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)
Arkadi Duchin & Meir Shitrit – Beit Kafe shel Dinozaurim (lyrics)
Assaf Amdurski – Ahava Hadasha (lyrics)
Arnon Tsadok interview – Hinuchit TV
Bar Mitzva (Erez Nehederet parody show)
Time Out Tel Aviv (Hebrew) about “Israeli Trash”
Gary Eckstein – Haya Li Tov (lyrics)
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