What happened in the yard in Hebrew
Two neighbors discuss a power cut that one saw and the other knows only by hearsay in Hebrew. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «שמעת מה קרה בחצר?» — Have you heard what happened in the yard?; «רק משמועה. ספר לפי הסדר.» — Only by hearsay. Tell it in order.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: two neighbors discuss a power cut that one saw and the other knows only by hearsay. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- שמעת מה קרה בחצר?шамата ма карэ ба-хацер?Have you heard what happened in the yard?
- רק משמועה. ספר לפי הסדר.рак ми-шмуа. спэр ле-фи ха-седер.Only by hearsay. Tell it in order.
- זה היה ככה: ירדתי במדרגות, ובבת אחת נגמר האור.зэ хайа каха: ярадти ба-мадрегот, у-вэ-ват ахат нигмар ха-ор.It went like this: I was going down the stairs, and suddenly the light went out.
- ומה היה בעקבות זאת?ве-ма хайа бэ-иквот зот?And what followed after that?
- לא נורא. אבל את זה אני באמת לא ציפיתי.ло нора. аваль эт зэ ани бэ-эмэт ло цифити.Nothing terrible. But I really did not expect it.
- לדברי עד ראייה, זה היה קצר חשמלי.ли-дврей эд рэия, зэ хайа кцар хашмали.According to an eyewitness, it was a short circuit.
- כפי שהבנתי, כבר תיקנו את זה.кэфэй ше-хаванти, квар тикну эт зэ.As I understand, it has already been fixed.
- מקווה שזה לא יחזור.мекавэ ше-зэ ло яхзор.I hope it will not happen again.
Lines one by one
| Hebrew | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| שמעת מה קרה בחצר? | шамата ма карэ ба-хацер? | Have you heard what happened in the yard? |
| רק משמועה. ספר לפי הסדר. | рак ми-шмуа. спэр ле-фи ха-седер. | Only by hearsay. Tell it in order. |
| זה היה ככה: ירדתי במדרגות, ובבת אחת נגמר האור. | зэ хайа каха: ярадти ба-мадрегот, у-вэ-ват ахат нигмар ха-ор. | It went like this: I was going down the stairs, and suddenly the light went out. |
| ומה היה בעקבות זאת? | ве-ма хайа бэ-иквот зот? | And what followed after that? |
| לא נורא. אבל את זה אני באמת לא ציפיתי. | ло нора. аваль эт зэ ани бэ-эмэт ло цифити. | Nothing terrible. But I really did not expect it. |
| לדברי עד ראייה, זה היה קצר חשמלי. | ли-дврей эд рэия, зэ хайа кцар хашмали. | According to an eyewitness, it was a short circuit. |
| כפי שהבנתי, כבר תיקנו את זה. | кэфэй ше-хаванти, квар тикну эт зэ. | As I understand, it has already been fixed. |
| מקווה שזה לא יחזור. | мекавэ ше-зэ ло яхзор. | I hope it will not happen again. |
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?
“שמעת מה קרה בחצר?” (шамата ма карэ ба-хацер?) — Have you heard what happened in the yard? 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.