Tip #52

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How to say it in Hebrew
Tip #52

I am often asked ...

How do I say "I wish" in Hebrew?

"I wish I were ..."

You want to say something like "I wish I could fly…" or "I wish I knew…" in Hebrew. You say "ani" and then you start thinking – "wait, how do I say 'to wish'?" רוצה?
But that's "I want"… Wait, don't try to remember the right word – it will not help you in this case!*
This one is an expression – and in has neither "I" and nor "wish"! You just say two words – הַלְוַאי ו-\ ש-
(And I did say "two" because it's important – HALEVAI is always followed either by VE- or by SHE-. They are interchangeable, but one of them must be there!)

Here are some examples:
I wish I knew where to look for it הַלְוַאי וְיָדַעְתִּי אֵיפֹה לְחַפֵּשׂ…
I wish I were you הַלְוַאי וְהָיִיתִי אַתָּה
I wish I was there… הַלְוַאי וְהָיִיתִי שָׁם כְּשֶׁזֶּה קָרָה
I wish you saw itהַלְוַאי וְרָאִיתָ אֶת זֶה!

For more practice - here is a beautiful song for you, called הַלְוַאי - https://www.gavisho.com/%D7%94%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%95%D...

*To wish something – like in "I wish you to meet the right person" "I wish you happiness" is מְאַחֵל
אֲנִי מְאַחֶלֶת לְךָ לִפְגֹּשׁ אֶת הָאָדָם הַנָּכוֹן. אֲנִי מְאַחֶלֶת לָכֶם אֹשֶׁר.

"I wish I could ..."

If it all sounds a bit too complicated – well, you always can say just "if I (only) could/knew/did/etc" –אִם (רק) יָכֹלְתִּי \ יָדַעְתִּי\ עָשִׂיתִי

Examples: אִם יָדַעְתִּי בְּעַצְמִי לֹא הָיִיתִי שׁוֹאֶלֶת אוֹתְךָ. If I knew myself I wouldn't have asked you.
אִם רַק יָכֹלְתִּי לָדַעַת לְאָן כָּל זֶה יוֹבִיל אוֹתִי. If I only could know where all this will lead me.

Or, if you want to add a hypothetical and a bit nostalgic vibe to it, a note of wishful thinking – use אִלּוּ instead of אִם -
אִלּוּ (רַק) יָכֹלְתִּי

Examples:
אִלּוּ רַק יָכֹלְתִּי לְהַחְזִיר אֶת הֶעָבָר If only I could bring back the past.
אִלּוּ הָיִינוּ מְדַבְּרִים בְּאוֹתוֹ יוֹם שׁוּם דָּבָר לֹא הָיָה קוֹרֶה אֵיךְ שֶׁזֶּה קָרָה. If we just talked that day nothing would have happened the way it did.
אִלּוּ רַק יָכֹלְתִּי לְשַׁנּוֹת אֶת הַנַּעֲשָׂה If I just could change what was done.

To add to it - it has a nice literary shorter form* of אִלּוּ – לוֹ – It means and is used absolutely the same, just it's more "bookish.":)

A very famous song using it is לוֹ הָיִיתִי רוטשילד from "The fiddler on the Roof." :)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us2mxGqKZSE

* Can't resist telling you here - since we already mentioned literary expressions - there is another beautiful way of saying it -מִי יִתֵּן ו… Literally it means "Who will give" - in English the closes translation is, probably. "may ....":

מִי יִתֵּן וָלֹא יִהְיוּ מִלְחָמוֹת בָּעוֹלָם May there be no wars in the world
מִי יִתֵּן וְתַרְאֶה רַק שִׂמְחָה וְאֹשֶׁר בַּחַיִּים May you see only happiness in life.

Well, dear readers, this is it!

מִי יִתֵּן וְתַמְשִׁיכוּ לִלְמֹד עִבְרִית, - may your Hebrew studies continue,
הַלְוַאי וְהַשָּׂפָה הַמַּדְהִימָה שֶׁלָּנוּ תָּבִיא לָכֶם עוֹד הַרְבֵּה רְגָעִים שֶׁל אֹשֶׁר! - I wish our wonderful language would bring still many more happy moments into your life!

With this, dear friends, we are closing a full year (52 weeks) of my Hebrew tips newsletter. I hope it helped you in your learning, answered some questions you've been asking – and some even before you thought to ask! ;)

With this – I pretty much have put all the explanations to the most burning questions down. (I mean - of course, there are more questions to be asked, always! Possible questions are endless! But I see that quite often now, when working with students, I already can say – "ah, by the way, I have a newsletter about it!")

Hope my newsletters helped you on your Hebrew-learning journey,
Stay in touch!
Alisa

Tip #52

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