עיר הבירה
“עיר הבירה” (ир ха-бира) — the capital in Hebrew. Noun, level A2, topic — the city and its places. Bira by itself is beer — a familiar word! That is why the capital is said whole: ir ha-bira — the city-capital. In a live sentence: “ירושלים היא עיר הבירה של ישראל.” — Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. Written with the characters ע, י, ר, ה, ב, י, ר, ה.
In short
| Written in Hebrew | עיר הבירה |
| Read in Latin letters | ир ха-бира |
| Translation | the capital |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A2 |
Why it looks that way
Bira by itself is beer — a familiar word! That is why the capital is said whole: ir ha-bira — the city-capital
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.
- ירושלים היא עיר הבירה של ישראל.йерушалаим хи ир ха-бира шель исраэль.Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
Nearby words: the city and its places
Street, square, pharmacy, bank. An address is built out of these, and an address is something you have to both say and understand.
- עירирcityFeminine: ir gdola — a big city. The first letter ע is not read
- רחובреховstreetThe throaty ח inside. In an address the street comes first: Rothschild, Tel Aviv
- כיכרкикарsquareBoth a city square and a bread roll — the same word for a round shape. Kikar Rabin is Tel Aviv's main square
- 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
- קהלкахальcrowdA crowd and an audience: the kahal is what has gathered to watch and listen. lekahel — to gather — is the same root
- רמזורрамзорtraffic lightLiterally "a pointer of light", from ramiz — blinking. Red is adom, green is yarok — the colours you know: the traffic light is honest in any language
- אופנייםофанаимbicycleAlways plural with the dual -aim: a bicycle as a pair of wheels. One rides it rochev al ofanaim — astride, like on a horse
- תחנת אוטובוסтаханат отобусbus stopLiterally "the station of the bus": the same tachana as in the railway station you know. The bus is the otobus — an international word
- כרטיסיהкартисияtravel passFrom your cartis — the ticket: tap it — and ride. The monthly pass is kartisia chodeshit — the most frequent specification
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “the city and its places”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “the capital” in Hebrew?
Bira by itself is beer — a familiar word! That is why the capital is said whole: ir ha-bira — the city-capital
- How do you say “traffic light” in Hebrew?
Literally "a pointer of light", from ramiz — blinking. Red is adom, green is yarok — the colours you know: the traffic light is honest in any language
- 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 “travel pass” in Hebrew?
From your cartis — the ticket: tap it — and ride. The monthly pass is kartisia chodeshit — the most frequent specification
- How do you say “crowd” in Hebrew?
A crowd and an audience: the kahal is what has gathered to watch and listen. lekahel — to gather — is the same root
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 “the capital” in Hebrew?
«עיר הבירה», read “ир ха-бира”. In a live sentence: “ירושלים היא עיר הבירה של ישראל.” — Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. Noun, level A2, from the set “the city and its places”; written with the characters ע, י, ר, ה, ב, י, ר, ה.
How is “עיר הבירה” written in Latin letters?
ир ха-бира. 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?
Bira by itself is beer — a familiar word! That is why the capital is said whole: ir ha-bira — the city-capital. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.