What he is like at work in Hebrew
Two colleagues on a break discuss what the new person is like at work in Hebrew. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «איך נראה לך העובד החדש?» — What does the new employee seem like to you?; «גמיש ואכפתי, אבל קצת סגור בתוך עצמו.» — Compliant and helpful, but a bit reserved.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: two colleagues on a break discuss what the new person is like at work. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- איך נראה לך העובד החדש?эйх нирэ леха ха-овэд ха-хадаш?What does the new employee seem like to you?
- גמיש ואכפתי, אבל קצת סגור בתוך עצמו.гамиш ве-экфати, аваль кцат сагур бе-тох ацмо.Compliant and helpful, but a bit reserved.
- לי הוא נראה קודם כל קפדן.ли ху нирэ кодэм коль кэфдан.To me he seems above all thorough.
- זה לא רע. הבדיקה הקפדנית שלו הצילה לנו הזמנה.зэ ло ра. ха-бдика ха-кэфданит шело хицила лану ха-змана.That is not bad. His thorough check saved our order.
- נכון, הוא אפילו זכה לשבח לפני כולם.нахон, ху афилу заха ле-швах лифней кулам.True, he even earned praise in front of everyone.
- רק אל תרכול עליו כשהוא לא כאן.рак аль терхоль альав ке-ше-ху ло кан.Just don't gossip about him when he is not around.
- אני לא התכוון לרע, באמת.ани ло хиткавэн ле-ра, бэ-эмэт.I am not doing it out of spite, really.
- אני יודע. נמצא איתו שפה משותפת מהר.ани йодэа. ницаэ ито сафа мешутефет магэр.I know. You will find a common language with him quickly.
Lines one by one
| Hebrew | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| איך נראה לך העובד החדש? | эйх нирэ леха ха-овэд ха-хадаш? | What does the new employee seem like to you? |
| גמיש ואכפתי, אבל קצת סגור בתוך עצמו. | гамиш ве-экфати, аваль кцат сагур бе-тох ацмо. | Compliant and helpful, but a bit reserved. |
| לי הוא נראה קודם כל קפדן. | ли ху нирэ кодэм коль кэфдан. | To me he seems above all thorough. |
| זה לא רע. הבדיקה הקפדנית שלו הצילה לנו הזמנה. | зэ ло ра. ха-бдика ха-кэфданит шело хицила лану ха-змана. | That is not bad. His thorough check saved our order. |
| נכון, הוא אפילו זכה לשבח לפני כולם. | нахон, ху афилу заха ле-швах лифней кулам. | True, he even earned praise in front of everyone. |
| רק אל תרכול עליו כשהוא לא כאן. | рак аль терхоль альав ке-ше-ху ло кан. | Just don't gossip about him when he is not around. |
| אני לא התכוון לרע, באמת. | ани ло хиткавэн ле-ра, бэ-эмэт. | I am not doing it out of spite, really. |
| אני יודע. נמצא איתו שפה משותפת מהר. | ани йодэа. ницаэ ито сафа мешутефет магэр. | I know. You will find a common language with him quickly. |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and noticeably so. The link turns up study after study, and together those studies cover almost twenty thousand people.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Hebrew in this situation?
“איך נראה לך העובד החדש?” (эйх нирэ леха ха-овэд ха-хадаш?) — What does the new employee seem like to you? The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.