What is your profession in Hebrew
A small office, a manager talks to a person who came in answer to a job ad in Hebrew. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «ספרו לי, מה המקצוע שלכם?» — Tell us, what is your profession?; «אני מזכירה, עבדתי גם כמתורגמנית.» — I am a secretary, and I also worked as a translator.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a small office, a manager talks to a person who came in answer to a job ad. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- ספרו לי, מה המקצוע שלכם?спру ли, ма ха-микцоа шеляхем?Tell us, what is your profession?
- אני מזכירה, עבדתי גם כמתורגמנית.ани мазкира, авадти гам ке-мэтургеманит.I am a secretary, and I also worked as a translator.
- מי היה המנהל שלך בעבודה הקודמת?ми хая ха-менагель шелях бе-авода ха-кодемет?Who was your manager at the previous job?
- רואה חשבון. אני מדווחת לו פעם בשבוע.роэ хешбон. ани медавеат ло паам бе-шавуа.An accountant. I report to him once a week.
- את יכולה לנהל צוות קטן?эт йехола ле-нагель цвэт катан?Can you lead a small team?
- כן, שלוש שנים היו לי עשרה עובדים.кен, шалош шаним хайу ли асара овдим.Yes, for three years I had ten employees.
- מקום העבודה כאן, ליד החלון.маком ха-авода кан, ляд ха-халон.The workplace is here, by the window.
- מתי אקבל תשובה?матай экабель тшува?When will I get an answer?
Lines one by one
| Hebrew | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| ספרו לי, מה המקצוע שלכם? | спру ли, ма ха-микцоа шеляхем? | Tell us, what is your profession? |
| אני מזכירה, עבדתי גם כמתורגמנית. | ани мазкира, авадти гам ке-мэтургеманит. | I am a secretary, and I also worked as a translator. |
| מי היה המנהל שלך בעבודה הקודמת? | ми хая ха-менагель шелях бе-авода ха-кодемет? | Who was your manager at the previous job? |
| רואה חשבון. אני מדווחת לו פעם בשבוע. | роэ хешбон. ани медавеат ло паам бе-шавуа. | An accountant. I report to him once a week. |
| את יכולה לנהל צוות קטן? | эт йехола ле-нагель цвэт катан? | Can you lead a small team? |
| כן, שלוש שנים היו לי עשרה עובדים. | кен, шалош шаним хайу ли асара овдим. | Yes, for three years I had ten employees. |
| מקום העבודה כאן, ליד החלון. | маком ха-авода кан, ляд ха-халон. | The workplace is here, by the window. |
| מתי אקבל תשובה? | матай экабель тшува? | When will I get an answer? |
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?
“ספרו לי, מה המקצוע שלכם?” (спру ли, ма ха-микцоа шеляхем?) — Tell us, what is your profession? 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.