Some people claim that Hebrew is the mother of all languages. No matter what its history or origin, Hebrew, a language that has its origins in the Fertile Crescent, has crept into North American–spoken English. And this process works in reverse too, as many English words and phrases have crept into the Hebrew language. Interestingly enough — while you as an English speaker may identify these words as “English,” some of these words derive from Italian and French, which shows the universality of certain words.

If you’ve ever been to a synagogue or had a bit of Jewish education, you probably already know a little Hebrew. But even if you’ve never walked through a synagogue’s door or studied anything Jewish, you still probably know some Hebrew words. For example, you have probably heard the word amen. That word is Hebrew! “Amen” comes from a word meaning faith or belief and people usually say it at the end of a prayer. And the word Hallelujah? Hebrew again! The word literally means, “Praise God.” Even the word alphabet derives from the Hebrew words for the first two letters of its alphabet, aleph א and בּ bet.

Of course, you may have heard of other Jewish words, such as שלפּ shlep (to drag or pull) and קוטש kv-ehch (to complain), that are actually Yiddish, that are also a part of the Israeli vernacular today. You may never even have thought about other words that have Hebrew roots. For example, did you know that cinnamon is a derivative of the Hebrew word קִנָּמוֹן (kee-nah-mohn) which appears in the Biblical book, The Song of Songs?

There are lots of words that you can find that don’t require too much effort – other than being able to read the alphabet. Here’s a listing of words that are found in Hebrew that are borrowed from English:

avocado – אָבוֹקָדוֹ – ah-voh-kah-doh

banana – בָּנָנָה – bah-nah-nah

bank – בַּנְק – bahnk

cafe – קָפֶה – cah-feh

camel – גָּמָל – gah-mahl

cello – צֶ’לוֹ – cheh-loh

chips (french fries) –צִ’יפְּס – cheeps

chocolate – שׁוֹקוֹלָד – sho-ko-lahd

Coca Cola – – ko-ka-ko-la

coffee – קָפֶה – cah-feh

concert – קוֹנְצֶרְט – kohn-tsert

electronics – אֶלֶקְטְרוֹנִיקָה – eh-lehk-trohn-eekah

hamburger – הַמְבּוּרְגֶּר – hahm-boor-gehr

internet – אִינְטֶרְנֶט – een-tehr-neht

ketchup – קֶטְשׁוֹפּ – kehch-ohp

kiosk – קְיוֹסְק – kee-osk

macaroni – מָקָרוֹנִי – mah-kah-roh-nee

margarine – מַרְגָּרִינָה – mahr-gahr-ee-nah

mathematics – מָתֶמָטִיקָה – mah-teh-mah-tee-kah

mayonnaise – מָיוֹנֶז – mah-yoh-nehz

mint – מִנְתָּה – meen-tah

museum – מוּזֵאוֹן – moo-zeh-ee-ohn

music – מוּזִיקָה – moo-zee-kah

okay – אוֹ קֵי – okay

pizza – פִּיצָה – pee-tsah

politics – פּוֹלִיטִיקָה – poh-lee-tee-kah

professor – פְּרוֹפֶסוֹר – proh-fess-ohr

radio – רַדְיוֹ – rah-dee-oh

salad – סָלָט – sah-laht

sandwich – סֶנְדְּוִיץ – sehnd-veech

student – סְטוּדֶנְט – stoo-dent

sugar – סֻכָּר – soo-khahr / soo-kahr

supermarket – סוּפֶּרְמַרְקֶט – soo-pehr-mahr-keht

tea – תֵּה – teh

telephone – טֶלֶפוֹן – teh-leh-fohn

television – טֶלֶוִיזְיָה – teh-leh-vee-zee-yah

theater – תֵּאַטְרוֹן – teh-aht-rohn

university – אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה – oo-nee-vehr-sii-teh

video – וִידֵאוֹ – vee-deh-oh

zoology – זוֹאוֹלוֹגְיָה – zoh-oh-loh-gee-ah

The Academy for Hebrew Language, (the institute responsible for creating Modern Hebrew words), did create an authentic Hebrew word for the telephone. The academy called the telephone a Sach-Rachok (sahch-rahchohk), which put together the words for conversation and long distance. So telephone translated as “long-distance conversation.” Pretty clever, huh? However this word didn’t stick with the Israeli public. So טֶלֶפוֹן is staying around for a little while.

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