איך מגיעים
“איך מגיעים” (эйх магиим) — how do I get to...? in Hebrew. Phrase, level A1, topic — asking the way. Literally "how do they arrive?" — the question is put in the plural, how do people get there. Then comes le-: eich magiim latachana? In a live sentence: “איך מגיעים לתחנה המרכזית?” — How do I get to the central bus station? Written with the characters א, י, מ, ג, י, ע, י.
In short
| Written in Hebrew | איך מגיעים |
| Read in Latin letters | эйх магиим |
| Translation | how do I get to...? |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | A1 |
Why it looks that way
Literally "how do they arrive?" — the question is put in the plural, how do people get there. Then comes le-: eich magiim latachana?
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.
- איך מגיעים לתחנה המרכזית?эйх магиим ла-тахана ха-мерказит?How do I get to the central bus station?
Nearby words: asking the way
Right, left, straight on, how far. You ask the way rarely — and always at the moment when there is no time to work it out.
- איפה?эйфо?where?The city's first question: eifo ha-... — where is the such-and-such. Hebrew says where to with a different word
- כאןканhereDo not mix it up with kach (כך), so: one vowel decides everything
- שםшамthereWritten the same way as shem, a name — only the vowel tells them apart, and without nikud the context helps
- ימינהяминаto the rightFrom yamin, the right hand; the ending -a gives direction — toward the right one
- שמאלהсмолаto the leftFrom smol, the left hand. The pair to yamina, with the same direction ending
- ישרяшарstraightBoth straight about a road and honest about a person: an upright person is adam yashar
- קרובкаровcloseBoth close and a relative — the one who is close. The pair to rachok
- רחוקрахокfarThe question is it far? is just rachok? The answer lo rachok means not far
- להגיע עדлеагиа адto reachYou know lehagia, to arrive; ad strengthens it: to reach as far as the sea itself — lehagia ad hayam
- בצד השניбе-цад ха-шениon the other sideYou know tzad, a side; betzad hasheni shel harechov — on the other side of the street
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “asking the way”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “how do I get to...?” in Hebrew?
Literally "how do they arrive?" — the question is put in the plural, how do people get there. Then comes le-: eich magiim latachana?
- How do you say “close” in Hebrew?
Both close and a relative — the one who is close. The pair to rachok
- How do you say “there” in Hebrew?
Written the same way as shem, a name — only the vowel tells them apart, and without nikud the context helps
- How do you say “on the other side” in Hebrew?
You know tzad, a side; betzad hasheni shel harechov — on the other side of the street
- How do you say “straight” in Hebrew?
Both straight about a road and honest about a person: an upright person is adam yashar
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 “how do I get to...?” in Hebrew?
«איך מגיעים», read “эйх магиим”. In a live sentence: “איך מגיעים לתחנה המרכזית?” — How do I get to the central bus station? Phrase, level A1, from the set “asking the way”; written with the characters א, י, מ, ג, י, ע, י.
How is “איך מגיעים” written in Latin letters?
эйх магиим. 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?
Literally "how do they arrive?" — the question is put in the plural, how do people get there. Then comes le-: eich magiim latachana? A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.