנו לא רוצים מילים”,
רגזו הבולבולים,
“אנחנו, גם ללא מילים,
נורא מתבלבלים”

ציף ציף, שריק שרק…

הסנוניות כתבו תווים
על חוט ועל גדרות,
תוכי אחד לימד אותן
מילים נהדרות.

אלפי דרורים ועפרונים
פרצו מיד בשיר,
ומקולות הבולבולים
התבלבלה העיר.

ציף ציף, שריק שרק…

“אוי די כבר, די לכם לשיר”,
צעק פתאום הברוש,
“לכו לישון, כבר מאוחר
כואב לי כבר הראש”

האופרטה היפה
לא באה עד סופה –
מחר יצפצפו קונצרט
על עץ הצפצפה.

ציף ציף, שריק שרק…

A famous Hebrew idiom says: טוֺב צִיפּוֹר אַחַת בַּיַּד מִשְתַיִים עַל הָעֵץ. It is literally translated to one bird in the hand is better than two perching on the tree, an equivalent to the English idiom a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. The ancient idiom uses birds as symbols of achievements. The bird in the hand symbolizes something you have; the two birds on the tree symbolize something bigger that you have not achieved yet. A bird in the hand is a sure thing, two birds on the tree is a double but they can fly away. It means it is better to have one small actual accomplishment than a greater one that is still a dream or a promise. For example:

אַל תְּמַהֵר לְהִתְפַּטֵּר. קֹודֶם תִּמְצָא מִשְׂרָה שֶׁמַּתְאִימָה לְךָ. טוֺב צִיפּוֹר אַחַת בַּיַּד מִשְתַיִים עַל הָעֵץ.

Don’t rush to quit. First find a job that suits you. One bird in the hand is better than two perching on the tree.

If you wish to read more about birds in Hebrew visit the Israeli Birding Site of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel.       

Keep Calm and Learn Hebrew

     

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Photo by autumnsgoddess0 from Pixabay, CCO

Israelis call it שׁׅגְרַת קוֹרוֹנָה. The first word שׁׅגְרַת is a constructive form of the noun שִׁגְרָה, meaning routine. The second word is the Hebrew name of Coronavirus. Together the term is literally translated to Corona Routine, and describes our daily life and all the coronavirus restrictions, tests, isolations, fears, and so on, that are, unfortunately, part of them. שׁׅגְרַת קוֹרוֹנָה is a new term in Hebrew that combines all the bureaucracy and complexity of our life recently. It refers to the last year plus, since we all understood that COVID-19 is not going to disappear soon.

The new term became very common in spoken and even formal language. נִהוּל הַגַּן בְּשׁׅגְרַת קוֹרוֹנָה (preschool managing during corona routine), for example, was the name of an online conference conducted by Ministry of Education. בָּעוֹלָם מְנַסִּים לְנַהֵל שׁׅגְרַת קוֹרוֹנָה (the world is trying to conduct a corona routine), for another example, was the title of an article published in Ha`aretz newspaper.

In this atmosphere, no wonder that one short TV commercial touched so many. In an annual competition, a commercial of a peanut snack won first place as the most favorite commercial of the year. The Israeli peanut snack Bamba (which we already discussed in our pervious post) has already produced several catchy videos over the years, but this one was especially touching. The food company manufactured heart shaped Bamba (בַּמְבָּה לְבָבוֹת) and came out with the slogan: it’s time to scatter love around (זֶה הַזְּמַן לְפַזֵּר אַהֲבָה).

The two protagonists of the winning commercial are the animated Bamba Baby that has appeared in every promotional activity of the product since its creation in 1993, and the famous singer Shlomi Shabat, who got sick with COVID-19 twice. In the video, the two praise Israeli people, complimenting their warm affection and mutual aid, in several displayed situations. Some of the situations are part of our recently corona routine. When a young boy, for example, celebrates his birthday in isolation and his friends fly balloons under his balcony, Shabat and the Baby sing:

לֺא מְוַתְּרִים עַל לֶאֱהֹוב

כְּשֶׁאִי-אֶפְשָׁר לַחְגֹּוג קָרוֹב

(We) don’t give up on loving

When celebrating close it’s impossible

לַחְגֹּוג קָרוֹב (celebrating close) was the wish of so many Israelis during 2020. When most people stayed at home, longing to meet face to face again and celebrate the holidays and other events together. Currently, in our שׁׅגְרַת קוֹרוֹנָה it is still sometimes not impossible, when someone is sick or in isolation.

