Character in one word: kamtzan, savlani, nadiv
Much of what you say about a person's character is built from three root consonants and a short pattern. The pattern tells what the person tends to be. For example: “השכן קמצן ואשתו סבלנית.” — The neighbor is stingy, and his wife is patient. A rule from the Hebrew course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Much of what you say about a person's character is built from three root consonants and a short pattern. The pattern tells what the person tends to be.
The ending -an marks a habit: kamtzan (קמצן (камцан)) — stingy, from k.m.ts, to squeeze; akshan (עקשן (акшан)) — stubborn. The feminine adds -it: kamtzanit, akshanit.
The ending -ani or -i marks a lasting quality: savlani (סבלני (савлани)) — patient, from s.b.l, to endure; retzini — serious; chaveruti — sociable, from chaver, friend. The feminine adds -t: savlanit.
The plural is the same as for any adjective: savlanim for men, savlaniyot for women.
Table
| root | masculine | feminine | translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| ק.מ.צ | קמצן | קמצנית | stingy |
| ס.ב.ל | סבלני | סבלנית | patient |
| ר.צ.נ | רציני | רצינית | serious |
| ח.ב.ר | חברותי | חברותית | sociable |
| ע.ק.ש | עקשן | עקשנית | stubborn |
| ח.ר.ץ | חרוץ | חרוצה | hard-working |
By example
- השכן קמצן ואשתו סבלנית.ха-шахен камцан ве-ишто савланит.The neighbor is stingy, and his wife is patient.
- הבנות חברותיות, הבנים רציניים.ха-банот хаверутийот, ха-баним рециниим.The girls are sociable, the boys are serious.
- הילדה עקשנית, היא לא רוצה לישון.ха-йалда акшанит, хи ло роце лишон.The girl is stubborn, she does not want to sleep.
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
How to say stubborn in Hebrew?
Much of what you say about a person's character is built from three root consonants and a short pattern. The pattern tells what the person tends to be.
How to make a character adjective from a root in Hebrew?
Much of what you say about a person's character is built from three root consonants and a short pattern. The pattern tells what the person tends to be.
The feminine of Hebrew adjectives?
Much of what you say about a person's character is built from three root consonants and a short pattern. The pattern tells what the person tends to be.
What does it look like in a Hebrew example sentence?
“השכן קמצן ואשתו סבלנית.” (ха-шахен камцан ве-ишто савланит.) — The neighbor is stingy, and his wife is patient. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.