אתם מדברים אנגלית?
“אתם מדברים אנגלית?” (атем медабрим англит?) — do you speak English? in Hebrew. Phrase, level A0, topic — phrases that save you. About a woman they ask at medaberet anglit? The word order matches English here. In a live sentence: “אתם מדברים אנגלית?” — Do you speak English? Written with the characters א, ת, מ, ד, ב, ר, י, א, נ, ג, ל, י… One of 17 words in the set “phrases that save you” in the Hebrew course.
In short
| Written in Hebrew | אתם מדברים אנגלית? |
| Read in Latin letters | атем медабрим англит? |
| Translation | do you speak English? |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | A0 |
Why it looks that way
About a woman they ask at medaberet anglit? The word order matches English here
A word with a story stays in memory longer than one learned as a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
In a live sentence
A single word almost never appears alone in conversation. A sentence shows where it fits and what stands next to it.
- אתם מדברים אנגלית?атем медабрим англит?Do you speak English?
Nearby words: phrases that save you
“I don't understand”, “say that again”, “slower, please”, “help”. They are learned first for a reason: they bring back a conversation that has already gone wrong.
- אני לא מביןани ло мэвинI don't understandA woman says ani lo mevina. The negation lo stands right before the verb
- לאטлеатslowlyThe most useful word of the first week: leat, bevakasha — slower, please
- תחזרו בבקשהтахзеру бевакашаrepeat, pleaseFrom the root ch-z-r, to repeat. To one person — tachzor bevakasha
- הצילו!хацилу!help!Literally "save us" — the cry for real danger. The calm request is efshar lizror li? — could you help me?
- אבדתיавадтиI'm lostFrom leaved, to lose. I got lost and my thing went missing — one word
- לא עובדло оведnot workingAbout machines and about people alike: hamaalit lo ovedet — the elevator does not work. About a woman — lo ovedet
- רגע, בבקשהрега, бевакашаwait a momentRega — an instant: Israelis count not minutes but regas. The most frequent pause-word of a conversation
- אני לא יכול לפתוחани ло яхоль лифтохI cannot open itYachol — can, from the root y-ch-l. A woman says ani lo yechola. The reason is your own: the key, the strength or the permission
- אמבולנסамбулансambulanceAn international word; the service is called Magen David Adom — the Red Star of David. The single number is 101
- אני צריך רופאани царих рофэI need a doctorLiterally "I need of a doctor": tzarich is both need and must. A woman says ani tzricha rofe
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “phrases that save you”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “do you speak English?” in Hebrew?
About a woman they ask at medaberet anglit? The word order matches English here
- How do you say “wait a moment” in Hebrew?
Rega — an instant: Israelis count not minutes but regas. The most frequent pause-word of a conversation
- How do you say “repeat, please” in Hebrew?
From the root ch-z-r, to repeat. To one person — tachzor bevakasha
- How do you say “I need a doctor” in Hebrew?
Literally "I need of a doctor": tzarich is both need and must. A woman says ani tzricha rofe
- How do you say “not working” in Hebrew?
About machines and about people alike: hamaalit lo ovedet — the elevator does not work. About a woman — lo ovedet
How not to forget this word
Reading a word and remembering it are different jobs. A day later, little survives of a single reading — and that is not bad memory, that is how memory works.
- This has been tested on foreign words too. The difference shows up most when you test yourself a few days later rather than straight away.checked many timesKim & Webb, 2022, Language Learning 72(2) · 48 experiments, 3,411 participants, 98 comparisons.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- An answer you worked out yourself sticks better than one handed to you.checked many timesBertsch et al., 2007, Memory & Cognition 35(2) · 86 studies, 445 comparisons, d = 0.40.
Frequently asked
How do you say “do you speak English?” in Hebrew?
«אתם מדברים אנגלית?», read “атем медабрим англит?”. In a live sentence: “אתם מדברים אנגלית?” — Do you speak English? Phrase, level A0, from the set “phrases that save you”; written with the characters א, ת, מ, ד, ב, ר, י, א, נ, ג, ל, י…
How is “אתם מדברים אנגלית?” written in Latin letters?
атем медабрим англит? This is a practical spelling — you need it to read aloud and be understood, not to meet an academic standard.
Why does this word look the way it does?
About a woman they ask at medaberet anglit? The word order matches English here. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.