The Hebrew word כוח means power, strength, or energy. Other than the frequently used saying, אין לי כוח, there are other words and expressions that we must cover, like “super powers,” “evil forces” and “gravity.”
Listen to the All-Hebrew Version of this Episode
New Words and Expressions:
Ten li koach – Give me strength – תן לי כוח
Yesh bi od koach – I still have strength – יש בי עוד כוח
Ein li koach – I don’t have the energy – אין לי כוח
Ein li koach elav/eleha – I don’t have energy for him/her – אין לי כוח אליו/אליה
Yesh lecha/lach koach liftoach et ze? – Are you strong enough to open this? – יש לך כוח לפתוח את זה?
Ein li koach le-mischakim – I don’t have the energy for games – אין לי כוח למשחקים
Mis’chakim shel koach / mis’chakei koach – Power games – משחקים של כוח, משחקי כוח
Hetsi ko’ach – “Half power”, disappointing – חצי כוח
Koach elyon – Force majeure – כוח עליון
Yishar koach – Good job, well done – יישר כוח
Yishar koach > shokoyach (Yiddish) – Good job – יישכוייח, יישר כוח
Koach ha-meshicha – Gravity – כוח המשיכה
Shatfu be-khol ha-koach – Share with all your might – שתפו בכל הכוח
Yipuy koach – Power of attorney – יפוי כוח
Kochot tsava – Army forces – כוחות צבא
Kochot mishtara – Police forces – כוחות משטרה
Kochoteinu – Our forces, our soldiers – כוחותינו
Ze lo kochot – It’s an uneven situation, a mismatch – זה לא כוחות
Be-kochot atsmi – On my own, by myself – בכוחות עצמי
Kochot-Al – Super powers – כוחות-על
Act kochani – Aggressive act – אקט כוחני
Kochanut – Aggressiveness – כוחנות
Koach adam – Human resources (HR) – כוח אדם
Kochot hashuk – Market forces – כוחות השוק
Be-kochot mechudashim – “In regained forces”, revitalized, recharched – בכוחות מחודשים
Ani mekave lachzor la-avoda achrei ha-hofesh be-kochot mechudashim – I hope to get back to work with renewed vigor after the holiday – אני מקווה לחזור לעבודה אחרי החופש בכוחות מחודשים
Kochot ha-resha – Evil forces – כוחות הרשע
Playlist and Clips:
Ariel Zilber – Ten Li Koach (lyrics)
Idan Raichel’s Project – Yesh Bi Od Ko’ach (lyrics)
Margalit Tsan’ani – Ein li koach le-mischakim (lyrics)
Ronit Roland – Ha-sipur (lyrics)
Yipuy koach – Power of Attorney
Meir Ariel – Laila Shaket Avar Al Kochoteinu (lyrics)
Einav Jackson-Cohen – Ze Lo Kochot (lyrics)
Itay Levy – Ba-sha’ot Ha-metot (lyrics)
Act kochani – An aggressive act
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Words and expressions are a unique gateway into a culture. Having known the expression, ‘Yesh li koack” for many years, I suddenly found my entire hebrew world expanded upon being introduced to the many ways the word ‘koach’ is used in every day language, songs, and the news, everything from ‘’power games’ to ‘Human Resources.’ Watching this clip gave me much more than I had bargained for. The songs are catchy and the news clip interesting. ‘Yesh li koach’ now because I can understand and use the word ‘koach’ in 10 new contexts!
Great, toda raba for your kind words.