Hebrew Podcasts

Lesson 1 – Introduction
Beginner Level

Hello and welcome to Hebrew Podcasts. Today’s podcast is our

first lesson. In this lesson you’ll learn spoken Hebrew by listening to Transcription
a dialog and a discussion of vocabulary, grammar, and idioms.
We’ll use transcription in our lesson
With each podcast there’s a lesson guide where you can read the guides to help you read new Hebrew
transcript, see the full translation, get additional information, and do words. You should read the transcription
a few exercises to reinforce the lesson. You can download the as if it was English. We’ll use hyphens to
lesson guide from our web site at http://hebrewpodcasts.com. help the pronunciation. We’ll use é and à
In this first beginner-level lesson we’ll meet Rina. She’ll help us to better approximate the Hebrew sounds.
practice some greetings and learn some new words. You should pronounce those as you
would in French. Are you familiar with the
Let’s begin. expression déjà vu, or the word résumé?
If so, then you should pronounce these
Hello Rina! !‫שלום רינה‬
two accents accordingly. Otherwise,
Shà-lom Ri-nà! pronounce é like the e in let and
Hello Danny. How are you? ?‫ מה שלומך‬.‫שלום דני‬ pronounce à like the a in bark or the u
Shà-lom Dà-ni. Mà shlom-hà? in up.
Great, thank you. How are you? ?‫ מה שלומך‬.‫ תודה‬,‫נהדר‬
Finally we’ll use h (the letter h with an
Né-hé-dàr, to-dà. Mà shlo-méh? underscore) to denote the sound of the
All right. .‫בסדר גמור‬ letter Het (‫ )ח‬or the loose version of the
Bé-sé-dér gà-moor. letter Kaf (‫)כ‬. You should refer to lesson 2
to hear this sound.
I greeted Rina by saying ‫שלום‬. This is the most common greeting in
Hebrew and it can mean either hello or goodbye. You’ll see transcription in green. Here are
a couple of examples:
Hello Rina! !‫שלום רינה‬
Shà-lom Ri-nà! Shà-lom ‫שלום‬
The word, ‫שלום‬, can also mean peace or well being. We see it used Bé-sé-dér gà-moor ‫בסדר גמור‬
next when Rina asks me “How are you?”
How are you? ?‫מה שלומך‬
Mà shlom-hà?
In Hebrew, ‫ שלומָך‬is a single-word combination of the words: Right-to-left
‫שלום שלָך‬. This is what we say to a male person. ‫ שלומְך‬is a
combination of the words: ‫שלום שלְך‬, which is what we say to a Hebrew is written right-to-left, line by line
female person. going down the page.

Let’s practice: In our English text, if we include some

Hebrew words, then read the text as you
Hello Rina. How are you? ?‫ מה שלומְך‬.‫שלום רינה‬ would read any English text, but when you
Shà-lom Ri-nà. Mà shlo-méh? get to the Hebrew words, then read them
Hello Danny. How are you? ?‫ מה שלומָך‬.‫שלום דני‬ from right to the left. For example, follow
Shà-lom Dà-ni. Mà shlom-hà? the arrows:

I answered you, Rina, with ‫ תודה‬,‫נהדר‬. Great, thank you. Rina said ‫ בסדר גמור‬which means “all
1 2 3
right”.
Rina, if I wanted to say ‘thank you very much!’ I would say: 4

To-dà rà-bà !‫תודה רבה‬

When I asked you how you are, Rina, you said:
Bé-sé-dér gà-moor ‫בסדר גמור‬
That means all right. ‫ בסדר‬means all right, ‫ בסדר גמור‬emphasizes
that it’s completely all right.
Let’s listen to this short dialog again. This time we’ll pause after
each line so that you can practice by repeating out loud:

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 Hebrew Podcasts
Lesson 1 – Introduction
Beginner Level

