ספה
“ספה” (сэфа) — a sofa in Hebrew. Noun, level A2, topic — home and things. One sits on it in the evening and the guests sleep on it; the sofa is soft and wide. By ear do not mix it up with safa — the tongue: there an a, here an e. In a live sentence: “הספה ליד החלון.” — The sofa is by the window. Written with the characters ס, פ, ה.
In short
| Written in Hebrew | ספה |
| Read in Latin letters | сэфа |
| Translation | a sofa |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A2 |
Why it looks that way
One sits on it in the evening and the guests sleep on it; the sofa is soft and wide. By ear do not mix it up with safa — the tongue: there an a, here an e
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.
- הספה ליד החלון.ха-сэфа ляд ха-халон.The sofa is by the window.
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 “a sofa” in Hebrew?
One sits on it in the evening and the guests sleep on it; the sofa is soft and wide. By ear do not mix it up with safa — the tongue: there an a, here an e
- 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 “a sofa” in Hebrew?
«ספה», read “сэфа”. In a live sentence: “הספה ליד החלון.” — The sofa is by the window. Noun, level A2, from the set “home and things”; written with the characters ס, פ, ה.
How is “ספה” written in Latin letters?
сэфа. 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?
One sits on it in the evening and the guests sleep on it; the sofa is soft and wide. By ear do not mix it up with safa — the tongue: there an a, here an e. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.