How old the children are in Hebrew
A playground in the park, two parents on a bench in Hebrew. 7 phrases that the conversation is made of: «הילדים האלה שלך?» — Are these children yours?; «כן, נער וילדה. משחקים כבר שעה.» — Yes, a boy and a girl. They have been playing for an hour.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a playground in the park, two parents on a bench. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- הילדים האלה שלך?ха-йеладим ха-элэ шелях?Are these children yours?
- כן, נער וילדה. משחקים כבר שעה.кен, наар ве-йельда. месахаким квар шаа.Yes, a boy and a girl. They have been playing for an hour.
- בן כמה הנער?бэн кама ха-наар?How old is the boy?
- הוא בן שבע, והילדה בת ארבע.ху бэн шева, ве-ха-йельда бат арба.He is seven, and the girl is four.
- יפה. הבת שלי כבר מתבגרת.яфэ. ха-бат шели квар митбагэрэт.Nice. My daughter is growing up already.
- אז היא כבר גדולה, יש לה רישיון נהיגה?аз хи квар гдола, йеш ла ришайон нэхига?So she is already grown — does she have a driving licence?
- יש. וכל שנה פיקניק חדש בגן.йеш. ве-коль шана пикник хадаш ба-ган.She does. And every year a new picnic in the park.
Lines one by one
| Hebrew | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| הילדים האלה שלך? | ха-йеладим ха-элэ шелях? | Are these children yours? |
| כן, נער וילדה. משחקים כבר שעה. | кен, наар ве-йельда. месахаким квар шаа. | Yes, a boy and a girl. They have been playing for an hour. |
| בן כמה הנער? | бэн кама ха-наар? | How old is the boy? |
| הוא בן שבע, והילדה בת ארבע. | ху бэн шева, ве-ха-йельда бат арба. | He is seven, and the girl is four. |
| יפה. הבת שלי כבר מתבגרת. | яфэ. ха-бат шели квар митбагэрэт. | Nice. My daughter is growing up already. |
| אז היא כבר גדולה, יש לה רישיון נהיגה? | аз хи квар гдола, йеш ла ришайон нэхига? | So she is already grown — does she have a driving licence? |
| יש. וכל שנה פיקניק חדש בגן. | йеш. ве-коль шана пикник хадаш ба-ган. | She does. And every year a new picnic in the park. |
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?
“הילדים האלה שלך?” (ха-йеладим ха-элэ шелях?) — Are these children yours? 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.