Say it again in Hebrew
The window of a government office, the visitor did not understand half of what was said in Hebrew. 7 phrases that the conversation is made of: «סליחה, לא שמעתי טוב. מה אמרתם?» — Excuse me, I didn't hear. What did you say?; «את המסמכים צריך להגיש עד סוף החודש.» — The documents must be submitted by the end of the month.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: the window of a government office, the visitor did not understand half of what was said. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- סליחה, לא שמעתי טוב. מה אמרתם?слиха, ло шамати тов. ма амартэм?Excuse me, I didn't hear. What did you say?
- את המסמכים צריך להגיש עד סוף החודש.эт ха-мисмахим царих лехагиш ад соф ха-ходеш.The documents must be submitted by the end of the month.
- כן, אבל איך כותבים את זה בטופס?кен, аваль эйх ковим эт зэ бе-тофэс?Yes, but how is it written in the form?
- במילים פשוטות: השם, הכתובת, החתימה.би-милим фшутот: ха-шем, ха-ктовэт, ха-хатима.Simply put: name, address, signature.
- סליחה, מה זה אומר: כתובת?слиха, ма зэ омер: ктовэт?Excuse me, what does ktovet mean?
- הכתובת של הבית שלך, הרחוב והמספר.ха-ктовэт шель ха-баит шелях, ха-рэхов ве-ха-миспар.The address of your home: street and number.
- עכשיו ברור לי. אפשר לאיות שוב?ахшав барур ли. эфшар ле-ийот шув?Now it is clear to me. Can you spell it once more?
Lines one by one
| Hebrew | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| סליחה, לא שמעתי טוב. מה אמרתם? | слиха, ло шамати тов. ма амартэм? | Excuse me, I didn't hear. What did you say? |
| את המסמכים צריך להגיש עד סוף החודש. | эт ха-мисмахим царих лехагиш ад соф ха-ходеш. | The documents must be submitted by the end of the month. |
| כן, אבל איך כותבים את זה בטופס? | кен, аваль эйх ковим эт зэ бе-тофэс? | Yes, but how is it written in the form? |
| במילים פשוטות: השם, הכתובת, החתימה. | би-милим фшутот: ха-шем, ха-ктовэт, ха-хатима. | Simply put: name, address, signature. |
| סליחה, מה זה אומר: כתובת? | слиха, ма зэ омер: ктовэт? | Excuse me, what does ktovet mean? |
| הכתובת של הבית שלך, הרחוב והמספר. | ха-ктовэт шель ха-баит шелях, ха-рэхов ве-ха-миспар. | The address of your home: street and number. |
| עכשיו ברור לי. אפשר לאיות שוב? | ахшав барур ли. эфшар ле-ийот шув? | Now it is clear to me. Can you spell it once more? |
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, לא שמעתי טוב. מה אמרתם?” (слиха, ло шамати тов. ма амартэм?) — Excuse me, I didn't hear. What did you say? 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.