Hello Rina! !‫שלום רינה‬

Shà-lom Ri-nà!
Nikkud ‫נִּקּוד‬
Hello Danny. How are you? ?‫ מה שלומך‬.‫שלום דני‬
Shà-lom Dà-ni. Mà shlom-hà? Hebrew vowel marks, or nikkud, are
Great, thank you. How are you? ?‫ מה שלומך‬.‫ תודה‬,‫נהדר‬ useful for beginner readers. They tell you
Né-hé-dàr, to-dà. Mà shlo-méh? how to pronounce and let you distinguish
between words that are otherwise spelled
All right. .‫בסדר גמור‬
the same. For example, without nikkud,
Bé-sé-dér gà-moor. the word ‫ שלומך‬is written identically in its
Okay, now suppose I wanted to introduce myself to you Rina. I masculine ‫ שְ לֹומָך‬and feminine ‫שְ לֹומֶ ְך‬
would say: forms.
Experienced readers, however, don’t rely
Hello, I’m Danny. .‫ אני דני‬,‫שלום‬ on nikkud. They read whole words rather
Shà-lom, à-ni dà-ni. than phonetically and they can resolve
This means, hello, I’m Danny. Rina, you would then respond with: ambiguity from the context. Modern
Hebrew books, newspapers and web sites
Pleased to meet you! I’m Rina. .‫נעים מאוד! אני רינה‬ do not provide nikkud.
Nà-im mé-od! à-ni Ri-nà. In our lessons guides we will have
‫ נעים מאוד‬is an expression that means ‘Pleased to meet you!’. Hebrew text typed without nikkud.
Literally, it means ‘very pleasant’. That’s a very useful expression. You can read more about nikkud on
Wikipedia.
Pleased to meet you! !‫נעים מאוד‬
Nà-im mé-od!
Next, I’m going to ask Rina if she goes to school.
Rina, do you go to school? ?‫ את הולכת לבית ספר‬,‫רינה‬ How are you...?
Ri-nà, àt ho-lé-hét lé-véit sé-fér?
In Hebrew, a question is often formed simply by the way we How are you? ?‫מה שלומָך‬
emphasize and without changing word order. For example, the How do you do? Mà shlom-hà?
statement: you go, is ‫ את הולכת‬and when we turn it into a question: How are you? ?‫מה נשמע‬
do you go? It simply becomes ?‫את הולכת‬ What’s up? Mà nish-mà?
Finally, ‫בית ספר‬, school, is composed of two words, ‫בית ספר‬. How are you feeling? ?‫איך המרגש‬
Éyh hà-màr-gàsh?
‫ ספר‬means a book, and ‫ בית ספר‬literally means book house.
What’s new? ?‫מה חדש‬
‫ לבית ספר‬means to school. Mà hà-dàsh?
Rina, let’s listen to your answer
Yes. I go to the school Kidmah. .‫ אני הולכת לבית הספר קידמה‬.‫כן‬
Kén, à-ni ho-lé-hét lé-véit hà-sé-fér kid-mà.
You said yes, you go to the school named Kidmah.
In my question, we heard ‫לבית ספר‬, to school, but when Rina
answered, we heard ‫לבית הספר‬, to the school.
‫הולכת‬, that’s a verb that means go. In Hebrew, verb forms change
based on the gender and plurality of the subject. In our case, the
subject is Rina.
‫ הולכת‬is therefore the feminine form of the verb to go.
Let’s consider some variations.

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 Hebrew Podcasts
Lesson 1 – Introduction
Beginner Level

If Avi, a man, wanted to say ‘I go to school’, he would say...

‫אני הולך לבית הספר‬ Present Tense
À-ni ho-léh lé-véit hà-sé-fér
Rina, if you and Noa, two girls, wanted to say ‘we go to the city’, to go ‫ללכת‬
you would say... Là-lé-hét
‫אנחנו הולכות לעיר‬
À-nàh-noo hol-hot là-ir I/you/he go/goes ‫הוא‬/‫אתה‬/‫אני‬
(male singular) ‫הולך‬
Let’s hear my question and Rina’s answer again. À-ni/À-tà/Hoo ho-léh
Rina, do you go to school? ?‫ את הולכת לבית ספר‬,‫רינה‬ I/you/she go/goes ‫היא‬/‫את‬/‫אני‬
Ri-nà, àt ho-lé-hét lé-véit sé-fér? (female singular) ‫הולכת‬
Yes. I go to the school Kidmah. .‫ אני הולכת לבית הספר קידמה‬.‫כן‬ À-ni/Àt/Hee ho-lé-hét
Kén, à-ni ho-lé-hét lé-véit hà-sé-fér kid-mà. we/you/they go ‫הם‬/‫אתם‬/‫אנחנו‬
(male plural) ‫הולכים‬
So, Rina, please tell us about your Hebrew Teacher, ‫המורה לעברית‬.
À-nàh-noo/À-tém/Hém hol-him
I love the Hebrew teacher. .‫אני אוהבת את המורה לעברית‬ we/you/they go ‫הן‬/‫אתן‬/‫אנחנו‬
À-ni o-hé-vét ét hà-mo-rà lé-iv-rit. (female plural) ‫הולכות‬
Rina loves her Hebrew teacher. We hear ‫אוהבת‬, which is the À-nàh-noo/À-tén/Hén hol-hot
feminine form of the verb to love. ‫דני ורינה הולכים לתל אביב‬
‫ עברית‬is Hebrew. ‫ לעברית‬means of Hebrew – the teacher of Dà-ni vé-ri-nà hol-him lé-tél à-viv
Hebrew. Danny and Rina go to Tel Aviv
Let’s try some variations (Danny and Rina are going to Tel Aviv)
Rina, if you were speaking about a male English teacher, then you
would say...
The English Teacher ‫המורה לאנגלית‬
Hà-mo-ré lé-àn-glit Present Tense

