# אבל אני לא כוכב



## Elcapitan

Need help understanding this, a girlfriend of mine said it to me.


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## Nunty

It means "But I am not a star."


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## Flaminius

I am just wondering if Hebrew כוכב can mean a popular singer/actor/actress, just like English?


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## Nunty

Yes, it certainly can.


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## Flaminius

Your answer implies that כוכב in this sense does not have any gender distinction (A she saying I am not a star). Am I correct?


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## Nunty

No, I'm sorry for not being clear.

A star (in the sky) is כוכב
A male movie star is כוכב קולנוע and a female movie star is כוכבת קולנוע
To star in a show is לככב

If the girlfriend knows Hebrew and respects noun gender, she is saying she is not a star (in the sky).


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## Flaminius

Perhaps my question wasn't clear in the first place.

לככב is a verb?  Oh, the versatility of the pi`el pattern.  Good to know.  Thank you N-Ty.


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## scriptum

Flaminius said:


> לככב Oh, the versatility of the pi`el pattern. Good to know. Thank you N-Ty.


Strange as it seems, this is not pi'el. The pi'el form would be לְכַכֵּב , while our word is pronounced לְכַּכֵב . It's a new verbal form, unknown in old times.


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## dinji

scriptum said:


> Strange as it seems, this is not pi'el. The pi'el form would be לְכַכֵּב , while our word is pronounced לְכַּכֵב . It's a new verbal form, unknown in old times.


Your forms seem like witnesses of a total collapse of the begedkefet -rules.

And how do you decline the verb in tenses?

yekakháv?
kakhávti/kakhvá??


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## scriptum

dinji said:


> And how do you decline the verb in tenses?
> yekakháv?
> kakhávti/kakhvá??


 
yekakhev, kikhavti, kikhva.
The pi'el vowels remain unchanged.


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## dinji

scriptum said:


> yekakhev, kikhavti, kikhva.
> The pi'el vowels remain unchanged.


So it is not a new verb class but simply a cancellation of the begedkefet rules. 

Or to put it another way: the word has been borrrowed from spoken Hebrew into the pi'el class as if it was spelled לְקָחֵב


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## danial27b

aval ani lo kochav means: im not a star , that in normal hebrew can mean:
1.im not a star(as in star in the sky)
2.im not a star(as in movie star\singer or such)
3.im not a star(as in celebrity)

its called SLANG people

still  most likely to be im not a star(as in star in the sky)
because start as celeb or singer or such would be כוככבת (kochevet)
P.S
people dont say לככב\כוכבת קולנוע


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