A course for beginners in Hebrew
The desk of a language school, a woman choosing a group in Hebrew. 7 phrases that the conversation is made of: «שלום, אני רוצה להירשם לקורס עברית.» — Hello, I want to sign up for a Hebrew course; «מעולה! מה הרמה שלך בשפה?» — Great! What is your level in the language?
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: the desk of a language school, a woman choosing a group. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- שלום, אני רוצה להירשם לקורס עברית.шалом, ани роце лехирашем ла-коурс иврит.Hello, I want to sign up for a Hebrew course.
- מעולה! מה הרמה שלך בשפה?мецуйан! ма ха-рама шелях бе-сфа?Great! What is your level in the language?
- אני מתחילה, הדקדוק קשה לי.ани матхила, ха-дикдук каше ли.I am a beginner, grammar is hard for me.
- יש קורס אונליין וקורס בקבוצה קטנה.йеш коурс онлайн ве-коурс бе-квуца катана.There is an online course and a course in a small group.
- אני לומדת מהר, אבל רוצה תרגול.ани ломэдэт магэр, аваль роце тиргуль.I learn quickly, but I want practice.
- בקבוצה קטנה יש יותר תרגול.бе-квуца катана йеш йотэр тиргуль.In a small group there is more practice.
- כמה זה עולה?кама зэ оле?How much does it cost?
Lines one by one
| Hebrew | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| שלום, אני רוצה להירשם לקורס עברית. | шалом, ани роце лехирашем ла-коурс иврит. | Hello, I want to sign up for a Hebrew course. |
| מעולה! מה הרמה שלך בשפה? | мецуйан! ма ха-рама шелях бе-сфа? | Great! What is your level in the language? |
| אני מתחילה, הדקדוק קשה לי. | ани матхила, ха-дикдук каше ли. | I am a beginner, grammar is hard for me. |
| יש קורס אונליין וקורס בקבוצה קטנה. | йеш коурс онлайн ве-коурс бе-квуца катана. | There is an online course and a course in a small group. |
| אני לומדת מהר, אבל רוצה תרגול. | ани ломэдэт магэр, аваль роце тиргуль. | I learn quickly, but I want practice. |
| בקבוצה קטנה יש יותר תרגול. | бе-квуца катана йеш йотэр тиргуль. | In a small group there is more practice. |
| כמה זה עולה? | кама зэ оле? | How much does it cost? |
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 להירשם לקורס עברית.” (шалом, ани роце лехирашем ла-коурс иврит.) — Hello, I want to sign up for a Hebrew course. 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.