Let's do Thursday in Hebrew
A phone call between two colleagues on Monday morning in Hebrew. 7 phrases that the conversation is made of: «שלום, אני רוצה לדבר על הפגישה.» — Hello, I want to talk about the meeting; «בבקשה, אני מאזין.» — Please, I am listening.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a phone call between two colleagues on Monday morning. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- שלום, אני רוצה לדבר על הפגישה.шалом, ани роце ледабэр аль ха-пгиша.Hello, I want to talk about the meeting.
- בבקשה, אני מאזין.бевакаша, ани маазин.Please, I am listening.
- אפשר לדחות את הפגישה ליום חמישי?эфшар лидхот эт ха-пгиша ле-йом хамиши?Can we move the meeting to Thursday?
- היום לא מסתדר, אני בדרך.хайом ло мистадэр, ани бе-дэрэх.Today doesn't work, I am on the road.
- ומה ביום חמישי? בבוקר או אחר הצהריים?ве-ма бе-йом хамиши? ба-бокер о ахар ха-цхораим?And what about Thursday? In the morning or in the afternoon?
- אחר הצהריים, לקראת ערב.ахар ха-цхораим, ле-карэт эрев.In the afternoon, closer to the evening.
- בוא נקבע שעה: חמש, לא לפני חמש.бо накбоа шаа: хамэш, ло лифнэй хамэш.Let's set an hour: five, not earlier than five.
Lines one by one
| Hebrew | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| שלום, אני רוצה לדבר על הפגישה. | шалом, ани роце ледабэр аль ха-пгиша. | Hello, I want to talk about the meeting. |
| בבקשה, אני מאזין. | бевакаша, ани маазин. | Please, I am listening. |
| אפשר לדחות את הפגישה ליום חמישי? | эфшар лидхот эт ха-пгиша ле-йом хамиши? | Can we move the meeting to Thursday? |
| היום לא מסתדר, אני בדרך. | хайом ло мистадэр, ани бе-дэрэх. | Today doesn't work, I am on the road. |
| ומה ביום חמישי? בבוקר או אחר הצהריים? | ве-ма бе-йом хамиши? ба-бокер о ахар ха-цхораим? | And what about Thursday? In the morning or in the afternoon? |
| אחר הצהריים, לקראת ערב. | ахар ха-цхораим, ле-карэт эрев. | In the afternoon, closer to the evening. |
| בוא נקבע שעה: חמש, לא לפני חמש. | бо накбоа шаа: хамэш, ло лифнэй хамэш. | Let's set an hour: five, not earlier than five. |
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 לדבר על הפגישה.” (шалом, ани роце ледабэр аль ха-пгиша.) — Hello, I want to talk about the meeting. 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.