זָקָן
“זָקָן” (закан) — beard in Hebrew. Noun, level A2, topic — people and family. The same spelling as zaken, an old man: the vowel decides — zaken is old, zakan is a beard. Without vowels the phrase carries the meaning. In a live sentence: “הזקן שלו ארוך.” — His beard is long. Written with the characters ז, ק. One of 138 words in the set “people and family” in the Hebrew course.
In short
| Written in Hebrew | זָקָן |
| Read in Latin letters | закан |
| Translation | beard |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A2 |
Why it looks that way
The same spelling as zaken, an old man: the vowel decides — zaken is old, zakan is a beard. Without vowels the phrase carries the meaning
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.
- הזקן שלו ארוך.ха-закан шело арох.His beard is long.
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 “beard” in Hebrew?
The same spelling as zaken, an old man: the vowel decides — zaken is old, zakan is a beard. Without vowels the phrase carries the meaning
- 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 “beard” in Hebrew?
«זָקָן», read “закан”. In a live sentence: “הזקן שלו ארוך.” — His beard is long. Noun, level A2, from the set “people and family”; written with the characters ז, ק.
How is “זָקָן” written in Latin letters?
закан. 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 same spelling as zaken, an old man: the vowel decides — zaken is old, zakan is a beard. Without vowels the phrase carries the meaning. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.