How to get to the station in Hebrew
A visitor stops a passer-by at a crossroads in the city center in Hebrew. 7 phrases that the conversation is made of: «סליחה, אפשר לשאול?» — Excuse me, may I ask you?; «כן, בבקשה, אני מאזין.» — Yes, please, I am listening.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a visitor stops a passer-by at a crossroads in the city center. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- סליחה, אפשר לשאול?слиха, эфшар лишоль?Excuse me, may I ask you?
- כן, בבקשה, אני מאזין.кен, бевакаша, ани маазин.Yes, please, I am listening.
- איפה התחנה המרכזית של האוטובוסים?эйфо ха-тахана ха-мерказит шель ха-отобусим?Where is the central bus station?
- זה רחוק מכאן, בערך עשר דקות ברגל.зэ рахок микан, бэ-эрек эсэр дакот ба-рэгель.It is far from here, ten minutes on foot.
- ואחר כך?ве-ахар кач?And then?
- בית הקפה בפינה, והתחנה מול הבנק.бейт ха-кафе би-фина, ве-ха-тахана муль ха-банк.The coffee house is on the corner, and the station is opposite the bank.
- סליחה, לא שמעתי טוב. מה אמרתם?слиха, ло шамати тов. ма амартэм?Excuse me, I didn't hear. What did you say?
Lines one by one
| Hebrew | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| סליחה, אפשר לשאול? | слиха, эфшар лишоль? | Excuse me, may I ask you? |
| כן, בבקשה, אני מאזין. | кен, бевакаша, ани маазин. | Yes, please, I am listening. |
| איפה התחנה המרכזית של האוטובוסים? | эйфо ха-тахана ха-мерказит шель ха-отобусим? | Where is the central bus station? |
| זה רחוק מכאן, בערך עשר דקות ברגל. | зэ рахок микан, бэ-эрек эсэр дакот ба-рэгель. | It is far from here, ten minutes on foot. |
| ואחר כך? | ве-ахар кач? | And then? |
| בית הקפה בפינה, והתחנה מול הבנק. | бейт ха-кафе би-фина, ве-ха-тахана муль ха-банк. | The coffee house is on the corner, and the station is opposite the bank. |
| סליחה, לא שמעתי טוב. מה אמרתם? | слиха, ло шамати тов. ма амартэм? | Excuse me, I didn't hear. What did you say? |
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?
“סליחה, אפשר לשאול?” (слиха, эфшар лишоль?) — Excuse me, may I ask you? 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.