לקום
“לקום” (лакум) — to get up in Hebrew. Verb, level A1, topic — everyday life and routine. Kum! — get up! — that is how one is woken. Makom, a place, which you learned in the money-and-people lesson, is literally the spot where one stands up. In a live sentence: “אני קם בשמונה” — I get up at eight. Written with the characters ל, ק, ו. One of 13 words in the set “everyday life and routine” in the Hebrew course.
In short
| Written in Hebrew | לקום |
| Read in Latin letters | лакум |
| Translation | to get up |
| Part of speech | verb |
| Level | A1 |
Why it looks that way
Kum! — get up! — that is how one is woken. Makom, a place, which you learned in the money-and-people lesson, is literally the spot where one stands up
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.
- אני קם בשמונהани кам бе-шмона.I get up at eight
Nearby words: everyday life and routine
Work, home, rest, errands. The words the answer to “how are things?” is made of.
- עבודהаводаworkWork as labor and as employment in one. The same root is in oved, a worker, and in the temple service
- לעבודлааводto workThe present: oved, ovedet, ovdim. One root with avoda, work
- אני חייבани хайавI mustA woman says ani chayevet. The infinitive follows: chayav laavod — must work
- להתעוררлеиторерto wake upYou wake yourself — mitorer; to wake somebody is leaer. Hebrew counts the hours the feminine way: besheva — at seven
- לשטוף פניםлиштоф панимto wash upLiterally "to wash the face": panim, the face, is always plural. Washing the whole body is lehitratez, which you know
- להסתרקлеистарекto comb one's hairYou know masrek, the comb; the same root s-r-k. Lehistarek is to comb oneself: the hit- inside means oneself
- להתגלחлеитгалеахto shaveYou know taar, the razor; the root is g-l-ch. Shaving is also done to oneself: the same hit- as in lehistarek
- להתלבשлеитлабэшto get dressedYou know lilbosh, to put on; lehitlabesh is to dress oneself. Begadim, clothes, is of the same root b-g-d
- להתפשטлеитпашэтto get undressedThe pair to get dressed: the same hit- — oneself — takes off what was put on. At an examination the doctor says hitpashat — undress
- להתיישבлеияшэвto sit downYou know lashevet, to sit; lehiyashev is to sit down, to settle. Politely: shevu bevakasha — take a seat, please
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “everyday life and routine”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “to get up” in Hebrew?
Kum! — get up! — that is how one is woken. Makom, a place, which you learned in the money-and-people lesson, is literally the spot where one stands up
- How do you say “to shave” in Hebrew?
You know taar, the razor; the root is g-l-ch. Shaving is also done to oneself: the same hit- as in lehistarek
- How do you say “I must” in Hebrew?
A woman says ani chayevet. The infinitive follows: chayav laavod — must work
- How do you say “to sit down” in Hebrew?
You know lashevet, to sit; lehiyashev is to sit down, to settle. Politely: shevu bevakasha — take a seat, please
- How do you say “to comb one's hair” in Hebrew?
You know masrek, the comb; the same root s-r-k. Lehistarek is to comb oneself: the hit- inside means oneself
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 “to get up” in Hebrew?
«לקום», read “лакум”. In a live sentence: “אני קם בשמונה” — I get up at eight. Verb, level A1, from the set “everyday life and routine”; written with the characters ל, ק, ו.
How is “לקום” written in Latin letters?
лакум. 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?
Kum! — get up! — that is how one is woken. Makom, a place, which you learned in the money-and-people lesson, is literally the spot where one stands up. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.