Learning Hebrew Through Songs 3

Learning Hebrew Through Songs 3 Posted by Ayana on Sep 8, 2020 in Uncategorized

Image via Pixabay

Songs are a great tool for learning language. You can practice vocabulary and syntax while humming fine tunes. We already enjoyed quite a few Hebrew songs in our blog – check out the related posts’ list on the bottom. Today I want to introduce you a famous children song.

The popular Hebrew nursery song called אֵצֵא לׅי הַשּׁוּקָה can help you learn Hebrew animals vocabulary. The first line of the song goes by the title: אֵצֵא לׅי הַשּׁוּקָה, meaning I’ll go to the market. In an Israeli market (שׁוּק) you will usually find vegetables, fruits, spices, candies and clothes. But the market mentioned in the song is different. The speaker goes to an animals’ market. He plans to buy several animals.

Every verse in the song begins with the line אֵצֵא לׅי הַשּׁוּקָה, and then a line telling which animal the speaker will buy, beginning with the rooster (תַּרְנְגוֹל), followed by the puppy (כְּלַבְלַב), kitty (חֲתַלְתּוּל), duck (בַּרְוָז), and donkey (חֲמוֹר). All the animals in the song are described as small (קָטָן).

Although small, together they make a great choir, and the speaker is already savoring their noises. The song, though, uses no verbs to describe the sound made by the different animals. Only the voices: אִי אָה (heehaw), גַּע גַּע (quack), מְיָאוּ (meow), הַב הַב (woof! woof!), and קוּקוּרִיקוּ (cock-a-doodle-doo). If you still wish to know: the donkey נוֺעֵר (brays), the duck מְגַעְגֵּעַ (says quack), the kitty מְיַלֵּל (yowls), the puppy נוֺבֵחַ (barks), and the rooster קוֹרֵא (crows).

The catchy rhythm consists of repetitions. Every verse begins with the same line אֵצֵא לׅי הַשּׁוּקָה. With every verse a new animal is joining. All verses are concluded with the line referring to the rooster: הוּא יְזַמֵּר עַד אוֺר הַבּוֺקֵר (he’ll sing until dawn).

Watch the animation clip from an Israeli television; lyrics below: