The tenants' meeting in Hebrew
The entrance hall of a building, evening, a broken elevator is discussed in Hebrew. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «המעלית שוב לא עובדת. צריך לתקן את המעלית השנה.» — The elevator is not working again. The elevator must be fixed this year; «באיזה כסף? אין כסף בקופה.» — With what money? There is no money in the fund.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: the entrance hall of a building, evening, a broken elevator is discussed. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- המעלית שוב לא עובדת. צריך לתקן את המעלית השנה.ха-маалит шув ло овэдэт. царих летакэн эт ха-маалит ха-шана.The elevator is not working again. The elevator must be fixed this year.
- באיזה כסף? אין כסף בקופה.бэ-эйзо кесэф? эйн кесэф ба-купа.With what money? There is no money in the fund.
- למרות זאת, מחר יהיה יותר יקר.ламрот зот, махар ихье йотэр якар.All the same, tomorrow it will be more expensive.
- לדעתי זה שנוי במחלוקת.ле-даати зэ шануи би-махлокэт.In my opinion, that is debatable.
- בוא נצביע. מי בעד, ירים יד?бо нацбия. ми бе-ад, ярим яд?Let's vote. Whoever is for raises a hand?
- אני בעד. הבטיחות קודם הכל.ани бе-ад. ха-битухон кодэм коль.I am for. Safety first.
- שניים בעד, אף אחד נגד.шнаим бе-ад, аф эхад нэгэд.Two for, nobody against.
- מעולה. אז בקיצור: מתקנים השנה!мецуйан. аз бэ-кицур: метакним ха-шана!Excellent. So, to put it briefly: we fix it this year!
Lines one by one
| Hebrew | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| המעלית שוב לא עובדת. צריך לתקן את המעלית השנה. | ха-маалит шув ло овэдэт. царих летакэн эт ха-маалит ха-шана. | The elevator is not working again. The elevator must be fixed this year. |
| באיזה כסף? אין כסף בקופה. | бэ-эйзо кесэф? эйн кесэф ба-купа. | With what money? There is no money in the fund. |
| למרות זאת, מחר יהיה יותר יקר. | ламрот зот, махар ихье йотэр якар. | All the same, tomorrow it will be more expensive. |
| לדעתי זה שנוי במחלוקת. | ле-даати зэ шануи би-махлокэт. | In my opinion, that is debatable. |
| בוא נצביע. מי בעד, ירים יד? | бо нацбия. ми бе-ад, ярим яд? | Let's vote. Whoever is for raises a hand? |
| אני בעד. הבטיחות קודם הכל. | ани бе-ад. ха-битухон кодэм коль. | I am for. Safety first. |
| שניים בעד, אף אחד נגד. | шнаим бе-ад, аф эхад нэгэд. | Two for, nobody against. |
| מעולה. אז בקיצור: מתקנים השנה! | мецуйан. аз бэ-кицур: метакним ха-шана! | Excellent. So, to put it briefly: we fix it this year! |
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?
“המעלית שוב לא עובדת. צריך לתקן את המעלית השנה.” (ха-маалит шув ло овэдэт. царих летакэн эт ха-маалит ха-шана.) — The elevator is not working again. The elevator must be fixed this year. 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.