The Hebrew word צחוק means laughter. We combine צחוק with different verbs and prepositions to express how hard we laughed at something or just how funny something is. But as is often the case with Hebrew slang, when used in the right context, and with the appropriate intonation and word-pairing, the word צחוק can be no laughing matter.

The word שרוף means burnt, and its root takes us on an exciting semantic road trip, everything from a burning sensation to diehard football fans, seared vegetables to wasting time and money.

The Hebrew word קטן looks small but its root holds a large number of slang expressions and verbs. Here’s an example: what does קטן עליי, literally “small on me,” mean in slang?

Sometimes we just gotta be honest with ourselves and say, “אני לא סובל אותו” (I can’t stand him). Guy explains the Hebrew root סבל, which means suffering or misery, and how it is linked to muscular endurance, horrible traffic jams and passive verbs.

Is it okay to save an open parking spot for someone, shooing away other drivers? Well, that’s what many Tel-Avivim do. It’s called לשמור חניה, and Guy explains the phenomenon.

The Hebrew words שומר, משמרת, שמירה, משמר, all come from the same shoresh, שמר. On this episode, Guy continues where he left off in the previous episode with the shoresh שמר

The Hebrew word שימור (shimur) is an interesting one. We use שימור to say canned goods, the preservation of historic buildings, and even customer retention. Guy explains.

In Hebrew, שירה means singing. It can also be used to mean poetry. It depends on the context. On this episode, Guy reviews the words that stem from the root ש/י/ר and several well-known phrases that make use of them

What do courage, poor acting, and pet adoption have to do with one other? They have the same Hebrew root אמצ. On this episode, Guy explains the word אומץ, courage, and its root

There are several confusing verbs in Hebrew. Some are even spelled the same. Be sure to follow along with the show notes as you listen. We wouldn’t want to cause any more confusion!