At the electronics store in Hebrew
An electronics counter, a customer chooses a projector and measures everything in words in Hebrew. 9 phrases that the conversation is made of: «שלום, אני רוצה מקרן לבית.» — Hello, I want a projector for home; «יש לנו מקרן חדש ויפה.» — We have a projector, new and beautiful.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: an electronics counter, a customer chooses a projector and measures everything in words. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- שלום, אני רוצה מקרן לבית.шалом, ани роце макаран ле-баит.Hello, I want a projector for home.
- יש לנו מקרן חדש ויפה.йеш ла-ну макаран хадаш ве-яфа.We have a projector, new and beautiful.
- מה המחיר?ма ха-мехир?What is the price?
- אלף שקל ומאתיים.элэф шекалим у-маатайим.A thousand shekels and two hundred.
- וכמה משקל?ве-кама мишкаль?And how much is the weight?
- שלושה קילו, לא יותר.шлоша кило, ло йотэр.Three kilos, no more.
- אפשר לחבר אותו למחשב?эфшар лехабэр ото ле-махшев?Can it be connected to a computer?
- כן, למחשב ולטלפון. אני עוזר לך עכשיו?кен, ле-махшев ве-ле-телефон. ани озэр ле-ха ахшав?Yes, to the computer and to the phone. Shall I help you now?
- אני לוקח אותו. תודה רבה!ани локах ото. тода раба!I am taking it. Thank you very much!
Lines one by one
| Hebrew | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| שלום, אני רוצה מקרן לבית. | шалом, ани роце макаран ле-баит. | Hello, I want a projector for home. |
| יש לנו מקרן חדש ויפה. | йеш ла-ну макаран хадаш ве-яфа. | We have a projector, new and beautiful. |
| מה המחיר? | ма ха-мехир? | What is the price? |
| אלף שקל ומאתיים. | элэф шекалим у-маатайим. | A thousand shekels and two hundred. |
| וכמה משקל? | ве-кама мишкаль? | And how much is the weight? |
| שלושה קילו, לא יותר. | шлоша кило, ло йотэр. | Three kilos, no more. |
| אפשר לחבר אותו למחשב? | эфшар лехабэр ото ле-махшев? | Can it be connected to a computer? |
| כן, למחשב ולטלפון. אני עוזר לך עכשיו? | кен, ле-махшев ве-ле-телефон. ани озэр ле-ха ахшав? | Yes, to the computer and to the phone. Shall I help you now? |
| אני לוקח אותו. תודה רבה! | ани локах ото. тода раба! | I am taking it. Thank you very much! |
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 מקרן לבית.” (шалом, ани роце макаран ле-баит.) — Hello, I want a projector for home. 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.