# Hebrew word pairs



## Zeevdovtarnegolet

I find that many Hebrew words have a counterpart, many times from Greek or Latin.  I don't know which I should focus on learning first or primarily.   

 
אדריכל.ית    adrichal/it = architect  אַרְכִיטֶקְט
אדריכלות  adrichalut = architecture    אַרְכִיטֶקְטוּרָה
 אלרגיה    alergya = allergy   רַגֶּשֶׁת
אלכוהול  alkohol = alcohol   kohal   כוהל
אלכוהוליזם   alkoholizm = alcoholism   שַׁתְיָנוּת
ארבה  aruba = chimney  
אָח

עבה  ave = thick   עבות
 אלגנטי.ת  eleganti/t = elegant   מהודר.ת    mehudar 

אינטיליגנטי.ת  inteligenti/t = intelligent   חכם.ה

 כף  kaf  kapot= spoon (f)   כפית 

קקטוס kaktus = cactus    tsavar   
צבר

 כיף  keyf = fun    בידור   bidur

מות mavet = death (m)  
מיתה

 מרפסת     mirpeset   mirpasot  = balcony   
בַּלְקוֹן

מיתוס  mitos = myth   אגדה  agada


מוח mo’ach mochot = brain (m)   שכל sechel

מודרני.ת  moderni/t = modern   חדיש.ה     chadish/a


----------



## ocanada3933

learn them both it could never hurt!!


----------



## Egmont

Not all your word pairs are identical in meaning.

שכל: brain in the abstract sense of intelligence; מוח: brain in the concrete sense of the gray thing inside your skull

כף: a spoon in general (or a tablespoon in recipe measurements); כפית: a small spoon or teaspoon (also a teaspoon in recipe measurements)

There are quite a few others where there is a distinct or at least nuanced difference.

When they mean the same (e.g., the two terms for "architect"), I tend to lean toward the Hebrew form in preference to the Hebraized foreign form, but that varies a bit from word to word. A lot of it probably has to do with whatever I heard, and first learned, as a child.


----------



## Zeevdovtarnegolet

Egmont said:


> Not all your word pairs are identical in meaning.
> 
> שכל: brain in the abstract sense of intelligence; מוח: brain in the concrete sense of the gray thing inside your skull
> 
> כף: a spoon in general (or a tablespoon in recipe measurements); כפית: a small spoon or teaspoon (also a teaspoon in recipe measurements)
> 
> There are quite a few others where there is a distinct or at least nuanced difference.
> 
> When they mean the same (e.g., the two terms for "architect"), I tend to lean toward the Hebrew form in preference to the Hebraized foreign form, but that varies a bit from word to word. A lot of it probably has to do with whatever I heard, and first learned, as a child.




When there is a Greek term like architecture is there a tendency for people to use it more often than the Hebrew version?  Is this a case-by-case basis?  I know that in Japanese there are toooooooonnnnsss of English loanwords that are preferred over the native Japanese terms.  I realize this is different but still.  LOL


----------



## Zeevdovtarnegolet

ocanada3933 said:


> learn them both it could never hurt!!



Yes I agree but I don't want to waste my time learning words people don't use and only the Hebrew Academy pushes.


----------



## ks20495

So, this is really a case-by-case thing. So, just to illustrate that, I'm gonna go through your "counterparts":

1. (אדריכל(ות and (ארכיטקט(ורה mean the same thing. I would say אדריכל is a little more common.

2. רגשת is not really used...It just exists "in theory". For example, if you go to Wikipedia, you'll see that the article is called אלרגיה and it just says "רגשת" in brackets.

3. כוהל is generally used for the "alcohol" in chemical sense. אלכוהול is used for the beverage. 

4. שתיינות isn't exactly אלכוהוליזם in the sense that אלכוהוליזם implies a clinical addiction/dependence and שתיינות just means drinking a lot. 

5. ארובה is a chimney. אח is a fireplace.

5. עבה is the common word. עבות is only used poetically. 

6. מהודר and אלגנטי have similar, but different meanings. מהודר is more like "glorified." (BTW, this is different than - for example רגשת - in that מהודר wasn't created as a Hebrew alternative to "elegant". It's in the Tanach.)

7. The same is true for אינטליגנטי and חכם. They have similar, but different meanings.

8. כף and כפית is explained above. 

9. כיף means fun. בידור means entertainment.

10. Already discussed.

11. מרפסת is used far more commonly nowadays.

12. אגדה is a legend. מיתוס is specifically a myth. (According to literature professors, there's a difference...Go figure.)

13. מוח and שכל are already discussed.

14. מודרני וחדיש are also like אלגנטי ומהודר. They mean different things: חדיש means like "cutting-edge" or just characterized by newness in general. 

SO...as you can see, there really is no rule. Also, a lot of the counterparts you bring up are simply words with different meanings. Think about English: "word" and "term" are often interchangeable. But, they have distinct meanings.


----------



## Zeevdovtarnegolet

Thank you to you and all for helping me with this! Dictionaries can only go so far hehe.  

How bout these : 


דיאטה  dieta = diet     תזונה   tezuna

מוסיקה musika = music  נגינה    negina

מוזאון  muze’on = museum  נכות בית  beyt nechot

נצרת  natsrat but also ? natseret 


נורמלי.ת  normali/t = normal     תקין.ה     takin  tekina

פנים  panim = face   פרצוף  partsuf


רדיו radyo = radio       אלחוט


ריק   rik  = vacuum   וָקוּם

סנדוויץ  sendvich = sandwich   כריך     karich


שיר  shir = song    זמר 


שלחן כתיבה   shulchan ktiva = desk   
; דֶּסְק


מזון  אוכל




ks20495 said:


> So, this is really a case-by-case thing. So, just to illustrate that, I'm gonna go through your "counterparts":
> 
> 1. (אדריכל(ות and (ארכיטקט(ורה mean the same thing. I would say אדריכל is a little more common.
> 
> 2. רגשת is not really used...It just exists "in theory". For example, if you go to Wikipedia, you'll see that the article is called אלרגיה and it just says "רגשת" in brackets.
> 
> 3. כוהל is generally used for the "alcohol" in chemical sense. אלכוהול is used for the beverage.
> 
> 4. שתיינות isn't exactly אלכוהוליזם in the sense that אלכוהוליזם implies a clinical addiction/dependence and שתיינות just means drinking a lot.
> 
> 5. ארובה is a chimney. אח is a fireplace.
> 
> 5. עבה is the common word. עבות is only used poetically.
> 
> 6. מהודר and אלגנטי have similar, but different meanings. מהודר is more like "glorified." (BTW, this is different than - for example רגשת - in that מהודר wasn't created as a Hebrew alternative to "elegant". It's in the Tanach.)
> 
> 7. The same is true for אינטליגנטי and חכם. They have similar, but different meanings.
> 
> 8. כף and כפית is explained above.
> 
> 9. כיף means fun. בידור means entertainment.
> 
> 10. Already discussed.
> 
> 11. מרפסת is used far more commonly nowadays.
> 
> 12. אגדה is a legend. מיתוס is specifically a myth. (According to literature professors, there's a difference...Go figure.)
> 
> 13. מוח and שכל are already discussed.
> 
> 14. מודרני וחדיש are also like אלגנטי ומהודר. They mean different things: חדיש means like "cutting-edge" or just characterized by newness in general.
> 
> SO...as you can see, there really is no rule. Also, a lot of the counterparts you bring up are simply words with different meanings. Think about English: "word" and "term" are often interchangeable. But, they have distinct meanings.


----------



## ks20495

1. דיאטה means diet. תזונה means nutrition.

2. מוסיקה means music. נגינה means playing (an instrument).

3. מוזיאון is a museum. בית נכות is an old word for an antiquities museum...basically never used now. 

4. There are two pronunciations of נצרת

5. נורמלי means normal (oftentimes used to mean 'sane'). תקין means standard or in order.

6. פנים and פרצוף are interchangeable.

7. רדיו is radio. אלחוט literally means wireless.

8. ריק and ואקום mean the same thing...But ואקום is more colloquial.

9. סנדוויץ' and כריך are interchangeable.

10. שיר is common. זמר is poetic.

11. שולחן כתיבה is only used to specify that it's a desk. דסק is like a figurative desk in journalism.


----------



## Zeevdovtarnegolet

Thank you! Is there any reason for the double Nazareth pronunciations?  Is one more common than the other?


----------



## Zeevdovtarnegolet

Thank you all!


----------



## amikama

Hi all,

Unfortunately, listings are not encouraged in the WR forums, because they are not in line with the "one topic per thread" rule (Rule #2); Each pair is actually a topic by itself . Thus I've closed this thread.

If you wish to discuss a specific pair from the lists above, please open a new thread for it (if it doesn't already exist in the Hebrew forum). I've moved two of the sub-discussions developed in this thread to new threads: מוות / מיתה and פרצוף / פנים.

Thanks for your understanding,

amikama
moderator


----------

