#10 Politeness in Hebrew
Streetwise Hebrew
TLV1 Studios
4.9 โข 1.1K Ratings
๐๏ธ 15 October 2013
โฑ๏ธ 7 minutes
๐๏ธ Recording | iTunes | RSS
๐งพ๏ธ Download transcript
Summary
People say that Israelis can sometimes be rude when speaking. Or are we simply too direct? Contrary to popular belief, we do have ways to be courteous in modern Hebrew. Want to know how? Bevakasha!
Check Out the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon
ย
New Words and Expressions:
Bevakasha โ Please, here you are โ ืืืงืฉื
Ani rotse cappuccino โ I want (I'd like) cappuccino โ ืื ื ืจืืฆื ืงืคืืฆ'ืื ื
"Hayiti rotsa cappuccino" โ I would like / I would have liked cappuccino โ ืืืืชื ืจืืฆื ืงืคืืฆ'ืื ื
"Aval tov, ah?" โ "But good, eh?" โ ?ืืื ืืื, ืื
Be-sheket โ Quietly โ ืืฉืงื
Bimhirut โ Quickly โ ืืืืืจืืช
"Vakasha, shalom" โ Thank you, goodbye โ ืืืงืฉื, ืฉืืื
"Nu vaksha" โ Come on, pleaaaaase! โ ื ื, ืืงืฉื
Sheket bevakasha โ Quiet, please โ ืฉืงื ืืืงืฉื
Lehikanes (be)vakasha โ Come inside please โ ืืืืื ืก ืืืงืฉื
Ani mevakesh/mevakeshet โ Could I have X โ ืื ื ืืืงืฉ/ืืืงืฉืช
Ani mevakesh lo laamod kan โ Please, don't stand here โ ืื ื ืืืงืฉ ืื ืืขืืื ืืื
Efshar levakesh mapit? โ Could I please have a napkin? โ ?ืืคืฉืจ ืืืงืฉ ืืคืืช
ย
Playlist and Clips:
Hana Laszlo & Eyal Geffen โ Bevakasha Zo Lo Mila Kashaย (lyrics)ย
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Shalom, it's me Guy with Streetwise Hebrew. |
| 0:03.0 | This week we are replaying an episode from our archive. |
| 0:06.0 | Patrons will find the brand new All Hebrew sister episode, |
| 0:10.0 | written and recorded this week on Patreon.com |
| 0:14.4 | streetwise Hebrew or in your podcast app through the private |
| 0:18.6 | podcast feed. As you may already know we started creating the All Hebrew episodes, starting with episode |
| 0:25.5 | number 181. |
| 0:28.1 | So once in a while, we go back into the archives and create the Hebrew versions for previous episode like this week. |
| 0:35.0 | Enjoy. |
| 0:36.0 | This is T.L. |
| 0:39.0 | 1. Streetwise Hebrew. |
| 0:48.0 | Hebrew. |
| 0:49.0 | Shalom, it's me Guy with Streetwise Hebrew. |
| 0:52.1 | On today's episode we'll talk about politeness in Hebrew. |
| 0:55.8 | When I told this to my French friend Bruno, he said, that's going to be the shortest |
| 1:00.6 | podcast ever. Well, wrong Bruno, contrary to popular belief we do have ways to be |
| 1:06.9 | polite in modern Hebrew. I remember once ordering a fruit shake in a fruit juice stand in Tel Aviv and I said to the woman behind the counter, |
| 1:25.5 | Shake bevakasha, please, she clearly felt it was a bit exaggerated because when she gave me the |
| 1:31.9 | juice she uttered |
| 1:33.2 | bevakasha as if I went over the top. |
| 1:36.0 | There's often no need to use the word bevakasha |
| 1:39.7 | and instead we use a polite intonation. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from TLV1 Studios, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of TLV1 Studios and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright ยฉ Tapesearch 2026.