# to miss something



## htims

Hi there,
I can't find the Hebrew verb for missed.  i.e. I missed the class. Not I miss somebody of which I know the verb for.

NB If there is no verb for miss as in the above explanation, how would I say.  I missed the class last week?

Toda raba.


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## ks20495

לְפֵַסְפֵס means "to miss".

You would say: ".פִסְפַסְתִּי את השיעור בשבוע שעבר"


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## htims

toda raba!!


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## htims

slixa.  ma ha shoresh


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## لنـا

פִ-סְ-פֵ-ס


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## origumi

Note that it's borrowed from a foreign language (Arabic) in a relatively late period and therefore the פ do not get דגש קל. The pronounciation is _*f*is*f*asti_, not _*p*is*p*asti_ as may be expected.


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## elroy

origumi said:


> Note that it's borrowed from a foreign language (Arabic) [...]


 Do you know what the Arabic root is?  The only similar ones I can think of don't mean "miss," as far as I know.

In Palestinian Arabic, "I missed X" would be literally expressed as "הלך עלי X" (راح عليّ).


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## origumi

according to the list below of Arabic borrowings into hebrew, it comes from a word that sounds like "fss fss", a sound supposed to make an opponent disconcentrate thus miss.

Look for פיספס in the page, it gives the Arabic word but for some reason I cannot see it in my browser.

http://www.safa-ivrit.org/imported/arabic.php


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## elroy

Interesting!  I'm not familiar with that usage (in Arabic).  It's kind of ironic that the Hebrew word for something Arabic doesn't have a verb for is a borrowing from Arabic.

I always wondered why the פ's this word were pronounced [f], in violation of the phonological rules of Hebrew.  Now, thanks to you, I know why!


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## origumi

According to The Comprehensive Slang Dictionary by Ruvik Rosental, the etymology of פיספס is not clear and may be related to another Arabic loanword, פספוס _fasfus_ = small child.

http://books.google.co.il/books?id=3JTy9EcFb4YC&pg=PA309&lpg=PA309&dq=%D7%A4%D7%A1%D7%A4%D7%95%D7%A1+%D7%A2%D7%A8%D7%91%D7%99%D7%AA&source=bl&ots=eFnbLNdEww&sig=LXqh581y78D5uZrfnKwFVXBHShQ&hl=en&ei=8s82TZ-iK4ahOtL5mcAD&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBQQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%D7%A4%D7%A1%D7%A4%D7%95%D7%A1%20%D7%A2%D7%A8%D7%91%D7%99%D7%AA&f=false


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