Shtiya means drinking, but it could also mean beverages. In the last Israeli elections, political pundits spoke about shtiyat kolot, ‘votes drinking.’ What does it mean, and how did this saying make the jump from army slang to civilian slang?

In Hebrew dugma (דוגמה) is “an example,” and ledugma (לדוגמה) means “for example.” This root, d-g-m, is quite handy and from it we derive words and phrases like fashion model, sample, and the perfect husband.

How many followers (עוקבים) do you have on Facebook? What about Instoosh? Twitter? And what do high heels (עקבים) have to do with social networks? Well, not much except that they share a common Hebrew root. Follow closely as Guy talks about followers, following, follow up, and so much more.

We’re getting ever closer to elections day in Israel. Over the past few weeks, every time we turned on the news we heard politicians calling one another a liar. How do we say “liar” in Hebrew? How do we say “white lies?” Guy tells the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about the root “sheker” (ש.ק.ר).

It’s time we talk about our emotions, our feelings. On this episode, Guy sets aside his feelings to talk about the Hebrew root r-g-sh.

The Hebrew root מ.ש.כ (mashach) pulls together seemingly unrelated matters like gravity, ATMs, and the act of stalling for time. Mashach is highly resourceful and provides plenty of interesting uses and meanings. As always, Guy provides some serious slang insight.

How does the Hebrew language integrate foreign words into its vocabulary? And how do we Israelis manipulate English words, like coupons and cupcakes, in order to make them sound natural alongside native Hebrew words? Guy explains.

Shabbat (שבת) in Hebrew means Sabbath. In a religious context, it’s the time span between Friday afternoon and Saturday evening. In secular terms, it’s Saturday, the day of the week. So how do we tell them apart? Guy explains.

Lehipared (להיפרד) means ‘to break up’ but can also be used to say goodbye. The root פרד is your foundation for the words you’ll need to request the salad dressing on the side or to explain that you and a friend are paying separately.

Lachtoch (לחתוך) means ‘to cut,’ like when we cut onions. But in slang, this word and its root ח.ת.כ can be used in many ways to mean many different things. From ‘breaking up’ to ‘you clean up nice,’ or ‘a hunk‘ and ‘a hottie.’