How to say it in Hebrew
Tip #51
Tip #51
I am often asked...
How do I say "to mean" in Hebrew?
How do I say "to mean" in Hebrew?
"What do you mean?"
This time – let me walk you through "the word hunt"!
First search Morfix for the word "mean" – what does it tell you? Many meanings, and nothing really makes sense… The first thing you see it's the adjective "mean" – like "nasty", not nice. Then the noun "mean" like in "means for a living." And then – then comes the verb, finally! It is what we were searching for! But… there are several verbs, and several expressions, which is which, which is used when?
Next step – we realize that we can't go without some context here! For that purpose – let's use Reverso! Just type in Google "reverso I mean it Hebrew" and you get this. Ok, at least we see some consistency there! Here is the first verb we saw in Morfix - לְהִתְכַּוֵּן! We have the answer, then, the answer is – לְהִתְכַּוֵּן! Right?
Well... Yes… and no. ????
This time – let me walk you through "the word hunt"!
First search Morfix for the word "mean" – what does it tell you? Many meanings, and nothing really makes sense… The first thing you see it's the adjective "mean" – like "nasty", not nice. Then the noun "mean" like in "means for a living." And then – then comes the verb, finally! It is what we were searching for! But… there are several verbs, and several expressions, which is which, which is used when?
Next step – we realize that we can't go without some context here! For that purpose – let's use Reverso! Just type in Google "reverso I mean it Hebrew" and you get this. Ok, at least we see some consistency there! Here is the first verb we saw in Morfix - לְהִתְכַּוֵּן! We have the answer, then, the answer is – לְהִתְכַּוֵּן! Right?
Well... Yes… and no. ????
On the "yes" side, here is an example:
לֹא הִתְכַּוַּנְתִּי לִקְנוֹת אֶת זֶה, זֶה פָּשׁוּט יָצָא כָּכָה. I didn't mean to buy it, it just turned out this way.
And here is another example – watch very closely how it is used!
לֹא, זֶה לֹא מָה שֶׁרָצִיתִי לְהַגִּיד, הִתְכַּוַּנְתִּי לְמַשֶּׁהוּ אַחֵר! No, this is not what I wanted to say, I meant something else!
Did you notice? We say, literally, "we meant TO something else!
Yes, it is one of those verbs that have a preposition in Hebrew, when in English there is none.
So, to say "… and I mean it!" would sound like – "… and I mean TO it!" - וַאֲנִי מִתְכַּוֵּן לְזֶה! …
How can we make it into a "what do you mean?" question, then? Since we have a preposition there, literally translated in English it would sound like "to what do you mean" – לְמָה אַתָּה מִתְכַּוֵּן? * (*Be sure to pronounce it correctly – it's LE-MA, and not LAMA. ;) )
לֹא הִתְכַּוַּנְתִּי לִקְנוֹת אֶת זֶה, זֶה פָּשׁוּט יָצָא כָּכָה. I didn't mean to buy it, it just turned out this way.
And here is another example – watch very closely how it is used!
לֹא, זֶה לֹא מָה שֶׁרָצִיתִי לְהַגִּיד, הִתְכַּוַּנְתִּי לְמַשֶּׁהוּ אַחֵר! No, this is not what I wanted to say, I meant something else!
Did you notice? We say, literally, "we meant TO something else!
Yes, it is one of those verbs that have a preposition in Hebrew, when in English there is none.
So, to say "… and I mean it!" would sound like – "… and I mean TO it!" - וַאֲנִי מִתְכַּוֵּן לְזֶה! …
How can we make it into a "what do you mean?" question, then? Since we have a preposition there, literally translated in English it would sound like "to what do you mean" – לְמָה אַתָּה מִתְכַּוֵּן? * (*Be sure to pronounce it correctly – it's LE-MA, and not LAMA. ;) )
"What does it mean?"
Now, there is one very important nuance to the "mean" verb. As we all know, the magic of the Hebrew language happens in its root system (and we admire it, don't we? 😉)
The root of the verb לְהִתְכַּוֵּן is same as כִּוֵּן – direction, or כַּוָּנָה – aim, intention.
So, actually, saying "I mean it" is as if we said "I aim to it" (which totally explains the "to" preposition!)
But what happens if we want to say "what does it mean?" The "it" is not a living thing, it has no intentions or goals! Which means that… in this case we cannot use the לְהִתְכַּוֵּן verb! So, what do we do?
Good news – we have a very easy idiom to express it!
