מפעם לפעם
“מפעם לפעם” (ми-фаам ле-фаам) — rarely in Hebrew. Adverb, level B1, topic — time, days and hours. Literally from time to time. The familiar midei paam — from time to time — while this one is rarer still. In a live sentence: “מפעם לפעם אני רואה אותו.” — I see him only rarely. Written with the characters מ, פ, ע, ל, פ, ע. One of 138 words in the set “time, days and hours” in the Hebrew course.
In short
| Written in Hebrew | מפעם לפעם |
| Read in Latin letters | ми-фаам ле-фаам |
| Translation | rarely |
| Part of speech | adverb |
| Level | B1 |
Why it looks that way
Literally from time to time. The familiar midei paam — from time to time — while this one is rarer still
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.
- מפעם לפעם אני רואה אותו.ми-фаам ле-фаам ани роэ ото.I see him only rarely.
Nearby words: time, days and hours
Today, tomorrow, in the morning, at six. You cannot arrange to meet without these — let alone understand the answer.
- שעהшааhourBoth the unit of time and the watch on your wrist. Kama hashaa? — what time is it?
- יוםйомdayBoth day and day of the week: Monday is yom sheni, literally the second day
- היוםхайомtodayThe article ha + yom: literally this day. The same pattern as in akshav, now
- מחרмахарtomorrowThe throaty ח inside. Machar baerev — tomorrow evening
- אתמולэтмольyesterdayThe initial א gives no sound — etmol. The three words of time: yesterday, today, tomorrow
- בוקרбокерmorningThe Israeli morning is long: boker tov is said almost until midday
- ערבэрэвeveningThe initial ע is not read. Baerev — in the evening, one word with the prefix
- לילהлайлаnightThe same root as in laila tov. Masculine in Hebrew
- פעמיים ביוםпаамаим ба-йомtwice a dayPaam — a time, paamaim — twice: the dual lives in counting times too. Three times is shalosh peamim, and further on by the rule
- באיזו שעה?бэ-эйзо шаа?at what time?Literally "at which hour". The answer is built the same way: besheva — at seven. The shaa, hour, you know; it remains to recall the feminine forms of the numbers
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “time, days and hours”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “rarely” in Hebrew?
Literally from time to time. The familiar midei paam — from time to time — while this one is rarer still
- How do you say “evening” in Hebrew?
The initial ע is not read. Baerev — in the evening, one word with the prefix
- How do you say “today” in Hebrew?
The article ha + yom: literally this day. The same pattern as in akshav, now
- How do you say “at what time?” in Hebrew?
Literally "at which hour". The answer is built the same way: besheva — at seven. The shaa, hour, you know; it remains to recall the feminine forms of the numbers
- How do you say “morning” in Hebrew?
The Israeli morning is long: boker tov is said almost until midday
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 “rarely” in Hebrew?
«מפעם לפעם», read “ми-фаам ле-фаам”. In a live sentence: “מפעם לפעם אני רואה אותו.” — I see him only rarely. Adverb, level B1, from the set “time, days and hours”; written with the characters מ, פ, ע, ל, פ, ע.
How is “מפעם לפעם” written in Latin letters?
ми-фаам ле-фаам. 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?
Literally from time to time. The familiar midei paam — from time to time — while this one is rarer still. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.