‘It’s Not You, It’s Me’: Non-committal Hebrew

“Let’s stay in touch,” “Something has to change,” “It’s not you, it’s me” – all languages have these disingenuous, non-committal and empty phrases. So how do we say them in Hebrew?

New Words and Expressions:

Ata achshav kvar lo muchan lehitchayev – You’re no longer ready to commit – אתה עכשיו כבר לא מוכן להתחייב

Mechuyavoot – Commitment – מחוייבות

Chayav – Must – חייב

Mashehu chayav lehishtanot – Something got to change – משהו חייב להשתנות

Ani chayav lalechet – I must go – אני חייב ללכת

Kama ani chayav / chayevet lecha? – How much do I owe you? – כמה אני חייב/חייבת לך

Nir’eh – We’ll see – נראה

Nedaber me-halev – We’ll talk from the heart – נדבר מהלב

Az nedaber – We’ll talk – אז נדבר

Daber iti – Talk to me – דבר איתי

Nihye bekesher – We’ll be in touch – נהיה בקשר

Spontani? – Are you spontaneous? (=Are you free right now?) – ספונטני

Ani rotsa lifgosh otcha spontani – I want to meet you spontaneously – אני רוצה לפגוש אותך ספונטני

Ani spontani – I am spontaneous – אני ספונטני

Anachnu od nir’ee et ha-yamim ha-‘acherim – We’ll see different days – אנחנו עוד נראה את הימים האחרים

“Tsochakim et ha-aviv, ha-ahavot, ha-neurim ve’et ha-dvarim asher shachachnu kvar eich hem nir’im” – Laughing the spring, the love, the youth, and the things we’ve already forgotten how they look. – צוחקים את האביב, האהבות, הנעורים ואת הדברים אשר שכחנו כבר איך הם נראים

Playlist and Clips:

Sarit Hadad – Ha-ke’ev ha-ze (lyrics)

Shanti Mantra – Ravi Shankar & George Harrison

Yirmi Kaplan – Mashehu chayav lehishtanot (lyrics)

Shlomo Artzi – Nedaber me-halev (lyrics)

Sarit Hadad – Chosevet Alecha (lyrics)

Lahakat Pikud Merkaz – Ha-yamim ha-acherim (lyrics)

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