In Case of Emergency, Call Streetwise Hebrew

Many things “happen” here in the Holy Land, which is why the root “kara” – ק.ר.ה – with all its derivatives, is so popular. Guy Sharett explains how it’s related to murder, earthquakes, and soy milk, and finishes with an anecdote (in Hebrew) about a lady called Carmela.

New words & expressions

Ma kara la-yeled – What happened to the kid – מה קרה לילד?

Ma kara, ma kara? – What on earth is going on? – מה קרה, מה קרה?

Ma kore achi – What’s going on dude? – מה קורה אחי?

Az ma od kore itach – So what else is happening with you?  – אָז מָה עוֹד קוֹרֶה אִיתָךְ

Ma kore im – What’s happening with – מָה קוֹרֶה עִם

Ma kara im – What happened to – מָה קָרָה עִם

Tagidi ma kore itach? – Tell me, what’s going on with you? – תגידי מה קורה איתך?

Ma le’azazel kore itcha? – What on earth is going on with you? – מה לעזאזאל קורה איתך?

Ze ma she-kara – This is what happened – זה מה שקרה

Ze lo kore li – This is not happening to me – זה לא קורה לי

Ze lo yikre shuv – This won’t happen again – זה לא יקרה שוב

Nu, ve-kara mashehu? – So, did something happen? – נו, וקרה משהו?

Mikre, mikrim – Case, cases – מקרה, מקרים

Ani gam kacha mikre avud – Anyway I am lost cause – אני גם ככה מקרה אבוד

Mikre katse – Edge case – מקרה קצה

Mikre cherum – Emergency – מקרה חירום

Be-mikre cherum – In case of an emergency – במקרה חירום

Mikrey retsach – Murder cases – מקרי רצח

Ani rotse lifgosh ota pit’om be-mikre – I want to meet her suddenly by chance – אני רוצה לפגוש אותה פתאום במקרה

Be-mikre – By chance, accidentally – במקרה

Ze kara be-mikre – It happened by chance – זה קרה במקרה

Yesh lachem be-mikre chalav soya? – Do you have soy milk by any chance? – יש לכם במקרה חלב סויה?

Le-mikre she – In case – למקרה ש

Be-mikre shel re’idat adama – In case of an earth quake – במקרה של רעידת אדמה

Mikri – Random – מקרי

Be-chol pgisha mikrit – On every coincidental meeting – בכל פגישה מקרית

Mikriyut – Coincidence – מקריות

Lach – Humid – לח

Siyut – Nightmare – סיוט

Amud – Pole – עמוד

Mit’osheshet – Recovering (f. sg.) – מתאוששת

 

Playlist and clips:

Matti Caspi – Yemei Binyamina (Lyrics)

Shtuyot she-israelim omrim – Nonsense that Israelis say

Moshe Peretz – Ma Kore Itach (Lyrics)

Ozi Zoltak – Afilu Lo At (Lyrics)

Meir Ariel – Pluga Ba-kav (Lyrics)

Arik Lavie – Haya o lo haya (Lyrics)

 

Want to see more Hebrew gems? Like Streetwise Hebrew on Facebook and Instagram.

Want Guy to talk about a pressing Hebrew issue? Find him at StreetWiseHebrew.com or follow him on Twitter.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Listen on your favorite podcast app

Join our weekly newsletter

Receive Our Latest Podcast Episodes by Email

(and not a thing more)