Another situation influenced by our new corona routine that appears in the video is a wedding. Between curfews, when COVID-19 situation in Israel was still bad, the government imposed restrictions on weddings, too. There were times when the maximum permitted guests list for a wedding was merely twenty. In better times, they raised the permitted number to 100 guests. In the video, the Bamba Baby dances with the bride and groom while Shabat sings in the video:

בְּכֺל הַכּוֹחַ לְהָרִים

גַּם אׅם הִגִּיעוּ רַק עֶשְׂרִים

Cheering up with all our energy

Even if only twenty arrived

The noun אַהֲבָה (love) and the verb לֶאֱהֹוב (to love) appear several times in the 45 seconds commercial. In five different situations displayed in the video (birthday, wedding, birth, moving, and army), Israelis help each other, and openly show their love and friendship. Watch the video and let me know in the comment below what do you think. Did you like the video as well?

Keep Calm and Learn Hebrew

      

Photo by JESHOOTS-com from Pixabay, CCO

The Hebrew phrase חוּץ-לָאָרֶץ (pronounced as hutz-la-a-retz) literally means outside of the country. חוּץ (hutz) means outside; אֶרֶץ (e-retz) means country. It is the Hebrew equivalent for abroad, overseas. It describes any place that is not Israel or any specific country the speaker refers to. It is such a common phrase that although it’s composed of two nouns and particles, it has been referred to as a place name, even though it can refer to any continent or country. For example:

אַף פַּעַם לֺא הָיִיתִי בְּחוּץ-לָאָרֶץ.

I have never been abroad.

חַיָּל לֺא יֵצֵא לְחוּץ-לָאָרֶץ לְלֺא הֶיתֵּר.

A soldier will not leave the country without a permit.

עׅדְכּוּנׅים שׁוֺטְפׅים עַל חוּץ-לָאָרֶץ נִיתָּן לׅמְצוֺא בְּאֲתָר הַחֲדָשׁוֺת.

Ongoing updates about overseas can be found on the news website.

מׅי שֶׁנוֺלַד בְּחוּץ-לָאָרֶץ לְאֶזְרָחׅים יִשְׂרְאֵלִים רַשַּׁאי לְהַגִּישׁ בַּקָּשָׁה לְהַעֲנָקַת אֶזְרָחוּת.

Anyone born abroad to Israeli citizens may apply for citizenship.

The phrase חוּץ-לָאָרֶץ is an ancient phrase that was created in Hebrew way back in the rabbinic period (1st century CE-600 CE). The distinction between the Land of Israel and other countries is of great ideological importance. Many Jewish laws and customs are dependent on the land of Israel. Some laws and customs apply only in the land of Israel, some are not obligated outside the Land; others are still observed, but differently. Jewish scholars devoted many discussions about the various aspects of the sanctity of the Land, and the effect of it on the observance of the different Jewish commandments.

In the scholars’ texts the phrase appear sometimes in abbreviation: חוּ”ל. This abbreviation (pronounced as hul) became a word in itself that, due to its abbreviation, is even more common in daily spoken language. For example:

קָנׅיתׅי אֶת הַנַּעֲלַיִם בְּחוּ”ל.

I bought the shoes abroad.

חָשׁוּב לׅי לְהִתְעַדְכֵּן מָה קוֺרֶה בְּחוּ”ל.

It is important for me to keep up to date with what is happening abroad.

רַק אֶתְמוֹל חָזַרְנוּ מׅחוּ”ל.

We came back from abroad only yesterday.

דּוֺד שֶׁלּׅי גָּר בְּחוּ”ל וּמַגִּיעַ בַּקַיּׅץ לְבַקֵּר.

My uncle lives abroad and comes to visit in the summer.

חֹודֶשׁ שֶׁעָבַר שָׁלַחְתִּי חֲבִילָה לְחוּ”ל, רַק אֶתְמוֹל הׅיא הִגִּיעָה.

Last month I sent a package overseas, only yesterday it arrived.

Israelis love to fly abroad. Bar Mitzvah, Bat Mitzvah, before the army, after the army, graduation, holidays, and summer vacation – any opportunity to fly is a good opportunity. But in the last couple of years, due to COVID-19, Israelis fly less, and they are not the only ones. The number of foreign tourists visiting Israel has decreased since the beginning of the pandemic. Israeli cities try to attract local tourists, advertising themselves as a good substitute for abroad. Netanya, for example, published a video with the slogan: חוּ”ל זֶה כָּאן (overseas it’s here). Tel-Aviv also published a video with the slogan: לֺא צָרִיךְ לָטוּס לְחוּ”ל כְּדֵי לְהַרְגּׅישׁ חוּ”ל (no need to fly abroad to feel abroad).

