Photo: Hadas Parush/ Flash90

Litpos in formal Hebrew and litfos more colloquially both mean ‘to catch’, but the word has a whirlwind of other meanings, like to comprehend, take up space, or think highly of someone. Guy nearly gets lost in the possibilities, and he even finds a Yiddish connection. But don’t take his word for it!

New Words and Expressions:

Af ahat lo tafsa et ha-makom sheli ba-lev shelcha – Nobody took my place in your heart – אף אחת לא תפסה את המקום שלי בלב שלך

Af ahat lo titpos et ha-makom sheli ba-lev shelcha – No one will catch my place in your heart – אף אחת לא תתפוס את המקום שלי בלב שלך

Titpos (form.), titfos (Coll.) – She will catch – תתפוס

Shum ahava lo titfos et mekoma – No love will take her place – שום אהבה לא תתפוס את מקומה

Titfos li makom leyadcha – Save me a spot next to you – תתפוס לי מקום לידך

At yechola litfos li makom leyadech? – Can you save a spot next to you? – ?את יכולה לתפוס לי מקום לידך

Al titfos oti ba-mila – Don’t take my word for it – אל תתפוס אותי במילה

Ma, od lo tafasta? – What, you still didn’t get it? – ?מה, עוד לא תפסת

Tafasti rosh al ha-bar – I was having a great time at the bar – תפסתי ראש על הבר

Tafasti merhak – I moved away – תפסתי מרחק

Tafasti otcha – Gotcha! (Tag, you’re it!) – !תפסתי אותך

Tafasti oto al ham – I caught him red-handed – תפסתי אותו על חם

Tafasti atsabim – I got angry – תפסתי עצבים

Tafasti ometz – I mustered the courage – תפסתי אומץ

Ze lakach la ktsat zman litpos et ha-inyan – It took her some time to get it – זה לקח לה קצת זמן לתפוס את העניין

Tafas tahat – He thinks he’s someone big – תפס תחת

Hu tofes alai tahat – He’s acting like my boss – הוא תופס עליי תחת

Tafas lo fraier / tafsa la fraier – He got himself a sucker / She got herself a sucker – הוא תפס לו פראייר /היא תפסה לה פראייר

Ha-shulhan tofes hatzi heder – The table takes up half the room – השולחן תופס חצי חדר

Lo hitzlachti litfos oto – I wasn’t able to catch a hold of him – לא הצלחתי לתפוס אותו

Tafasti monit – I got a taxi – תפסתי מונית

Ze lo tafas – It didn’t catch – זה לא תפס

Podkastim ze lo mashehu she-mamash tafas ba-aretz – Podcasts haven’t really caught on in Israel – פודקסטים זה לא משהו שממש תפס בארץ

Hi tofeset me-atsma – She thinks highly of herself – היא תופסת מעצמה

Ani ma-ze tofes mimena (Ani mahzik mimena) – I think really highly of her – אני מה-זה תופס ממנה, אני מחזיק ממנה

Hu ma-ze tofes me-atzmo – He really thinks highly of himself – הוא מה-זה תופס מעצמו

Yeladim mesahkim tofeset – Kids are playing “tag” – ילדים משחקים תופסת

Tafus – Occupied, taken, busy – תפוס

Slicha, ze tafus? – Is this (seat) taken? – ?סליחה, זה תפוס

Hitkasharti aval tafus kol ha-zman – I called but it’s busy all the time – התקשרתי אבל תפוס כל הזמן

Ze lo nitpas –Inconceivable – זה לא נתפס

Tfusa – Capacity, occupancy – תפוסה

Ahuzei tfusa – Occupancy rates – אחוזי תפוסה

Playlist and Clips:

Miri Massika – Af Ahat (lyrics)
Dudu Tassa – Ani Shar (lyrics)
Beit Ha-bubot – Shuv Ha-hiyuch (lyrics)
Shalom Hanoch – Tafasti Rosh al Ha-bar (lyrics)
Dana Berger – Lomedet La’uf (lyrics)
Eti Ankri – Milionim (lyrics)
Shai Haim – Tofeset Me-atsma (lyrics)
Kensiyat Ha-sechel – Tagidi She-tov (lyrics)

Previous Episodes

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2 comments on “Catch Me If You Can!

  1. Estelle says:

    I can’t find your text after
    Catch me if you can
    Tlv1.fm/swh?

    1. TLV1 Radio says:

      Hi Estelle. The Hebrew monologue is available on Patreon for supporters of the show: https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-171s-11454170

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