“Shalom” and More Essential Hebrew Phrases

Blog
16 May 2023
By Sarah Angela Almaden
Japanese House
Unsplash: Ekaterina Shakharova

The most common spoken form of Hebrew that we are familiar with today is known as Modern Hebrew, commonly referred to as New Hebrew or just Hebrew. The language is spoken by about 9 million people worldwide. It is one of the official languages of the State of Israel, spoken by both Jewish and non-Jewish people. At the same time, the unique language is also recognized as a minority language in Poland.

Even though Hebrew plays an essential part in Judaism, this unique language is the go-to language for casual conversations in many places in Israel and other Hebrew-speaking communities around the world. In fact, many of those communities also speak English and other languages but Hebrew is still part of their culture. As a result, Hebrew phrases are even used as part of their daily exchanges. Check out this list of simple Hebrew phrases to get an insight of the language.

    Basic Hebrew Phrases

    • Hello: Shalom (שלום)
    • Bye: Shalom (שלום)
    • Thank you: Todah (תודה)
    • Thank you very much: Toda raba (תודה רבה)
    • You’re welcome: Bevakasha (על לא דבר)
    • Good morning: Boker tov (בוקר טוב)
    • Good evening: Erev tov (ערב טוב)
    • Good night: Laila tov (לילה טוב)
    • How are you: Ma shlom kha (מה שלומך)
    • Yes: Ken (כן)
    • No: Lo (לא)
    • Excuse me: Slicha (סליחה)
    • Please: Bevakasha (בבקשה)
    • What’s up: Ma nishma (מה נשמע)
    • Congratulations: Mazel tov (מזל טוב)
    • No problem: Ein beaya (אין בעיה)
    • Don’t worry: Al tiddag (אל תדאג)
    • I don’t know: Ani lo yodea (אני לא יודע)
    • I don’t understand: Ani lo mevin (אני לא מבין)
    • Where’s the restroom: Eifo hasherutim (איפה השירותים)
    • See you later: Lehit raot (להתראות)
    • (after sneezing) Bless you: Liv riut (לבריאות)

    Random Hebrew Phrases

    • Traffic: tnua (תנועה)
    • Potato: Tapuakh adama (תפוח אדמה)
    • Shawarma: Shawarma (שווארמה)
    • Bird: Tsipor (ציפור)
    • Soup: Marak (מרק)
    • Juice: Mits (מיץ)
    • Water: Mayim (מים)
    • Taxi: Monit (מונית)
    • Money: Kesef (כסף)
    • Dog: Kelev (כלב)
    • Star: Kokhav (כוכב)
    • Wine: Yayin (יין)
    • Cat: Khatul (חתול)
    • Lettuce: Khasa (חסה)
    • Mom: Ima (אימא)
    • Dad: Aba (אבא)
    • Brother: Akh (אח)
    • Sister: Akhot (אחות)
    • Grandfather: Saba (סבא)
    • Grandmother: Savta (סבתא)