There are many verbs to use when referring to חוּץ-לָאָרֶץ:

לְטַיֵּל (to travel), לְבַקֵּר (to visit), and so on. The most common one is לָטוּס (to fly). The root of the verb to fly is ט–ו–ס, and it belongs to binyan pa’al. It’s conjugated as follows:

Keep Calm and Learn Hebrew

      

Photo by Geralt from Pixabay, CCO

One day before 2021 ended and 2022 began, the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics (הַלִּשְׁכָּה הַמֶּרְכָּזִית לִסְטָטִיסְטִיקָה) published, as usual, the updated data of Israel’s population.

The Hebrew name of the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics is הַלִּשְׁכָּה הַמֶּרְכָּזִית לִסְטָטִיסְטִיקָה. The Hebrew noun for bureau is לׅשְׁכָּה (pronounced as lish-ka). לׅשְׁכָּה bears two meanings: one of an actual room – an office, usually a big one that belongs to a senior officer. The other meaning is an organization, an authority, as in the above name of the Central Bureau of Statistics. The noun לׅשְׁכָּה is feminine, as indicated from its ending with the letter ה. In its construct form the letter ת replaces the letter ה, and the pronunciation changes to לׅשְׁכַּת (lish-kat): instead of ending with the sound a, it ends with at. For example:

הַדִּיּוּן בַּלׅשְׁכָּה הִתְחִיל, הַשַׂר טֶרֶם הִצְטָרֵף.

The discussion in the bureau has begun, the minister has not yet joined.

לׅשְׁכַּת רוֺאֵי הַחֶשְׁבּוֹן בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל נוֺסְדָּה בְּ-1931.

The Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Israel was founded in 1931.

הַמְּנַהֵל קוּדַם וְעָבַר לַלּׅשְׁכָּה הַחֲדָשָׁה.

The director was promoted and moved to the new bureau.

לׅשְׁכַּת הַמִּסְחָר תֵּל אָבִיב וְהַמֶּרְכָּז הׅיא אִרְגּוּן הָעֲסָקִים, וְהַמַּעֲסִיקִים הַגָּדוֺל בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל.

The Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce is the largest business and employers’ organization in Israel.

The Central Bureau of Statistics – usually called in abbreviation הלמ”ס, the CBS – was founded several months after the establishment of the State of Israel. It cooperates with State offices and performs statistical activities and projects regarding the State and its population, in the fields of health, wellbeing, education, economy etc. Every year it publishes the current data about Israel population.

The Hebrew noun for population is אֻכְלוּסִיָּה (pronounced as och-lu-si-ya). It, too, is a feminine noun and acts the same when declining in its construct state. Its ending – the letter ה and the sound a – changes. In its construct form its ends with the letter ת and the sound yat. For example:

אֻכְלוּסִיָּה הׅיא קְבוּצָה מוּגְדֶּרֶת שֶׁל פְּרָטִים.

A population is a distinct group of individuals.

קֶצֶב הַגִּדּוּל שֶׁל אֻכְלוּסׅיַּת כַּדּוּר הָאָרֶץ יוֺרֵד בְּהַתְמָדָה.

The growth rate of the earth’s population is steadily declining.

חָשׁוּב לְזָהוֹת אֶת צָרְכֵי הָאֻכְלוּסִיָּה.

It is important to identify the needs of the population.

אֻכְלוּסׅיַּת הַפִּינְגְּוִינִים בְּחֲלָקִים מֵאַנְטַרְקְטִיקָה הִצְטָמְצְמָה בְּ-75%.

The penguin population in parts of Antarctica has shrunk by 75%.

Since the establishment of the State of Israel, Israel’s population is constantly growing. Most of the population growth (גִּדּוּל) in the country is natural, while the rest came from immigration. When 1962 began, Israel’s population was a bit more than 2 million people. At the end of 1998, Israel’s population was already 6 million. In 2019, the country population tops 9 million for the first time. The growth rate is steady and on the 2022 eve, the CBS announced: Israel’s population stood at nearly 9.5 million.

Most of the headlines reporting the numbers were informative. The headline from the Ma’arive newspaper, for example says:

הַנְּתוּנׅים נׅחְשָׂפׅים: בְּכַמָּה גַּדְלָה אֻכְלוּסׅיַּת יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּ-2021?

The data are revealed: by how much did the population of Israel increase in 2021?

Some headlines were more positive. The Ynet website, for example, announced: הִתְעַצְּמוּת כָּחֹל-לָבָן (blue and white intensification). But some reporters were negative. An article in The Marker, for example, complains about the overload of a growing population, and the failure of Israel to deal with it: traffic jams, housing shortages, long queues for health system services, and so on.

Related posts:

Encouraging Birth in Israel

Text vocabulary

Bureau = לׅשְׁכָּה

Statistics = סְטָטִיסְטִיקָה

Population = אֻכְלוּסִיָּה

Growth = גִּדּוּל

Data = נְתוּנׅים

Keep Calm and Learn Hebrew

The post Israel Population at Nearly 9.5 Million first appeared on Hebrew Language Blog.

