שמח
“שמח” (самэах) — cheerful in Hebrew. Adjective, level A1, topic — people and family. Both merry and joyful — one word, as in your phrase ani sameach. A sameach child is a lively, sunny child. In a live sentence: “הילד שמח ביום הולדת.” — The child is cheerful on the birthday. Written with the characters ש, מ, ח. One of 138 words in the set “people and family” in the Hebrew course.
In short
| Written in Hebrew | שמח |
| Read in Latin letters | самэах |
| Translation | cheerful |
| Part of speech | adjective |
| Level | A1 |
Why it looks that way
Both merry and joyful — one word, as in your phrase ani sameach. A sameach child is a lively, sunny child
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.
- הילד שמח ביום הולדת.ха-йелед самэах ба-йом хуледэт.The child is cheerful on the birthday.
Nearby words: people and family
Mum, friend, child, neighbour. The first thing people ask you about, and the first thing you tell about yourself.
- חברхаверfriendA friend, a comrade, and also a boyfriend (of a girl). A woman friend is chavera
- משפחהмишпахаfamilyFeminine. It covers the kin wider than the English family — cousins and grandmothers included
- אמאимаmomBoth the call and the ordinary word for mother — there are no others in daily life. Reads ima
- אבאабаdadThe pair to ima. These words are native to Hebrew too — they sound close in half the languages of the world
- ילדйеледchildA girl is yalda, children are yeladim. The plural for two children is the dual: shnei yeladim
- מוכרмохерsellerFrom the root m-ch-r, to sell. A woman seller is mocheret, and at the shuk it is more often she
- קונהконеbuyerFrom the root k-n-h, to buy. At the market no words are needed: you point a finger and you are already the kone
- שכןшахенneighborShachen — a neighbor, shchena — a neighbor (f). The root sh-ch-n is the same as in michan, a dwelling: live next door and you are kin
- אדםадамpersonA human being; the plural is special — anashim. People are counted with it: kama anashim? — how many people?
- גברгеверmanIn the plural gvaryim — men. Gveret — madam: the same word with another vowel, politeness in one syllable
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “people and family”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “cheerful” in Hebrew?
Both merry and joyful — one word, as in your phrase ani sameach. A sameach child is a lively, sunny child
- How do you say “buyer” in Hebrew?
From the root k-n-h, to buy. At the market no words are needed: you point a finger and you are already the kone
- How do you say “mom” in Hebrew?
Both the call and the ordinary word for mother — there are no others in daily life. Reads ima
- How do you say “man” in Hebrew?
In the plural gvaryim — men. Gveret — madam: the same word with another vowel, politeness in one syllable
- How do you say “seller” in Hebrew?
From the root m-ch-r, to sell. A woman seller is mocheret, and at the shuk it is more often she
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 “cheerful” in Hebrew?
«שמח», read “самэах”. In a live sentence: “הילד שמח ביום הולדת.” — The child is cheerful on the birthday. Adjective, level A1, from the set “people and family”; written with the characters ש, מ, ח.
How is “שמח” written in Latin letters?
самэах. 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?
Both merry and joyful — one word, as in your phrase ani sameach. A sameach child is a lively, sunny child. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.