מעקה
“מעקה” (маака) — handrail in Hebrew. Noun, level A1, topic — transport. The railing on the stairs and the handrail in the bus are one word, the maaka. The first a is not read. In a live sentence: “יש מעקה ליד הדלת.” — There is a handrail by the door. Written with the characters מ, ע, ק, ה. One of 14 words in the set “transport” in the Hebrew course.
In short
| Written in Hebrew | מעקה |
| Read in Latin letters | маака |
| Translation | handrail |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A1 |
Why it looks that way
The railing on the stairs and the handrail in the bus are one word, the maaka. The first a is not read
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.
- יש מעקה ליד הדלת.йеш маака леяд ха-делет.There is a handrail by the door.
Nearby words: transport
Bus, metro, taxi, stop, station. These are words you need to recognize in writing — off a departure board and off a sign.
- אוטובוסотобусbusAn international word; on board you pay with a card, cash is not taken
- רכבתракеветtrainFrom the root r-k-b, to ride. One root covers the train, the driver and transport — everything that rides
- תחנת רכבתтаханат ракеветrailway stationTachana is a station and a stop at once: tachana merkazit, the central one, is the main bus terminal
- מוניתмонитtaxiThe official word; in the street taxi works too. Cabs are caught with an app, not by waving
- תחנהтаханаstopYou have heard tachana a hundred times: tachanat otobus, tachanat rakevet, tachanat delek; a bare tachana is both a station and a stop
- נוסעносэаpassengerFrom linsoa — to ride — a verb you know: a passenger is the one who rides. The feminine is nosaat
- מושבмошавseatFrom lashevet — to sit: a seat in the bus and in the car is a moshav. Careful: so they also call a rural village
- פקחпакеахticket inspectorAn inspector: he checks the tickets in the bus and keeps the order. Without a ticket you will not hide from him
- דמי נסיעהдмей несиаfareDmei is the payment for something, as in dmei mishloach, the delivery cost; the fare for the ride is dmei nesia
- עמוסамусcrowdedYou have met amus as busy; about a bus and a tram they say crowded: there is not one free seat in it
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “transport”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “handrail” in Hebrew?
The railing on the stairs and the handrail in the bus are one word, the maaka. The first a is not read
- How do you say “seat” in Hebrew?
From lashevet — to sit: a seat in the bus and in the car is a moshav. Careful: so they also call a rural village
- How do you say “railway station” in Hebrew?
Tachana is a station and a stop at once: tachana merkazit, the central one, is the main bus terminal
- How do you say “crowded” in Hebrew?
You have met amus as busy; about a bus and a tram they say crowded: there is not one free seat in it
- How do you say “passenger” in Hebrew?
From linsoa — to ride — a verb you know: a passenger is the one who rides. The feminine is nosaat
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 “handrail” in Hebrew?
«מעקה», read “маака”. In a live sentence: “יש מעקה ליד הדלת.” — There is a handrail by the door. Noun, level A1, from the set “transport”; written with the characters מ, ע, ק, ה.
How is “מעקה” written in Latin letters?
маака. 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?
The railing on the stairs and the handrail in the bus are one word, the maaka. The first a is not read. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.