מרתף
“מרתף” (мартаф) — basement in Hebrew. Noun, level B1, topic — home and things. From lehamref — to cool: the basement as the fridge of the house. In Israeli houses it is a rare guest — the land is expensive. In a live sentence: “במרתף קר.” — It is cold in the basement. Written with the characters מ, ר, ת. One of 197 words in the set “home and things” in the Hebrew course.
In short
| Written in Hebrew | מרתף |
| Read in Latin letters | мартаф |
| Translation | basement |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | B1 |
Why it looks that way
From lehamref — to cool: the basement as the fridge of the house. In Israeli houses it is a rare guest — the land is expensive
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.
- במרתף קר.ба-мартаф кар.It is cold in the basement.
Nearby words: home and things
Room, key, water, electricity. You will need them on your first day in a rented flat.
- ביתбаитhouseBoth a home and a building. From it beit kafe and Beit Lechem: the house of a thing is its establishment
- דירהдираapartmentFeminine. In rental ads look for dira lehaskara — an apartment to let
- מגוריםмегуримhousingThe word is always plural, like the English lodgings: in a form they write makom megurim — the place of residence
- חדרхедерroomA room in the house and in the school — one word. The bedroom is cheder shina, literally "the room of sleep"
- מטבחмитбахkitchenFrom the root b-sh-l, to cook — the same as bashel, ripe. On the kitchen door look for the letters m-t-b-ch
- אמבטיהамбатьяbathroomIsraelis say simply ambatya — both the bathtub and the bathroom. The hot water is found under the red letter ch
- מרפסתмирпесэтbalconyFeminine: mirpeset gdola. Laundry dries there and the morning coffee is drunk — a balcony in Israel is not a luxury but an extension of the apartment
- קומהкомаfloor (storey)The count is not the English one: your second floor is koma rishona, the first. The elevator names the floors its own way — watch the panel
- מעליתмаалитelevatorFrom the root a-l-h, to ascend — the same as aliyah, the ascent to Israel. In the old houses of Tel Aviv there is often no elevator: ein maalit
- מדרגותмадреготstairsPlural only — there are many steps. One step is madrega
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “home and things”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “basement” in Hebrew?
From lehamref — to cool: the basement as the fridge of the house. In Israeli houses it is a rare guest — the land is expensive
- How do you say “balcony” in Hebrew?
Feminine: mirpeset gdola. Laundry dries there and the morning coffee is drunk — a balcony in Israel is not a luxury but an extension of the apartment
- How do you say “housing” in Hebrew?
The word is always plural, like the English lodgings: in a form they write makom megurim — the place of residence
- How do you say “stairs” in Hebrew?
Plural only — there are many steps. One step is madrega
- How do you say “bathroom” in Hebrew?
Israelis say simply ambatya — both the bathtub and the bathroom. The hot water is found under the red letter ch
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 “basement” in Hebrew?
«מרתף», read “мартаф”. In a live sentence: “במרתף קר.” — It is cold in the basement. Noun, level B1, from the set “home and things”; written with the characters מ, ר, ת.
How is “מרתף” written in Latin letters?
мартаф. 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?
From lehamref — to cool: the basement as the fridge of the house. In Israeli houses it is a rare guest — the land is expensive. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.