זהירות
“זהירות” (зэирут) — careful! in Hebrew. Interjection, level A1, topic — phrases that save you. The yellow signs write exactly zehirut — from the root z-h-r, to beware. A careful person is zahir. In a live sentence: “זהירות! הכיסא שבור.” — Careful! The chair is broken. Written with the characters ז, ה, י, ר, ו, ת. One of 17 words in the set “phrases that save you” in the Hebrew course.
In short
| Written in Hebrew | זהירות |
| Read in Latin letters | зэирут |
| Translation | careful! |
| Part of speech | interjection |
| Level | A1 |
Why it looks that way
The yellow signs write exactly zehirut — from the root z-h-r, to beware. A careful person is zahir
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.
- זהירות! הכיסא שבור.зэирут! ха-кисэ шавур.Careful! The chair is broken.
Nearby words: phrases that save you
“I don't understand”, “say that again”, “slower, please”, “help”. They are learned first for a reason: they bring back a conversation that has already gone wrong.
- אני לא מביןани ло мэвинI don't understandA woman says ani lo mevina. The negation lo stands right before the verb
- לאטлеатslowlyThe most useful word of the first week: leat, bevakasha — slower, please
- תחזרו בבקשהтахзеру бевакашаrepeat, pleaseFrom the root ch-z-r, to repeat. To one person — tachzor bevakasha
- אתם מדברים אנגלית?атем медабрим англит?do you speak English?About a woman they ask at medaberet anglit? The word order matches English here
- הצילו!хацилу!help!Literally "save us" — the cry for real danger. The calm request is efshar lizror li? — could you help me?
- אבדתיавадтиI'm lostFrom leaved, to lose. I got lost and my thing went missing — one word
- לא עובדло оведnot workingAbout machines and about people alike: hamaalit lo ovedet — the elevator does not work. About a woman — lo ovedet
- רגע, בבקשהрега, бевакашаwait a momentRega — an instant: Israelis count not minutes but regas. The most frequent pause-word of a conversation
- אני לא יכול לפתוחани ло яхоль лифтохI cannot open itYachol — can, from the root y-ch-l. A woman says ani lo yechola. The reason is your own: the key, the strength or the permission
- אמבולנסамбулансambulanceAn international word; the service is called Magen David Adom — the Red Star of David. The single number is 101
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “phrases that save you”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “careful!” in Hebrew?
The yellow signs write exactly zehirut — from the root z-h-r, to beware. A careful person is zahir
- How do you say “not working” in Hebrew?
About machines and about people alike: hamaalit lo ovedet — the elevator does not work. About a woman — lo ovedet
- How do you say “repeat, please” in Hebrew?
From the root ch-z-r, to repeat. To one person — tachzor bevakasha
- How do you say “ambulance” in Hebrew?
An international word; the service is called Magen David Adom — the Red Star of David. The single number is 101
- How do you say “I'm lost” in Hebrew?
From leaved, to lose. I got lost and my thing went missing — one word
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 “careful!” in Hebrew?
«זהירות», read “зэирут”. In a live sentence: “זהירות! הכיסא שבור.” — Careful! The chair is broken. Interjection, level A1, from the set “phrases that save you”; written with the characters ז, ה, י, ר, ו, ת.
How is “זהירות” written in Latin letters?
зэирут. 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 yellow signs write exactly zehirut — from the root z-h-r, to beware. A careful person is zahir. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.