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Hebrew Colors Part 1: Introduction Posted by on Oct 10, 2016 in Uncategorized

Colors aren’t just adjectives. They are state of mind. Red is not only the color of the blood, it’s passion. Blue is not only the color of the sky, it’s clarity. Green it’s not only the color of the grass, it’s prosperity. No wonder colors are among the first words every language learner memorizes

And here are the colors in Hebrew:

English Hebrew Transliteration
White לָבָן La-van
Pink וָרֹוד Va-rod
Red אָדֹום A-dom
Brown חוּם Hom
Orange כָּתֹום Ka-tom
Yellow צָהֹוב Tza-hov
Light green יָרֹוק בָּהִיר Ya-rok ba-hir
Green יָרֹוק Ya-rok
Light blue תְּכֵלֶת Te-che-let
Blue כָּחֹול Ka-chol
Purple סָגֹול Sa-gol
Grey אָפֹור A-for
Black שָׁחֹור Sha-chor

 

Basic terms and rules

Color = צֶבַע (tze-va)

Colors = צְבָעִים (tze-va-im)

Light = בָּהִיר (ba-hir)

In the chart above there is light green יָרֹוק בָּהִיר. But one can add the adjective בָּהִיר to any color to describe a lighter shade. סָגֹול בָּהִיר, for example, will be lighter than just סָגֹול.

Dark = כֵּהֶה (ke-he)

The same rule goes with the opposite adjective of בָּהִיר –

כֵּהֶה.

כָּחוֹל כֵּהֶה  will be darker than just כָּחֹול.

 

Sentences for practice

אֲחוֹתׅי הַצְּעׅירָה הִיא בַּחוּרָה טִיפּוּסִית: הׅיא אוֹהֶבֶת אֶת הַצְּבָעׅים אָדֹום וּוָרוֹד.

A-ho-ti ha-tze-i-ra hi ba-chu-ra ti-pu-sit: hi o-he-vet et ha-tze-va-im a-dom ve-va-rod.

My young sister is a typical girl: she likes the colors red and pink.

 

לְאָח שֶׁלִּי יֵשׁ שֵׂעָר שָׁחֹור וְעֵינַיִים יְרוּקוֹת.

Le-ah she-li yesh se-ar sha-hor ve-ei-na-im ye-ru-kot.

My brother has black hair and green eyes.

 

לִכְבוֹד יוֹם הַהוּלֶדֶת שֶׁלָּהּ קָנִיתִי לָהּ שִׂמְלָה אֲרוּכָּה בְּצֶבַע תְּכֵלֶת.

Lich-vod yom ha-hu-le-det she-la ka-ni-ti la sim-la a-ru-ka be-tze-va te-che-let.

I bought a pale blue long dress for her birthday.

 

כְּשֶׁשָּׁחוֹר דּוֹהֶה הוּא הוֹפֵךְ לְאָפֹור.

Ke-she-sha-chor do-e hu ho-fech le-a-for.

When black fades it becomes grey.

 

אָדָם עִיוֵור צְבָעִים עָלוּל לֹא לְהַבְחִין בֵּין חוּם לְאָדֹום.

A-dam i-ver tze-va-im a-lul lo le-hav-chin be-ein hom le-a-dom.

Color blind people may not distinguish between red and brown.

 

מִכָּחֹול וְצָהֹוב יוֹצֵא יָרֹוק.

Mi-ka-chol ve-tza-hov yo-tze ya-rok.

Blue and yellow make green.

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Photo by Ayana

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Comments:

  1. cristina:

    ma bucur ca pot sa invat acum cu acest curs; nu este foarte usor dar ma descur!

    • Ayana:

      @cristina Take it step by step and it will be fine! Most important is to enjoy the way 🙂