     

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Photo by Huskyherz from Pixabay, CCO

Welcome to our third part of the Hebrew Family Vocabulary. In part one we’ve learned all the words for parents. In part two we’ve discussed all the grammar related to the words for siblings. Today we will learn the Hebrew words for grandparents.

The Hebrew word for grandfather is סַבָּא, pronounced as sa-ba.

The Hebrew word for grandmother is סָבְתָא, pronounced as sav-ta.

The two words, originated in Aramaic, share a similarity in pronunciation. Both start with the syllable sa, and end with the sound a. In the middle, both use the same consonant, with the difference of an appearance of a tonal emphasis in the word for grandpa. The emphasized consonant b receives the sound a, and creates the word סַבָּא (sa-ba). The un-emphasized consonant v in the other noun is followed by the consonant t, which gets the sound a, and creates the word סָבְתָא (sav-ta).

The original Hebrew words are very similar in pronunciation as well: סָב (sav) for grandfather and סָבָה (sa-va) for grandmother. They are, however, less common than their Aramaic antonyms, and rarely used in Israel. So rare that if you’ll use them in a conversation, most listeners will probably correct you to say סַבָּא or סָבְתָא. I must admit that I never used the original Hebrew words myself or heard someone use them. I will therefore refer in this post to the common words used in Hebrew for grandparents.

The words סַבָּא and סָבְתָא can refer either to a specific person, someone’s own grandparent, or to any person who has grandchildren and bears the title grandparent. For example:

לְסַבָּא מְעֹורָב יֵשׁ הַשְׁפָּעָה גְּדוֺלָה עַל נֶכְדָּיו.

An involved grandfather has a great impact on his grandchildren.

סַבָּא שֶׁלוֺ הִשְׁפִּיעַ עָלָיו רַבּוֹת.

His grandfather greatly influenced him.

לִהְיוֹת סָבְתָא צְעׅירָה זֶה כֵּיף.

Being a young grandmother is fun.

סָבְתָא שֶׁלּׅי דֵי צְעׅירָה.

My grandmother is quite young.

As in English, both Hebrew nouns don’t distinguish between the two sides of the family. The noun סַבָּא can refer to the father’s father, as well as to the mother’s father. The same is true with the Hebrew noun for grandma. The noun סָבְתָא can refer to the father’s mother, as well as to the mother’s mother. The only way to figure this out is by the context, or if the speaker explicitly tells it.

For example:

סָבְתָא שֶׁלּׅי הׅיא אִישָׁה מְאוֹד עַצְמָאִית.

My grandmother is a very independent woman.

סָבְתָא שֶׁלּׅי גִּדְּלָה שְׁלוֹשָׁה יְלָדׅים לְבַדָּה: אֶת אַבָּא שֶׁלּׅי וְאֶת שְׁתֵּי אֲחְיּוֹתָיו.

My grandma raised three children by herself: my father and his two sisters.

סַבָּא, אֵיךְ אַתָּה מַרְגּׅישׁ?

Grandpa, how are you feeling?

סַבָּא, אֵיךְ אׅמָּא הָיְתָה כְּיַלְדָּה?

Grandpa, how was mom as a child?

Both nouns decline to plural in accordance to their grammatical gender without exception:

The female plural form is, however, considered a mistake by the Academy of the Hebrew Language. The Academy refers to the word סָבָה as the correct word for grandmother, and to its plural form סָבוֹת (sa-vot) as the correct word for grandmothers. We will use only the modern prevalent terms for grandparents in our examples:

שְׁתֵּי הַסַּבְתּוֺת שֶׁלּׅי גָרוֺת קָרוֹב.

Both my grandmothers live nearby.

סֶקֶר חָדָשׁ מְגַלֶּה שֶׁ-70% מֵהַסָּבִים מְסַיְּעִים בְּגּידוּל הַנְּכָדׅים.

A new survey reveals that 70% of grandfathers help raise their grandchildren.

There is no one term in Hebrew for grandfather and grandmother together. There is no Hebrew equivalent for the word grandparent or grandparents. Some use the plural form of grandfather – סָבִים when referring to both, but most mention both the grandpa and the grandma. For example:

סַבָּא וְסָבְתָא שֶׁלּׅי בָּאוּ לְבַקֵּר.

My grandpa and grandma came to visit.

כָּל הַסָּבִים וְהַסַּבְתּוֺת מוּזְמָנׅים לַמְּסׅיבָּה.

All the grandmothers and grandfathers are welcome to the party.

   Keep Calm and Learn Hebrew

     

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