You’ve got your friends. What if they want to invite you to dinner at their home? Or maybe to a party? Well, let’s find out if that’s what is going on – you don’t want to miss out on the fun and being with friends, right?
Let’s get together! – בּוֹאוּ נִיפָּגֵשׁ
In this post you’ll find multiple phrases – don’t be scared, it’s just a matter of gender. In fact, if you compare them, you’ll see that all you need to do is change an ending (usually just the vowel sounds). Take a look:
I’d like to invite you for a meal – אֲנִי רוֹצֶה לְהַזְמִין אוֹתְךָ לַאֲרוּחָה.
This phrase is being spoken by a man inviting a man to a meal. Look closely at the entire sentence, we’re going to make a comparison in a moment. If the man wants to invite a woman to a meal, he would say:
I’d like to invite you for a meal – אֲנִי רוֹצֶה לְהַזְמִין אוֹתָךְ לַאֲרוּחָה.
Now let’s compare this sentence to the previous one. can you see any differences in them? The only one I see is the endings of the word “אותך (you)”. In the first sentence it ends in “ךָ” and in the second one it’s “ָךְ”. This is how you’d say “you” in Hebrew depending on whether you’re speaking to a man (אוֹתְךָ) or a woman (אוֹתָךְ). Otherwise, a consonant sound at the end of a word is usually used for the masculine gender, while the feminine gender uses an “-ah” or “-et” or “-it” sound.
The thing about Hebrew is that when written, the niqud are not normally written in. So how would you know to pronounce אותך as oh-TAKH or oht-KHAH when it’s written? This is where you’ll need to pay attention to the context of the sentence. That’s your only indication. But the more you practice reading Hebrew, the better you’ll get at recognizing these differences and using them appropriately.
POP QUIZ! Here’s a way to invite a group of people out to a meal. Can you find how this is indicated and what ending is used?
אֲנִי רוֹצֶה לְהַזְמִין אֶתְכֶם לַאֲרוּחָה.
Now that we know gender plays a role in Hebrew, what if a woman wants to do the inviting? The word אותך does not change…I mean, it’s used the same as I showed you above – אוֹתָךְ when speaking to a woman and אוֹתְךָ when speaking to a man. The only other change in this phrase is with the word רוצה. When a man is saying “I want…” he says רוֹצֶה (ro-TSEH), whereas when a woman uses this word, the vowel sound changes so it’s pronounced רוֹצָה (ro-TSAH). Let’s look at the sentences again, but from a woman’s viewpoint:
I’d like to invite you for a meal – אֲנִי רוֹצָה לְהַזְמִין אוֹתְךָ לַאֲרוּחָה.
I’d like to invite you for a meal – אֲנִי רוֹצָה לְהַזְמִין אוֹתָךְ לַאֲרוּחָה.
I’d like to invite you for a meal – אֲנִי רוֹצָה לְהַזְמִין אֶתְכֶם לַאֲרוּחָה.
So you see how just a small change in the vowel sounds can make a whole new meaning. So now that you’re invited, how excited are you to go? This is what you’d say:
(men say this) I can’t wait! – אֲנִי לוֹא יָכוֹל לְחַכּוֹת!
(women say this) I can’t wait! – אֲנִי לוֹא יְכוֹלָה לְחַכּוֹת!
Here’s a little more formal way of saying it:
I’m looking forward to it! – אֲנִי מְצַפֶּה לְכָךְ בְּכִילָּיוֹן עֵינַיִים.
When invited to another’s home, there are a few things you’ll need to keep in mind to make that great first impression. In the next post we’ll look at what to say and do when arriving at the person’s home. אוֹ קֵיי?
See you then! – לְהִתְרָאוֹת!
Picture: http://uri.hillel.org/home.aspx
