When an Israeli tells you “al tid’ag,” or “don’t worry,” that’s when you should probably start to worry.

Guy Sharett teaches us how to talk about worrying – or making sure people don’t – and what else this root, דאג, has up its sleeve.

New Words and Expressions:

Al tid’agi, al tid’ag, al tid’agoo – Don’t worry – אל תדאג, אל תדאגי, אל תדאגו

Al tid’ag – Don’t worry – אל תדאג

Al tidagi li, ima – Don’t worry about me, mom – אל תדאגי לי, אמא

“Al tid’agoo li, aba, ani osa chayim” – Don’t worry about me, Dad, I am having fun – אל תדאגו לי, אבא, אני עושה חיים

Ein lach ma lid’og – You have nothing to worry about (f.) – אין לך מה לדאוג

“Mishehu do’eg li sham lemala” – Someone takes care of me up there – מישהו דואג לי שם למעלה

Mi Doeg lebirot – Who is taking care of the beer – מי דואג לבירות

De’aga – Concern, worry – דאגה

Al deaga – No worries – אל דאגה

“Ze seker mad’ig” – It’s a distressing poll – זה סקר מדאיג

Lehad’ig mishehu – To worry someone – להדאיג מישהו

“Ani lo mood’ag me-hafalastinim, ani moodag mehaisraelim” – I am not concerned about the Palestinians, I am worried about the Israelis – אני לא מודאג מהפלסטינים, אני מודאג מהישראלים

Mood’ag mi- – Worried about something (m.) – מודאג מ

Mood’eget mi- – Worried (f.) – מודאגת מ

Da’agan, da’aganit – Someone who is worried all the time – דאגן, דאגנית

Da’aganoot – Anxiety, worrying – דאגנוּת

Da’aganoot yeter – Over worrying – דאגנוּת יתר

Playlist and Clips:

Incognito – Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing

Aviv Geffen – Al tid’ag (Lyrics)

Pablo Rozenberg – Al Tid’agi Li Ima (Lyrics)

Ehud Banai – Kmo Tsipor Ve-sharah (Lyrics)

Ein lach ma lid’og – Uzi Fuchs (Lyrics)

Mishehu – Yehudit Ravitz (Lyrics)

Shelly Yachimovich – interview TV10

Amnon Dankner – interview TV2

Ha-haverim shel Natasha – Shnei Sipurey Ahava Ktsarim (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.

2 comments on “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing!

  1. Vladimir (Zeev) Zilberstein says:

    The list of new words and expressions in Episode #407 contains a Hebrew expression for “Words of Encouragement” containing word מילות.
    Of course, it meets the rule for feminine nouns in plural, with a number of exceptions, when we commonly use masculine endings such as (I thought) מילים instead of מילות. Even if I forget it, the famous song “Ben Yehuda”performed by Hava Albershtein with a refrain “מילים, מילים“ reminds me of this exception.
    I don’t know whether you already have an episode about these kinds of exceptions, but it might be a good idea to create one.
    You are doing a great mitzvah creating and updating Streetwise Hebrew episodes. תודה רבה

    Brookline, MA

    1. Guy Sharett says:

      Thanks so much for your kind words!

      I’ll add your idea to the list.

      Lehit,

      Guy

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