Photo: Zipa Kempinsky

An Argentinean architect listener of the podcast wrote to say that we had to do an episode about the word לבנות (livnot), which means to build. We don’t have it in us to tear down his hopes. So today we check out the root בנה.

New Words and Expressions:

Adrichal – Architect – אדריכל

Hu bana – He built – הוא בנה

Baniti – I built – בניתי

[Like kaniti, ratsiti, bachiti – קניתי, רציתי, בכיתי]

“Kan noladeti, kan noldu li yeladai” – I was born here, my children as well – כאן נולדתי, כאן נולדו לי ילדיי

“Kan baniti et beiti bi-shtei yadai” – This is where I built my house with my own two hands – כאן בניתי את ביתי בשתי ידיי

Harkada – Israeli dancing gathering – הרקדה

Ha-bonim ha-hofshiyim – Freemasonry – הבונים החופשיים

Bikoret bona – Constructive criticism – ביקורת בונה

Bné, bni, bnu – Build (Imperative) – בנה, בני, בנו

Bné betcha – Build your (own) home – בנה ביתך

Bniya – Construction – בנייה

Atar bniya – Construction site – אתר בנייה

Atarei bniya – Construction sites – אתרי בנייה

Betichut be-atarey bniya – Worker safety on construction sites – בטיחות באתרי בנייה

“Kablan, kshe-ata bona bayit, al taharos bayit acher” – Contractor, when you build a house, don’t destroy another one – קבלן, כשאתה בונה בית, אל תהרוס בית אחר

Bniyat atarim – Building websites – בניית אתרים

Bniyat bayit – Building a house – בניית בית

Bniyat beit ha-mikdash – (Re)building of the temple in Jerusalem – בניית בית המקדש

Bniyat tsipornayim – Nail building – בניית ציפורניים

Bniyat deck – Building a deck – בניית דק

Bniyat tabun – Building a tabun – בניית טאבון

Bniya yeruka – Green construction – בנייה ירוקה

Harigot bniya – Deviation from the construction permit – חריגות בנייה

Banui – Built (Past participle) – בנוי

Ani lo bnuya le-ze – I am not cut out for this – אני לא בנויה לזה

“Anu banu artsa livnot u’lehibanot ba” – We came to the land to build it and to be built – אנו באנו ארצה לבנות ולהיבנות בה

Holechet lehibanot po sifriya – A library is going to be built here – הולכת להיבנות פה ספרייה

Holech lehibanot po binyan gavoha – A tall building will be built here – הולך להיבנות פה בניין גבוה

Binyan, binyanim – Building, buildings / Verb formats – בניין, בניינים

Mivne – Structure, building – מבנה

Mivni – Structural – מבני

Shinuy mivni – Structural change – שינוי מבני

Banai – Builder – בנאי

Tavnit – Pattern – תבנית

Tavnit afiya – Baking pan – תבנית אפייה

“Ha-uga halcha ba-derech la-mesiba” – The cake was destroyed on the way to the party – העוגה הלכה בדרך למסיבה

Playlist and Clips:

Orna & Moshe Datz – Kan (lyrics)

Israel in Eurovision 1991

Atarei bniya – Construction sites

Ha-yehida 2 – Lo bnuya le-ze

Ha-gevatron – Anu Banu Artsa (lyrics)

Tavniyot afia – Baking Pans

Previous Episodes

Want to see more Hebrew gems? Like Streetwise Hebrew on Facebook and Instagram.

Want Guy to talk about a pressing Hebrew issue? Find him at StreetwiseHebrew.com or follow him on Twitter.

2 comments on “I’m Not Built For This

  1. Daniel Nevins says:

    I’d like to hear more about gender neutral innovations in Hebrew–you mentioned Haverimot, but there is much more–pronominal suffixes, verbs, etc. What is being tried in Israel?

    1. Guy Sharett says:

      I mentioned some examples in my talk for patrons, on https://www.patreon.com/streetwisehebrew
      I will think of mentioning them in new episodes.
      Toda for listening,
      Guy

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Listen on your favorite podcast app