Bad news – don't read it literally, it's misleading if you do!
What is this idiom? It has two versions (used interchangeably and it makes absolutely no difference which one you use!):
מָה זֶה אוֹמֵר? or מָה זֹאת אוֹמֶרֶת?
Now, there is one very important nuance to the "mean" verb. As we all know, the magic of the Hebrew language happens in its root system (and we admire it, don't we? 😉)
The root of the verb לְהִתְכַּוֵּן is same as כִּוֵּן – direction, or כַּוָּנָה – aim, intention.
So, actually, saying "I mean it" is as if we said "I aim to it" (which totally explains the "to" preposition!)
But what happens if we want to say "what does it mean?" The "it" is not a living thing, it has no intentions or goals! Which means that… in this case we cannot use the לְהִתְכַּוֵּן verb! So, what do we do?
Good news – we have a very easy idiom to express it!
Bad news – don't read it literally, it's misleading if you do!
What is this idiom? It has two versions (used interchangeably and it makes absolutely no difference which one you use!):
מָה זֶה אוֹמֵר? or מָה זֹאת אוֹמֶרֶת?
Examples:
מָה זֹאת אוֹמֶרֶת "אַתָּה לֹא יָכֹל" - אַתָּה חִיֵּב!
What do you mean "you can't" – you must!
אֲנִי לֹא מֵבִין מָה זֶה אוֹמֵר, אַתָּה יָכֹל לְהַסְבִּיר לִי?
I don't understand what it means, can you explain (it for) me?
מָה זֹאת אוֹמֶרֶת – אִבַּדְתָּ אֶת הַמַּפְתְּחוֹת? אֵיךְ נִכָּנֵס לַבַּיִת עַכְשָׁו?!!
What do you mean "you lost the keys"? How are we going to enter the house now?!
And here is a misleading example for you -
הִיא אוֹמֶרֶת שֶׁלַּעֲשׂוֹת טָעֻיּוֹת זֹאת לֹא אוֹמֶרֶת לִהְיוֹת טִפֵּשׁ - זֶה טִבְעִי לְגַמְרֵי
Here – be careful! One "אוֹמֶרֶת" is part of the expression, and the other really has the meaning of "to say"!
הִיא אוֹמֶרֶת - she is saying, זֹאת אוֹמֶרֶת - it means!
I know, it's totally confusing…:) Try rereading the sentences again – does it make sense now? It means:
"She is saying that making mistakes doesn't mean you're stupid - it's completely natural!"
מָה זֹאת אוֹמֶרֶת "אַתָּה לֹא יָכֹל" - אַתָּה חִיֵּב!
What do you mean "you can't" – you must!
אֲנִי לֹא מֵבִין מָה זֶה אוֹמֵר, אַתָּה יָכֹל לְהַסְבִּיר לִי?
I don't understand what it means, can you explain (it for) me?
מָה זֹאת אוֹמֶרֶת – אִבַּדְתָּ אֶת הַמַּפְתְּחוֹת? אֵיךְ נִכָּנֵס לַבַּיִת עַכְשָׁו?!!
What do you mean "you lost the keys"? How are we going to enter the house now?!
And here is a misleading example for you -
הִיא אוֹמֶרֶת שֶׁלַּעֲשׂוֹת טָעֻיּוֹת זֹאת לֹא אוֹמֶרֶת לִהְיוֹת טִפֵּשׁ - זֶה טִבְעִי לְגַמְרֵי
Here – be careful! One "אוֹמֶרֶת" is part of the expression, and the other really has the meaning of "to say"!
הִיא אוֹמֶרֶת - she is saying, זֹאת אוֹמֶרֶת - it means!
I know, it's totally confusing…:) Try rereading the sentences again – does it make sense now? It means:
"She is saying that making mistakes doesn't mean you're stupid - it's completely natural!"
Well, let it be the closing sentence for this newsletter – and I mean it! אֲנִי מִתְכַּוֶּנֶת לְזֶה! ;)
We are all human, and it means – זֹאת אוֹמֶרֶת - we are all making mistakes – and that's how we learn!
Happy Hebrew- learning for all of you,
See you next week – at the anniversary issue of our newsletter - #52!
Alisa
We are all human, and it means – זֹאת אוֹמֶרֶת - we are all making mistakes – and that's how we learn!
Happy Hebrew- learning for all of you,
See you next week – at the anniversary issue of our newsletter - #52!
Alisa
Tip #51
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