And to speak about both teachers ‘my teachers’, you would say... to love ‫לאהוב‬
my teachers ‫המורים שלי‬ Lé-é-hov
Hà-mo-rim shé-li
Okay, Rina, tell us more about your Hebrew teacher: I/you/he love/loves ‫הוא‬/‫אתה‬/‫אני‬
(male singular) ‫אוהב‬
She is a new teacher ‫היא מורה חדשה‬ À-ni/À-tà/Hoo o-hév
Hee mo-rà hà-dà-shà I/you/she love/loves ‫היא‬/‫את‬/‫אני‬
from Tel-Aviv. .‫מתל אביב‬ (female singular) ‫אוהבת‬
mi-tél à-viv. À-ni/Àt/Hee o-hé-vét
She is very nice ‫היא נחמדה מאוד‬
we/you/they love ‫הם‬/‫אתם‬/‫אנחנו‬
Hee néh-mà-dà mé-od (male plural) ‫אוהבים‬
and she plays with us ‫והיא משחקת איתנו‬ À-nàh-noo/À-tém/Hém o-hà-vim
vé-hee mé-sà-hé-két ee-tà-noo
we/you/they love ‫הן‬/‫אתן‬/‫אנחנו‬
and sings songs with us. .‫ושרה איתנו שירים‬ (female plural) ‫אוהבות‬
vé-shà-rà ee-tà-noo shi-rim. À-nàh-noo/À-tén/Hén o-hà-vot
Okay, we heard quite a bit here. Let’s examine what we heard:
‫דני אוהב לשיר‬
Rina, you said that your Hebrew teacher is new Dà-ni o-hév là-shir
Yes. She is a new teacher. .‫ היא מורה חדשה‬.‫כן‬ Danny loves to sing
Kén. Hee mo-rà hà-dà-shà.

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 Hebrew Podcasts
Lesson 1 – Introduction
Beginner Level

