גן החיות
“גן החיות” (ган ха-хайот) — a zoo in Hebrew. Noun, level A1, topic — buildings and premises. Literally "the garden of animals": gan, the park, you know; chayot comes from chayat machmed, a pet. In a live sentence: “בגן החיות יש אריה גדול.” — There is a big lion in the zoo. Written with the characters ג, ה, ח, י, ו, ת. One of 25 words in the set “buildings and premises” in the Hebrew course.
In short
| Written in Hebrew | גן החיות |
| Read in Latin letters | ган ха-хайот |
| Translation | a zoo |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A1 |
Why it looks that way
Literally "the garden of animals": gan, the park, you know; chayot comes from chayat machmed, a pet
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.
- בגן החיות יש אריה גדול.ба-ган ха-хайот йеш арье гадоль.There is a big lion in the zoo.
Nearby words: buildings and premises
Where to go and what is done there. These words are read off a sign more often than they are spoken.
- מסעדהмисадаrestaurantFrom the root s-a-d, to eat. The place with a waiter and a bill
- בית קפהбейт кафеcoffee houseTwo words: house + coffee. This is how Hebrew builds compound names — the house of a thing is its establishment
- כיכרкикарsquareBoth a city square and a bread roll — the same word for a round shape. Kikar Rabin is Tel Aviv's main square
- חנותханутshopFeminine. A shop of any size, from a kiosk to a boutique
- שוקшукmarketTel Aviv's Shuk HaCarmel is the famous market where people still haggle. The Arabic souk is the same word
- בית מרקחתбейт меркакетpharmacyLiterally "the house of preparing" — medicines are compounded there. Look for the green cross on it
- בנקбанкbankAn international word, written right to left: b-n-k. Closed on Friday after midday
- תחנת רכבתтаханат ракеветrailway stationTachana is a station and a stop at once: tachana merkazit, the central one, is the main bus terminal
- דוכןдуханstall; counterThe market stall and the cafe counter where the goods stand
- מכולתмахолэтcorner shopThe makolet is the small shop by the house: bread, milk, eggs. The big supermarket Israelis call simply the super, and those stand at every corner
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “buildings and premises”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “a zoo” in Hebrew?
Literally "the garden of animals": gan, the park, you know; chayot comes from chayat machmed, a pet
- How do you say “bank” in Hebrew?
An international word, written right to left: b-n-k. Closed on Friday after midday
- How do you say “square” in Hebrew?
Both a city square and a bread roll — the same word for a round shape. Kikar Rabin is Tel Aviv's main square
- How do you say “corner shop” in Hebrew?
The makolet is the small shop by the house: bread, milk, eggs. The big supermarket Israelis call simply the super, and those stand at every corner
- How do you say “pharmacy” in Hebrew?
Literally "the house of preparing" — medicines are compounded there. Look for the green cross on it
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 “a zoo” in Hebrew?
«גן החיות», read “ган ха-хайот”. In a live sentence: “בגן החיות יש אריה גדול.” — There is a big lion in the zoo. Noun, level A1, from the set “buildings and premises”; written with the characters ג, ה, ח, י, ו, ת.
How is “גן החיות” written in Latin letters?
ган ха-хайот. 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 "the garden of animals": gan, the park, you know; chayot comes from chayat machmed, a pet. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.