Does it make sense to dedicate an entire podcast episode to… nothing? Yes, yes it does! The word כלום, which means “nothing,” often comes in the form of a double negative. Guy explains.

As part of our podcast’s 8th birthday celebrations, we are giving all Streetwise Hebrew podcast listeners $50 USD towards Ruben Adery’s full Hebrew pronunciation course. The course consists of 4 modules, 31 high-definition videos, and a bonus vowel audio course with 400+ common daily practice words.

New Words and Expressions:

Kloom lo noge’a bi – Nothing touches me – כלום לא נוגע בי

Kloom lo kore li – Nothing happens to me – כלום לא קורה לי

Kloom lo over oti – Nothing goes through me – כלום לא עובר אותי

Kloom lo ta’im me-az she-hu azav – Nothing tastes good since he left – כלום לא טעים מאז שהוא עזב

Ein li chuts mimech kloom – I have nothing but you – אין לי חוץ ממך כלום

Yesh ochel ba-bayit? Ein kloom – Is there any food at home? There’s nothing – יש אוכל בבית? אין כלום

At lo omeret kloom – You say nothing – את לא אומרת כלום

Amarta mashehu? Lo, kloom – Did you say anything? no, nothing – אמרת משהו? לא, כלום

Ma ratsita kodem? Kloom – What did you want before? Nothing – מה רצית קודם? כלום

Ani lo poched kvar mi-kloom – I am not afraid of anything anymore – אני לא פוחד כבר מכלום

Lifhod/lefahed mi-mashehu – To be afraid of something – לפחוד/לפחד ממשהו

Asiti aruchat erev mi-kloom – I made dinner out of nothing – עשיתי ארוחת ערב מכלום

At mitsa’eret al mashehu? – Do you regret anything? – את מצטערת על משהו

Lo, ani lo mitstaeret al kloom – No, I don’t regret anything – לא, אני לא מצטערת על כלום

Kloomnik, kloomnikit – A nobody, a loser – כלומניק, כלומניקית

Playlist and Clips:

Efrat Gosh – Kmo She-ze Haya (lyrics)

Keren Peles – kloom Lo Ta’im (lyrics)

Rami Kleinstein – Huts Mimech kloom (lyrics)

Dana Berger – At Lo Omeret kloom (lyrics)

Shlomo Gronich & Danny Robas – An’lo Poched Kvar Mi-kloom (lyrics)

Kibbutznikim – Kloomnik

Arik Einstein – Biglalech (lyrics)

Ep. 136 – Double negative

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