We were all kids once, and at least in Israel, during the summer holiday, we used to tell our parents, mesha’amem li, I am bored. Answers varied, as you can imagine, but let’s talk for a sec about boredom-bored-boring in Hebrew.

New Words and Expressions:

Mesha’amem – Boring – משעמם

Mesha’mem li – I am bored – משעמם לי

Mesha’amem la’allah / me-sha’amem ticho / ma-ze mesha’amem – It’s so boring – משעמם לאללה / משעמם טיכו / מה-זה משעמם

Meshu’amam – Bored – משועמם

Shiamum – Boredom – שעמום

Shi’amum amiti – A real boredom – שעמום אמיתי

Ani met mi-shiamum – I am dying of boredom – אני מת משעמום

Eize shi’amum – How boring – איזה שעמום

Shi’amumon – A really boring thing – שעמומון

Mishta’amem – Getting bored – משתעמם

Matsati et atsmi levad mishta’amem li – I found myself alone getting bored – מצאתי את עצמי לבד משתעמם לי

Mechamem – Slang for ‘mesha’amem’ – מצ’עמם

Lehishta’amem – To get bored – להשתעמם

Shnuya be-mahloket – Controversial – שנויה במחלוקת

Al gvul ha-giz’anut – On the verge of racism – על גבול הגזענות

Hafla – Party (Arabic) – חפלה

“Haflizatsia” – Turning something into a party – “חפליזציה”

Playlist and Clips:

Ha-tarnegolim – Mesha’amem (lyrics)

Micha Shitrit – Mesha’amem (lyrics)

Teapacks – Eize Olam (lyrics)

Arkadi Duchin & Meir Shitrit – Beit Kafe shel Dinozaurim (lyrics)

Benzin – Yom Shishi (lyrics)

Assaf Amdurski – Ahava Hadasha (lyrics)

Arnon Tsadok interview – Hinuchit TV

Omer Adam – Bucharest

Bar Mitzva (Erez Nehederet parody show)

Time Out Tel Aviv (Hebrew) about “Israeli Trash”

Gary Eckstein – Haya Li Tov (lyrics)

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