# to try



## albondiga

Is there a difference between השתדל and נסה (both translated as "to try")?


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## Nunty

You might think of השתדל as "make an effort" or "try hard". נסה is "try" in a more general sense, and can also be used as "put to the test", "experiment".


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## albondiga

Thanks!  That's about what I thought... Is it the case that they are frequently (though obviously not always) interchangeable, with the difference sometimes being a matter of degree (השתדל being a more "intensive" try than נסה)?


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## Nunty

I really don't know how to answer that. The appropriate word comes more or less automatically to my tongue/pen/keyboard. I suppose in the sense that "try" and "make an effort" are interchangeable and differ only in degree, so are נסה and השתדל, but נסה also has those other applications.


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## albondiga

Thanks, that makes sense...


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## bat777

The implication that follows from השתדל (in the imperative) is that the addressee is capable of performing the relevant act, and that s/he only needs to make an effort in order to succeed. The implication from נסה is that it isn't clear what is the ability of the addressee to perform the act.
Due to the different implications, I think that in each relevant context, it is either השתדל or נסה that fits. In other words, I think they are not really interchangeable.


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## albondiga

Thanks, bat... I will continue to listen for these words in context when I can, but I notice that you gave the example in the imperative... would the same be true in other tenses (i.e., if I use the word השתדל to describe my "trying" with regard to some activity, it implies that I can succeed if I make an effort, etc.)?


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## Nunty

The example is in the third person masculine singular past, like you gave it in your first post. This is the "dictionary form" of the verb. The meaning does not change in the different tenses, though.


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## bat777

I agree with Nun-Translator. The meaning doesn't change. I only gave the imperative as an example.


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## albondiga

OK, thanks to both of you!


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