Tip #40

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How to say it in Hebrew
Tip #40

I am often asked ...

...how to say "later", "after" or "afterwards" in Hebrew?

"I'll do it later"

Saying "later" is simple – just take "late" and add"-er"! How do we do it in Hebrew? We do not have an "-er" ending, we use "more" instead!
faster = more fast - מַהֵר יוֹתֵר
simpler = more simple - פָּשׁוּט יוֹתֵר
So, if "late" is מאוחר, then "later" is
מְאֻחָר יוֹתֵר!

So far so good, but there is another way to say "later," equally useful and often more natural!" Actually, in English we could say instead of "see you later" – "see you afterwards," right? Same here – but in Hebrew we say it this way even more often!
How do we say "afterwards," then? The word we need consists of "after"* and "this way" -אַחַר* כָּךְ - AKHAR* KAKH
Examples:See you later - !נִתְרָאֶה אַחַר כָּךְ
I'll do it later -[אֶעֱשֶׂה אֶת זֶה אַחַר כָּךְ [מְאֻחָר יוֹתֵר
Could we speak later? נוּכַל לְדַבֵּר אַחַר כָּךְ?
You do this, and then (afterwards, later) this, etc… אַתָּה עוֹשֶׂה אֶת זֶה, וְאַחַר כָּךְ אֶת זֶה
*It may look similar to אחר - AKHER – "other," but it's completely different!
If not sure what it means - you can search your mailbox for my 22nd newsletter - it was all about AKHER. :)

"After school"

Now, "afterwards" and "after" are different words, right? How are they different? Give it a thought, try to think of some examples in English! ;) Did you see it? :)
We never use nouns after "afterwards", I mean - it can be "after what?" but it can never be "afterwards what?" ;)
So, as we have just seen, we need a special word for "after" – and that would be אַחֲרֵי* - AKHAREI.

Like in this example:
New companies are opening like mushrooms after the rain. חֲבָרוֹת חֲדָשׁוֹת נִפְתָּחוֹת כְּמוֹ פִּטְרִיּוֹת אַחֲרֵי הַגֶּשֶׁם.

There is onevery important nuanceto this word, though! If you want to say "after I saw it …" - how would you say it?
Like this - אַחֲרֵי שֶׁרָאִיתִי אֶת זֶה
Did you notice something special here?
It's not "AHAREI", but "AKHAREI SHE-"!
Why? How is this sentence different from the previous ones? It is talking about "after" an action (verb) and not about "after" something (noun). Which means, in practice, – always-always-always use AKHAREI SHE- before verbs!

More examples:
After I heard the news I I was very angry - אַחֲרֵי שֶׁשָּׁמַעְתִּי אֶת הַחֲדָשׁוֹת כָּעַסְתִּי מְאֹד
After I find a job I'll stop watching TV for the whole day. ;) אַחֲרֵי שֶׁאֶמְצָא עֲבוֹדָה אַפְסִיק לִרְאוּת טֶלֶוִיזְיָה כָּל הַיּוֹם.

~
Now we can try combining the two titles together:
"I'll do it later, after school!" אֶעֱשֶׂה אֶת זֶה אַחֵר כָּךְ, אַחֲרֵי בֵּית סֵפֶר!
And how would you say "I'll do it later, after I finish (graduate) school"?
Right,אֶעֱשֶׂה אֶת זֶה אַחֵר כָּךְ, אַחֲרֵי שֶׁאֲסַיֵּם בֵּיתִי סָפַר
~

Thinking about the practical applications of this phrase - on a personal level I wish you do not use it too much - that's a phrase of a typical procrastinator - אֶעֱשֶׂה אֶת זֶה אַחַר כָּךְ! ;)
And of course I hope that you do not say אֶעֱשֶׂה אֶת זֶה אַחַר כָּךְ about Hebrew!
Keep learning, and do it now! ;)
Yours,
Alisa

Tip #40

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