# May you live a long life



## miamijaguey

Hello all,
I have a new Israeli lady friend with whom I communicate occasionally through text messages and e-mail. This morning I sent her a greeting and she responded in English with "May you live a long life..." This seems a bit formal for most English situations so I'm assuming it's an equivalent phrase taken from a Hebrew greeting. So, my questions are:

Is this the English version of a common Hebrew greeting? 

How would it be expressed in Hebrew? (Using the English alphabet, remember I'm texting her), and...

What is a good response in Hebrew?

I've looked up some resources and found one phrase, L'Chaim, that refers to life, but as I understand, it's not necessarily the complete phrase she used. 

Also, if anyone would like to help me with some common words or phrases that a couple of friends might exchange occasionally, I'd be very grateful. I already know Shalom! 

Todah,
miamijagüey


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## pachyderm

"May you have a long life" = שיהיו לך חיים ארוכים, sheiYU leCHA chaIM arukIM. It's not a very common greeting in Hebrew. 

This phrase has an interesting colloquial use though -- when someone says something you were just thinking about, or felt like deja vu, or was identical to what someone else said to you an hour before, or the like, you can use this phrase, I don't know a parallel English expression.

Hope it helps


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## miamijaguey

pachyderm said:


> "May you have a long life" = שיהיו לך חיים ארוכים, sheiYU leCHA chaIM arukIM. It's not a very common greeting in Hebrew.
> 
> This phrase has an interesting colloquial use though -- when someone says something you were just thinking about, or felt like deja vu, or was identical to what someone else said to you an hour before, or the like, you can use this phrase, I don't know a parallel English expression.
> 
> Hope it helps


 
I think you nailed this one on the head, pachyderm, because I sent her a sms saying "Good morning" just as she was getting ready to text me... the full response she gave me was:

"May you live a long life. I was just thinking of sms u"

Learn something new every day, thanks for your help!


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## pachyderm

Sure. Do you know of a similar English expression?


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## chaya

In England The Phrase ' I Wish You Long Life' Is Only  Used When Greeting The Bereaved At A Funeral Or A 'shiva'.

Chaya


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## MiamianIsraeli

There's another common, related Israel expression, תהיה בריא tihye baree to a male and תהיהי בריאה tihyee bria to a female. They mean "be healthy."

By the way, Miamijaguey, in what part of town do you live? I was born in Miami Beach and lived downtown near the "old" arena before I moved to Israel two years ago. Friends tell me that I won't recognize the city when I visit.


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## miamijaguey

pachyderm said:


> Sure. Do you know of a similar English expression?


 
The only thing remotely similar in American English that I know of is that you say "Jinx!" whenever you say something at the same time as someone else. It's really more of a kids' thing, supposed to keep you from having bad luck. Here's a wikipedia article that makes brief mention of it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jinx

It's not really equivalent in purpose, but has the similarity of being said when two people say the same thing at the same time.

Thanks again for your help!


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## miamijaguey

MiamianIsraeli said:


> There's another common, related Israel expression, תהיה בריא tihye baree to a male and תהיהי בריאה tihyee bria to a female. They mean "be healthy."
> 
> By the way, Miamijaguey, in what part of town do you live? I was born in Miami Beach and lived downtown near the "old" arena before I moved to Israel two years ago. Friends tell me that I won't recognize the city when I visit.


 
I live just north of the International Airport in a neighborhood called Virginia Gardens. It's a nice little secluded area, not too far from where I work in Doral. I've only been here about four years, and a good portion of that time I was in Afghanistan with the U.S. Army, so I'm actually still getting to know the city in recent months. I don't know for sure how much Miami has changed since you left, but I really think the traffic situation has gotten worse when compared to the time before I left for Afghanistan in April, '05. Pretty crowded here, but I love the weather, and the mix of cultures is unique in the USA. Thanks for your comment, I'm having a great time in this corner of the forum! (I can usually be found hanging out in the Spanish area, lol...)


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## miamijaguey

chaya said:


> In England The Phrase ' I Wish You Long Life' Is Only Used When Greeting The Bereaved At A Funeral Or A 'shiva'.
> 
> Chaya


 
Thank you, Chaya!


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