A mortgage at the bank in Hebrew
A bank branch in Haifa, a talk with a consultant in Hebrew. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «שלום. אני רוצה משכנתא לדירה.» — Hello. I want a mortgage for an apartment; «בסדר. כמה כסף יש לך?» — All right. How much money do you have?
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a bank branch in Haifa, a talk with a consultant. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- שלום. אני רוצה משכנתא לדירה.шалом. ани роце машканта ле-дира.Hello. I want a mortgage for an apartment.
- בסדר. כמה כסף יש לך?бэсэдер. кама кесеф йеш леха?All right. How much money do you have?
- יש לי שלושים אחוז. אני צריך הלוואה גדולה.йеш ли шлошим ахуз. ани царих халваа гдола.I have thirty percent. I need a big loan.
- הריבית נמוכה לעשרים שנה. זה בסדר?ха-ривит намуха ле-эсрим шана. зэ бэсэдер?The interest is low for twenty years. Does that suit you?
- כן. מתי אני מחזיר כל חודש?кен. митай ани махзир коль ходеш?Yes. When do I pay each month?
- בחמישי בכל חודש. התאריך על החוזה.ба-хамиши бэ-коль ходеш. ха-таарих аль ха-хозэ.On the fifth of every month. The date is in the contract.
- ואם אין לי מספיק כסף בחודש?ве-им эйн ли маспик кесеф ба-ходеш?And if I don't have enough money in a month?
- אתה יכול ללוות מהמשפחה. זה בסדר.ата яхоль лалевет ми-ха-мишпаха. зэ бэсэдер.You can borrow from the family. That is normal.
Lines one by one
| Hebrew | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| שלום. אני רוצה משכנתא לדירה. | шалом. ани роце машканта ле-дира. | Hello. I want a mortgage for an apartment. |
| בסדר. כמה כסף יש לך? | бэсэдер. кама кесеф йеш леха? | All right. How much money do you have? |
| יש לי שלושים אחוז. אני צריך הלוואה גדולה. | йеш ли шлошим ахуз. ани царих халваа гдола. | I have thirty percent. I need a big loan. |
| הריבית נמוכה לעשרים שנה. זה בסדר? | ха-ривит намуха ле-эсрим шана. зэ бэсэдер? | The interest is low for twenty years. Does that suit you? |
| כן. מתי אני מחזיר כל חודש? | кен. митай ани махзир коль ходеш? | Yes. When do I pay each month? |
| בחמישי בכל חודש. התאריך על החוזה. | ба-хамиши бэ-коль ходеш. ха-таарих аль ха-хозэ. | On the fifth of every month. The date is in the contract. |
| ואם אין לי מספיק כסף בחודש? | ве-им эйн ли маспик кесеф ба-ходеш? | And if I don't have enough money in a month? |
| אתה יכול ללוות מהמשפחה. זה בסדר. | ата яхоль лалевет ми-ха-мишпаха. зэ бэсэдер. | You can borrow from the family. That is normal. |
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 משכנתא לדירה.” (шалом. ани роце машканта ле-дира.) — Hello. I want a mortgage for an apartment. 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.