Learn Practical Hebrew Phrases:I'm Learning HebrewEpisode 2 of Your First Conversation

NoamMaya, last time you heard Hebrew in the wild, and you decided to break the ice with:

Mayaסליחה, אתם מדברים עברית?

NoamAnd they said כן. Now what?

MayaI had one Hebrew sentence, and I already used it. I don't have a second one.

NoamIt's okay, just tell them why they got your attention. They were speaking Hebrew, and you're learning it.

NoamMaya, tell the listener how to say: I'm learning Hebrew.

MayaI'm learning Hebrew. אני לומדת עברית.

NoamGood. There's just one small catch today.

MayaUh-oh.

NoamDon't worry, it's not a huge deal, but it is something that we need to learn.

NoamThe Hebrew word for learning is different for men and women.

MayaOh, okay. So we just heard how a woman would say it. How would a man say "I'm learning Hebrew"?

NoamI'm learning Hebrew. אני לומד עברית.

MayaThose two sound very similar. I know that gendered words are a common thing in Hebrew.

NoamYes, we'll see them quite a lot as we learn more of the language.

NoamIn today's lesson, we'll learn the word for I, and both the masculine and feminine words for learning.

NoamYou already know the last word, Hebrew, so we won't spend much time on it today.

NoamFinally, we'll practice everything back in the Starbucks line.

MayaYou're listening to HebrewSlowly.com. Noam, בוא נתחיל — let's get started.

NoamLet's get started. בואי נתחיל

NoamLet's start with the first two words. Maya, how do you say I'm learning? Slowly.

Mayaאני לומדת.

NoamThe word for I is אני. And learning, in the feminine form, is לומדת.

MayaAnd no word for "am" again, just like אתם מדברים. The words are "I learning", and it means "I'm learning".

NoamRight. Now just the word learning, on its own.

Mayaלומדת. Learning, for a woman.

NoamNow for a man: לומד. אני לומד.

Mayaלומד. So my form is the same word with a little extra on the end.

NoamExactly. If it helps you remember: the word Talmud is built on the same root as לומד. Talmud, לומד. Both about learning.

MayaSo when I hear that l-m-d sound inside a word, it's probably about learning.

NoamUsually, yes. Let's hear both one more time. You first.

MayaI'm learning. אני לומדת.

NoamAnd mine is אני לומד. Same אני either way, then לומד for a man and לומדת for a woman.

NoamNow for the last word in our sentence. And guess what? You already know how to say it. What's the word for Hebrew?

MayaHmm... Hebrew is עברית.

NoamYes. Now put it right after learning.

Mayaלומדת עברית.

NoamAnd the whole sentence, from the top.

Mayaאני לומדת עברית.

NoamVery good. Please say it one last time, at full speed.

Mayaאני לומדת עברית.

NoamAwesome. Now let's go use it with the guy in the Starbucks line.

MayaOkay I'm ready. Take me there.

NoamBack to Starbucks. You hear Hebrew behind you, and you turn around.

♪ Hebrew chatter ♪

Mayaסליחה, אתם מדברים עברית?

Yonatanכן!

Mayaאני לומדת עברית.

Yonatanאה, יפה! אני לומד אנגלית.

MayaWait. I understood that. Most of it.

NoamThe first part was easy. אה, יפה. Oh, nice. He liked that you tried.

NoamThen he said something else. Let's hear it again.

Yonatanאה, יפה! אני לומד אנגלית.

NoamWalk me through what you heard.

Mayaאני. I. Then לומד, the masculine form you taught me. And then... not עברית. Something else.

NoamRight. The last word was English: אנגלית.

Mayaאנגלית. So he said: I'm learning English.

NoamHe took your sentence, changed one ending and one word, and handed it back to you.

MayaI turned around to practice my Hebrew, and he's been waiting to practice his English.

NoamListen to the two sentences side by side. Yours first, then his.

Mayaאני לומדת עברית.

Yonatanאני לומד אנגלית.

NoamOne more time.

Mayaאני לומדת עברית.

Yonatanאני לומד אנגלית.

MayaSame shape. Mine, and his.

NoamThat's the useful thing about this sentence. You learn it once, and you can hear it coming back at you.

MayaThank you for listening. Today's sentence was: I'm learning Hebrew. אני לומדת עברית.

NoamAnd for a man: אני לומד עברית.

MayaLast time I turned around with one sentence. Now I have two, and they worked.

NoamA little too well. Here's what he said next.

Yonatanאז כמה זמן את לומדת עברית? איפה את לומדת?

MayaYeah, I got nothing.

NoamYour Hebrew sounded good, so now he thinks you're a pro.

MayaGreat. Well, no, actually, I did recognize some familiar words.

MayaI need a way to tell him to slow down.

NoamMaya, lucky for you, that's the next episode. One request you'll end up using when you feel a little overwhelmed.

MayaI'm looking forward!

NoamBut for now, להתראות — see you next time.

Mayaלהתראות.