# one day, two days



## mojoka

How do you write the following phrases in Hebrew characters?

"two days"
"one day"


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## elroy

Welcome to the forum! 

one day - יום אחד
two days - שני ימים


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## mojoka

Thank you.
What's the difference between שני ימים and יומיים?

If I want to say 2 days until we meet which form to use?


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## elroy

There is no difference in meaning.  I think you can safely use either one, but you should wait for a native speaker to confirm.


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## scriptum

יומיים: a couple of days; some two days
שני ימים: exactly two days


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## morgoth2604

mm I wouldn't use שנים ימים until we meet, I'd always prefer יומיים.


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## elroy

scriptum said:


> יומיים: a couple of days; some two days
> שני ימים: exactly two days


 Are you saying יומיים cannot mean "exactly two days"?


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## scriptum

elroy said:


> Are you saying יומיים cannot mean "exactly two days"?


I don't want to sound too definite. It probably depends ot the context. Anyway, according to my personal feeling, "יומיים של עבודה" could mean something from one day and a half to two days and a half; while
"שני ימים של עבודה" means two days, no more and no less. Probably some people won't agree.


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## Gadyc

יומיים is a mandatory elision. 
I think that if such an elision was accepted by current language you should use it unless you want to create a "heavy style". 
Maybe it refer to "a couple of days" as 2 days excatly, as 2 days are more than one single day but 3 days are half a week. (??) I mean 2 days are a substantive unity of time.
You never say שני מכנסים or שני אופנים but מכנסיים and אופניים because they ARE one couple rather then 2 assembled units.


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## morgoth2604

as a side note, I would say שני ימי עבודה instead of שני ימים של עבודה which sounds quite awkward. If you have smichut that's one case where you wouldn't use יומיים.


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## scriptum

morgoth2604 said:


> as a side note, I would say שני ימי עבודה instead of שני ימים של עבודה which sounds quite awkward. If you have smichut that's one case where you wouldn't use יומיים.


Hmmm... I beg to disagree. Awkward or not, שני ימים של עבודה has not the same meaning as שני ימי עבודה .
The first phrase means "two days of work".
The second, "two working days".
"שני ימי עבודה " could last one, or two, or 16 days (if one works an hour a day).


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## morgoth2604

I respectfully disagree, שני ימי עבודה can only last two days. שני ימי עבודה        is שני ימים של עבודה only with smichut.


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## Gadyc

morgoth2604 said:


> I respectfully disagree, שני ימי עבודה can only last two days. שני ימי עבודה is שני ימים של עבודה only with smichut.


 
I agree with scriptum. 
יום עבודה is a working day an not one day working.
Thus, 2 working days are 15-18 hours.

Moreover, יומיים עבודה is absolutely correct and acceptable. I think even preferable.


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## morgoth2604

I guess I could see יום עבודה as a day's work, but either way I would never say שני ימים של עבודה.


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## cosmopolitan.il

You all disagree so pulitely I must say. It's so nice to read your messages.


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## StoneEd

I'm very new to the Hebrew language so I'm probably going to have tons of stupid questions but why couldn't one use Echad Yom or Sh'nayeem Yom?? (I'm also new enough that i can't figure out how to use my keyboard to write with the alephbet so I'm going to be writing in transliterated Hebrew for awhile.)


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## elroy

Welcome to the forum!


StoneEd said:


> [...] why couldn't one use Echad Yom or Sh'nayeem Yom??


 You can't use the first one because in Hebrew the number "one" comes after the noun it refers to.  You can't use the second one because you need to say "days" and not "day," and the form of the word for "two" needs to change (see the previous posts).


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## StoneEd

elroy said:


> the number "one" comes after the noun it refers to.



Would Yom Echad work then?


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## elroy

StoneEd said:


> Would Yom Echad work then?


 Yes.  See post #2.


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