‫ חדשה‬is the feminine singular form of the Hebrew adjective ‫חדש‬. If

you were talking about your teachers—in plural—you would say...
Present Tense
New teachers ‫מורים חדשים‬
Mo-rim hà-dà-shim to play ‫לשחק‬
Rina’s teacher is from Tel-Aviv. Let’s listen to that again in the Lé-sà-hék
dialog:
She is a new teacher from Tel-Aviv. .‫היא מורה חדשה מתל אביב‬ I/you/he play/plays ‫הוא‬/‫אתה‬/‫אני‬
Hee mo-rà hà-dà-shà mi-tél à-viv. (male singular) ‫משחק‬
À-ni/À-tà/Hoo mé-sà-hék
Hebrew uses prefixes like ‫ ל‬in ‫לעברית‬, or ‫ מ‬in ‫מתל אביב‬. Those
prefixes are the prepositions of, and from, respectively. I/you/she play/plays ‫היא‬/‫את‬/‫אני‬
(female singular) ‫משחקת‬
Next Rina told us that her teacher is very nice. She is very nice is À-ni/Àt/Hee mé-sà-hé-két
She is very nice ‫היא נחמדה מאוד‬ we/you/they play ‫הם‬/‫אתם‬/‫אנחנו‬
Hee néh-mà-dà mé-od (male plural) ‫משחקים‬
À-nàh-noo/À-tém/Hém mé-sàh-kim
She is very nice and she plays with us. Let’s listen to how Rina said
that: we/you/they play ‫הן‬/‫אתן‬/‫אנחנו‬
(female plural) ‫משחקות‬
‫היא נחמדה מאוד והיא משחקת איתנו‬ À-nàh-noo/À-tén/Hén mé-sàh-kot
Hee néh-mà-dà mé-od vé-hee mé-sà-hé-két ee-tà-noo
‫הילדות משחקות בבית הספר‬
Let’s hear that again
Hà-yé-là-dot mé-sàh-kot bé-béit hà-sé-fér
‫היא נחמדה מאוד והיא משחקת איתנו‬ The girls play at school
Hee néh-mà-dà mé-od vé-hee mé-sà-hé-két ee-tà-noo
Rina’s new teacher also sings with the kids. So Rina,
Do you like to sing? ?‫את אוהבת לשיר‬
Àt o-hé-vét là-shir?
Yes, it’s nice. .‫ זה נחמד‬,‫כן‬
Kén. Zé néh-màd.
I’m learning to sing ‫אני לומדת לשיר‬
À-ni lo-mé-dét là-shir
Hanukkah songs. .‫שירים של חנוכה‬
shi-rim shél hà-noo-kà.
Like for example ‫כמו למשל‬
Kmo lé-mà-shàl
“Ma'oz Tzur Y'shu'atiS” "...‫"מעוז צור ישועתי‬
“mà-oz tsoor yé-shoo-à-ti…”
To sing, ‫לשיר‬, is nice, ‫זה נחמד‬.
So Rina, what song are you learning now for Hanukkah?
I’m learning to sing ‫אני לומדת לשיר‬
À-ni lo-mé-dét là-shir
“Ma'oz Tzur Y'shu'atiS” "...‫"מעוז צור ישועתי‬
“mà-oz tsoor yé-shoo-à-ti…”
‫לומדת‬, that’s another verb in its feminine singular present tense,
just like ‫ הולכת‬and ‫משחקת‬.
Before we conclude our lesson, let’s listen again to the entire
dialog. We’ll pause after each line for you to repeat it out loud.

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 Hebrew Podcasts
Lesson 1 – Introduction
Beginner Level

!‫ׁשלֹום ִרּנָה‬ ָ
?‫ מָ ה ּׁשְ לֹומְ ָך‬.‫ׁשָ לֹום ּדָ נִי‬ Adjective
?‫ מָ ה ּׁשְ לֹומֶ ְך‬.‫ּתֹודה‬ ָ ,‫נֶהְ ָּדר‬
.‫ּבְסֵ דֶ ר ּגָמּור‬ Nice ‫נחמד‬
?‫ אַ ּתְ הֹולֶ כֶת לְ בֵית סֵ פֶ ר‬,‫ִרּנָה‬ Néh-màd
‫ אֲ נִי הֹו ֶלכֶת‬.‫ּכֵן‬
.‫ְלבֵית הַ ּסֵ פֶ ר קִ ּדְ מָ ה‬ I am/you are/he is ‫הוא‬/‫אתה‬/‫אני‬
‫אֲ נִי אֹוהֶ בֶת‬ nice (m. singular) ‫נחמד‬
.‫ּמֹורה לְעִ ב ְִרית‬ ָ ַ‫אֵ ת ה‬ À-ni/À-tà/Hoo néh-màd
‫מֹורה חֲ דָ ׁשָ ה‬ ָ ‫הִ יא‬
I am/you are/she is ‫היא‬/‫את‬/‫אני‬
.‫מִ ֵּתל ָאבִיב‬
nice (f. singular) ‫נחמדה‬
‫הִ יא נֶחְ מָ דָ ה מְ א ֹד‬
À-ni/Àt/Hee néh-mà-dà
‫ו ְהִ יא מְ ׂשַ חֶ קֶ ת אִ ּתָ נּו‬
.‫ירים‬ ִ ִ‫ו ְׁשָ ָרה אִ ּתָ נּו ׁש‬ we are/you are/they ‫הם‬/‫אתם‬/‫אנחנו‬
?‫ׁשיר‬ ִ ָ‫אַ ּתְ אֹוהֶ ֶבת ל‬ are nice (m. plural) ‫נחמדים‬
.‫ זֶה נֶחְ מָ ד‬,‫ּכֵן‬ À-nàh-noo/À-tém/Hém néh-mà-dim
‫אֲ נִי לֹומֶ דֶ ת לָׁשִ יר‬ we are/you are/they ‫הן‬/‫אתן‬/‫אנחנו‬
.‫ירים ׁשֶ ל חֲ נֻּכָה‬ ִ ִ‫ׁש‬ are nice (f. plural) ‫נחמדות‬
‫ּכְמֹו לְמָ ׁשָ ל‬ À-nàh-noo/À-tén/Hén néh-mà-dot
."‫מָ עֹוז צּור י ְׁשּועָ ִתי‬..."
‫מורים נחמדים‬
That’s it for today. In our next lesson we’ll meet Noa and we’ll Mo-rim néh-mà-dim
review the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Nice teachers
Until then ‫מורות נחמדות‬
!‫שלום ולהתראות‬ Mo-rot néh-mà-dot
Nice teachers (referring to a group of all-
female teachers)

