להסתרק
“להסתרק” (леистарек) — to comb one's hair in Hebrew. Verb, level A1, topic — everyday life and routine. You know masrek, the comb; the same root s-r-k. Lehistarek is to comb oneself: the hit- inside means oneself. In a live sentence: “היא מסתרקת לפני המראה” — She combs her hair in front of the mirror. Written with the characters ל, ה, ס, ת, ר, ק. One of 13 words in the set “everyday life and routine” in the Hebrew course.
In short
| Written in Hebrew | להסתרק |
| Read in Latin letters | леистарек |
| Translation | to comb one's hair |
| Part of speech | verb |
| Level | A1 |
Why it looks that way
You know masrek, the comb; the same root s-r-k. Lehistarek is to comb oneself: the hit- inside means oneself
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.
- היא מסתרקת לפני המראהхи мистарекет лифнэй ха-марэа.She combs her hair in front of the mirror
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
- לקוםлакумto get upKum! — 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
- לשטוף פניםлиштоф панимto wash upLiterally "to wash the face": panim, the face, is always plural. Washing the whole body is lehitratez, which you know
- 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 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 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 wash up” in Hebrew?
Literally "to wash the face": panim, the face, is always plural. Washing the whole body is lehitratez, which you know
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 comb one's hair” in Hebrew?
«להסתרק», read “леистарек”. In a live sentence: “היא מסתרקת לפני המראה” — She combs her hair in front of the mirror. Verb, level A1, from the set “everyday life and routine”; written with the characters ל, ה, ס, ת, ר, ק.
How is “להסתרק” written in Latin letters?
леистарек. 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?
You know masrek, the comb; the same root s-r-k. Lehistarek is to comb oneself: the hit- inside means oneself. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.