A disagreement about the price in Hebrew
A small firm, two people differ about a new price in Hebrew. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «אני מציע מחיר חדש.» — I propose a new price; «למה? המחיר עכשיו טוב.» — Why? The price is good now.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a small firm, two people differ about a new price. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- אני מציע מחיר חדש.ани маця мехир хадаш.I propose a new price.
- למה? המחיר עכשיו טוב.лама? ха-мехир ахшав тов.Why? The price is good now.
- זו עובדה: הכול יקר יותר השנה.зу увда: ха-коль йакар йотэр ха-шана.It is a fact: everything is more expensive this year.
- אני נגד. המחיר הזה יקר מאוד.ани нэгэд. ха-мехир ха-зэ йакар меод.I am against. This price is very expensive.
- אני עומד על שלי: בלי מחיר חדש אין עבודה.ани омэд аль шели: бли мехир хадаш эйн авода.I stick to mine: without a new price there is no work.
- אולי סקר לפני ההחלטה?улай сэкэр лифней ха-хахлата?Maybe a survey before the decision?
- בסדר. וגם לקחת בחשבון את המשכורות.бэсэдер. ве-гам лакахат бэ-хэшбон эт ха-мишхорот.All right. And take the salaries into account too.
- אז ההחלטה ביום ראשון.аз ха-хахлата бэ-йом ришон.Then the decision on Sunday.
Lines one by one
| Hebrew | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| אני מציע מחיר חדש. | ани маця мехир хадаш. | I propose a new price. |
| למה? המחיר עכשיו טוב. | лама? ха-мехир ахшав тов. | Why? The price is good now. |
| זו עובדה: הכול יקר יותר השנה. | зу увда: ха-коль йакар йотэр ха-шана. | It is a fact: everything is more expensive this year. |
| אני נגד. המחיר הזה יקר מאוד. | ани нэгэд. ха-мехир ха-зэ йакар меод. | I am against. This price is very expensive. |
| אני עומד על שלי: בלי מחיר חדש אין עבודה. | ани омэд аль шели: бли мехир хадаш эйн авода. | I stick to mine: without a new price there is no work. |
| אולי סקר לפני ההחלטה? | улай сэкэр лифней ха-хахлата? | Maybe a survey before the decision? |
| בסדר. וגם לקחת בחשבון את המשכורות. | бэсэдер. ве-гам лакахат бэ-хэшбон эт ха-мишхорот. | All right. And take the salaries into account too. |
| אז ההחלטה ביום ראשון. | аз ха-хахлата бэ-йом ришон. | Then the decision on Sunday. |
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?
“אני מציע מחיר חדש.” (ани маця мехир хадаш.) — I propose a new price. 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.