Hanukkah ‫חנוכה‬
Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights,
celebrates the re-kindling of the Temple
menorah at the time of the Maccabee
rebellion. It is an eight-day Jewish holiday
beginning on the 25th day of the month of
Kislev, which may fall anytime from late
November to late December.

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 Hebrew Podcasts
Lesson 1 – Introduction
Beginner Level

This lesson’s vocabulary

you (fem.) ‫את‬
Kidmah school ‫בית הספר קידמה‬
school ‫בית ספר‬
alright ‫בסדר גמור‬
Danny ‫דני‬
she ‫היא‬
and ...‫ו‬
it ‫זה‬
new (fem.) ‫חדשה‬
Hanukkah ‫חנוכה‬
like ‫כמו‬
yes ‫כן‬
learning (fem.) ‫לומדת‬
for example ‫למשל‬
to sing ‫לשיר‬
from ...‫מ‬
very ‫מאוד‬
how are you ‫מה שלומך‬
teacher ‫מורה‬
Hebrew teacher ‫מורה לעברית‬
play (fem.) ‫משחקת‬
great ‫נהדר‬
nice ‫נחמד‬
nice (fem.) ‫נחמדה‬
Rina ‫רינה‬
songs ‫שירים‬
hello ‫שלום‬
sings (fem.) ‫שרה‬
thank you ‫תודה‬
Tel-Aviv ‫תל אביב‬

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 Hebrew Podcasts
Lesson 1 – Introduction
Beginner Level

Lesson 1 – Exercises

Match each sentence with its Hebrew translation. Then draw a line to connect them.

I am going to school ‫אני אוהבת את המורה‬

À-ni o-hé-vét ét hà-mo-rà
I love the teacher ‫אני לומדת לשיר‬
À-ni lo-mé-dét là-shir
The teacher is nice ‫אני הולכת לבית ספר‬
À-ni ho-lé-hét lé-véit sé-fér
I am learning to sing ‫המורה משחקת איתנו‬
Hà-mo-rà mé-sà-hé-két ee-tà-noo
The teacher plays with us ‫המורה נחמדה‬
Hà-mo-rà néh-mà-dà

Select the correct form of the verb and write it in the space. Pay attention to gender and
plurality.
1. Ri-nà __________ lé-véit sé-fér. .‫ רינה ________ לבית ספר‬.1
Hol-him ‫א( הולכים‬
Ho-léh ‫ב( הולך‬
Ho-lé-hét ‫ג( הולכת‬
2. Hoo __________ ét hà-mo-rà. .‫ הוא ________ את המורה‬.2
O-hév ‫א( אוהב‬
O-hà-vim ‫ב( אוהבים‬
O-hà-vot ‫ג( אוהבות‬
3. Hà-mo-rim __________. .________ ‫ המורים‬.3
Néh-màd ‫א( נחמד‬
Néh-mà-dim ‫ב( נחמדים‬
Néh-mà-dà ‫ג( נחמדה‬
4. A-nàh-noo __________. .________ ‫ אנחנו‬.4
Mé-sà-hé-két ‫א( משחקת‬
Mé-sà-hék ‫ב( משחק‬
Mé-sàh-kim ‫ג( משחקים‬
5. Hém __________ shi-rim shél hà-noo-kà. .‫ הם ________ שירים של חנוכה‬.5
Là-màd ‫א( למד‬
Lom-dim ‫ב( לומדים‬
Lo-mé-dét ‫ג( לומדת‬

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