A cold or the flu in Hebrew
A clinic of the health fund, a morning appointment in Hebrew. 7 phrases that the conversation is made of: «שלום. כואב לי הגרון ויש לי חום גבוה.» — Hello. My throat hurts and the fever is high; «מאיזה יום? יש גם שיעול?» — Since which day? Is there a cough too?
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a clinic of the health fund, a morning appointment. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- שלום. כואב לי הגרון ויש לי חום גבוה.шалом. коэв ли ха-гарон ве-йеш ли хом гавоа.Hello. My throat hurts and the fever is high.
- מאיזה יום? יש גם שיעול?ме-эйзо йом? йеш гам шиуль?Since which day? Is there a cough too?
- מאתמול. וגם צמרמורת בלילה.мэ-этмоль. ве-гам цмермурет ба-лайла.Since yesterday. And chills at night.
- זו הצטננות, לא שפעת.зо хицтананут, ло шаат.It is a cold, not the flu.
- אני לא הולך לעבודה היום?ани ло холех ла-авода ха-йом?Should I not go to work today?
- נכון. תשתה הרבה תה חם.нахон. тэштэ харбэ тэ хам.Right. Drink a lot of hot tea.
- תודה רבה. להתראות!тода раба. леитраот!Thank you very much. Goodbye!
Lines one by one
| Hebrew | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| שלום. כואב לי הגרון ויש לי חום גבוה. | шалом. коэв ли ха-гарон ве-йеш ли хом гавоа. | Hello. My throat hurts and the fever is high. |
| מאיזה יום? יש גם שיעול? | ме-эйзо йом? йеш гам шиуль? | Since which day? Is there a cough too? |
| מאתמול. וגם צמרמורת בלילה. | мэ-этмоль. ве-гам цмермурет ба-лайла. | Since yesterday. And chills at night. |
| זו הצטננות, לא שפעת. | зо хицтананут, ло шаат. | It is a cold, not the flu. |
| אני לא הולך לעבודה היום? | ани ло холех ла-авода ха-йом? | Should I not go to work today? |
| נכון. תשתה הרבה תה חם. | нахон. тэштэ харбэ тэ хам. | Right. Drink a lot of hot tea. |
| תודה רבה. להתראות! | тода раба. леитраот! | Thank you very much. Goodbye! |
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. כואב לי הגרון ויש לי חום גבוה.” (шалом. коэв ли ха-гарон ве-йеш ли хом гавоа.) — Hello. My throat hurts and the fever is high. 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.