Vocabulary
Modern Israeli Hebrew has borrowed many words from Aramaic, Yiddish, Ladino, Arabic (spoken Arabic, mainly Judeo Arabic and Palestinian Arabic), German, Latin, Greek, Polish, Russian, English and other languages. Some typical examples are:
| loanword | derivatives | origin | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hebrew | IPA | meaning | Hebrew | IPA | meaning | language | spelling | meaning |
| ביי | /baj/ | goodbye | English | bye | ||||
| אגזוז | /eɡˈzoz/ | exhaust system |
exhaust system |
|||||
| דיג׳יי | /ˈdidʒej/ | DJ | לדג׳ה | /ledaˈdʒe/ | to DJ | to DJ | ||
| ואללה | /ˈwala/ | really!? | Arabic | والله | really!? | |||
| כיף | /kef/ | fun | לכייף | /lekaˈjef/ | to have fun | كيف | pleasure | |
| חפיף | /χaˈfif/ | lightly | להתחפף | /lehitχaˈfef/ | to scram | خَفِيف | lightly | |
| אבא | /ˈaba/ | daddy | Aramaic | אבא | the father | |||
| לאלתר | /lealˈtar/ | immediately | לאלתר | /lealˈter/ | to improvize | על אתר | right here | |
| חלטורה | /χalˈtura/ | shoddy job | לחלטר | /leχalˈter/ | to moonlight | Russian | халтура | shoddy work |
| בלגן | /balaˈɡan/ | mess | לבלגן | /levalˈɡen/ | to make a mess | балаган | chaos | |
| תכל׳ס | /ˈtaχles/ | directly | Yiddish | תכלית | goal | |||
| חרופ | /χrop/ | deep sleep | לחרופ | /laχˈrop/ | to sleep deeply | חְרוֹפּ | sleep | |
| שפכטל | /ˈʃpaχtel/ | putty knife | German | Spachtel | putty knife | |||
| גומי | /ˈɡumi/ | rubber | גומיה | /ɡumiˈja/ | rubber band | Gummi | rubber | |
| גזוז | /ɡaˈzoz/ | carbonated beverage |
Turkish French |
gazoz eau gazeuse |
carbonated beverage |
|||
| פוסטמה | /pusˈtema/ | stupid woman | Ladino | inflamed wound | ||||
| אדריכל | /adriˈχal/ | architect | אדריכלות | /adriχaˈlut/ | architecture | Akkadian | arad-ekalli | temple servant |
- Sources
Read more about this topic: Modern Hebrew
Famous quotes containing the word vocabulary:
“My vocabulary dwells deep in my mind and needs paper to wriggle out into the physical zone. Spontaneous eloquence seems to me a miracle. I have rewritten—often several times—every word I have ever published. My pencils outlast their erasers.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)
“One forgets words as one forgets names. One’s vocabulary needs constant fertilizing or it will die.”
—Evelyn Waugh (1903–1966)
“I have a vocabulary all my own. I “pass the time” when it is wet and disagreeable. When it is fine I do not wish to pass it; I ruminate it and hold on to it. We should hasten over the bad, and settle upon the good.”
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)