Trying it on at the shop in Hebrew
A clothes shop, choosing and trying on a coat in Hebrew. 7 phrases that the conversation is made of: «שלום. אני רוצה מעיל חדש.» — Hello. I want a new coat; «איזה צבע?» — What color?
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a clothes shop, choosing and trying on a coat. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- שלום. אני רוצה מעיל חדש.шалом. ани роце мэйль хадаш.Hello. I want a new coat.
- איזה צבע?эйзэ цэва?What color?
- שחור, בבקשה.шахор, бевакаша.Black, please.
- הנה מעיל שחור.хинэ мэйль шахор.Here is a black coat.
- אפשר למדוד?эфшар ламдод?Can I try it on?
- בטח. חדר הלבשה ליד החלון.бэтах. хедер хальбаша леяд ха-халон.Of course. The fitting room is by the window.
- המעיל גדול מדי, סליחה.ха-мэйль гадоль мидаи, слиха.The coat is too big, sorry.
Lines one by one
| Hebrew | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| שלום. אני רוצה מעיל חדש. | шалом. ани роце мэйль хадаш. | Hello. I want a new coat. |
| איזה צבע? | эйзэ цэва? | What color? |
| שחור, בבקשה. | шахор, бевакаша. | Black, please. |
| הנה מעיל שחור. | хинэ мэйль шахор. | Here is a black coat. |
| אפשר למדוד? | эфшар ламдод? | Can I try it on? |
| בטח. חדר הלבשה ליד החלון. | бэтах. хедер хальбаша леяд ха-халон. | Of course. The fitting room is by the window. |
| המעיל גדול מדי, סליחה. | ха-мэйль гадоль мидаи, слиха. | The coat is too big, sorry. |
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?
“שלום. אני רוצה מעיל חדש.” (шалом. ани роце мэйль хадаш.) — Hello. I want a new coat. 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.