A portrait of the neighbor in Hebrew
The office kitchen, two colleagues over coffee discuss a new neighbor on the floor in Hebrew. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «יש שכן חדש בקומה שלנו.» — We have a new neighbor on our floor; «כן, גבוה מאוד, עם שיער אפור וזקן לבן.» — Yes, very tall, with gray hair and a white beard.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: the office kitchen, two colleagues over coffee discuss a new neighbor on the floor. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- יש שכן חדש בקומה שלנו.йеш шахен хадаш ба-кома шеляну.We have a new neighbor on our floor.
- כן, גבוה מאוד, עם שיער אפור וזקן לבן.кен, гавоа меод, им шеяр афор ве-закан лаван.Yes, very tall, with gray hair and a white beard.
- לא, אני מדבר על השכן השני — קירח, עם משקפיים.ло, ани медабер аль ха-шахен ха-шени — киреах, им мушкафаим.No, I mean the second neighbor — bald, in glasses.
- אה, המהנדס. הוא מאוד חברותי וסבלני.а, ха-механдес. у меод хаверути ве-савлани.Ah, the engineer. He is very sociable and patient.
- והוא גם חרוץ? הוא עובד כל הלילה.ве-у гам харуц? у овед коль ха-лайла.And is he hard-working too? He works all night.
- כן, אבל מפוזר. אתמול איבד את המפתח שוב.кен, аваль мефузар. этмоль ибад эт ха-мафтех шув.Yes, but absent-minded. He lost his key again yesterday.
Lines one by one
| Hebrew | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| יש שכן חדש בקומה שלנו. | йеш шахен хадаш ба-кома шеляну. | We have a new neighbor on our floor. |
| כן, גבוה מאוד, עם שיער אפור וזקן לבן. | кен, гавоа меод, им шеяр афор ве-закан лаван. | Yes, very tall, with gray hair and a white beard. |
| לא, אני מדבר על השכן השני — קירח, עם משקפיים. | ло, ани медабер аль ха-шахен ха-шени — киреах, им мушкафаим. | No, I mean the second neighbor — bald, in glasses. |
| אה, המהנדס. הוא מאוד חברותי וסבלני. | а, ха-механдес. у меод хаверути ве-савлани. | Ah, the engineer. He is very sociable and patient. |
| והוא גם חרוץ? הוא עובד כל הלילה. | ве-у гам харуц? у овед коль ха-лайла. | And is he hard-working too? He works all night. |
| כן, אבל מפוזר. אתמול איבד את המפתח שוב. | кен, аваль мефузар. этмоль ибад эт ха-мафтех шув. | Yes, but absent-minded. He lost his key again yesterday. |
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?
“יש שכן חדש בקומה שלנו.” (йеш шахен хадаш ба-кома шеляну.) — We have a new neighbor on our floor. 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.