Lesson 14 - Let's Count up to a Hundred!

Hebrew Lesson Number 14:

Let's Count up to a Hundred!

Which bus should Eran take to get to the Old City? In This online Hebrew lesson, we will learn how to say the line number, count up to a hundred and the correct way of saying a phone number in Hebrew.

One thing that makes getting around Israel easier for both tourists and residents is its great bus system.  You can travel between cities and to almost any place within the cities just by hopping on a bus! be-yerushalayim, yesh otobus meyuchad.  In Jerusalem, there is a special bus, Bus 99, that can take you on a tour of all the major tourist and historical sites.  And they’ll even provide earphones so you can hear an explanation of each place.  (But only if you’re not already listening to Liat, Eran, and Jonathan, of course!)

אוטובוס כתום

Today, though, it seems Eran is just trying to get to the Old City, so perhaps he can get some help regarding which bus line to take.  As we listen to his conversation, we’ll have the opportunity to learn more about Hebrew numbers.  We’ll expand on what we’ve already learned about the different sets of Hebrew numbers, and we’ll learn why the feminine set is the one we use most often.  We’ll see that Hebrew has a word very much like the English suffix “-teen” that will help us get to twenty pretty easily.  Then in Lesson 14B, we’ll learn how to say the tens (ten, twenty, thirty . . . ) and count  in Hebrew,  all the way to a hundred!!

So, you must be wondering how to say Lesson 14 in Hebrew . . . or the Hebrew name for that special Bus 99 in Jerusalem.  Wonder no longer . . . to find out, tune in to Learn Hebrew Pod shiur mispar ________ (oops! almost gave it away)!!

Learn Hebrew Pod - Lesson No. 14

Team Conversation from the Lesson:

Jonathan:  shalom uvruchim ha-ba-im le-shi-ur mispar arba esre alef - hello and welcome to Lesson Number Fourteen A. Today we are about to have a very exciting lesson, listening to Liat and Eran’s conversation, We will continue learning the names of the numbers in Hebrew and no less important, which numbers to use and when…

As I said, we are going to listen to Liat and Eran’s conversation…BUT we do have a little surprise for you today!  Our Liat has gone on a short vacation in northern Israel and will be replaced today by her good friend and colleague, a wonderful actress whose name is also ...Liat! shalom Liat!  Thank you for joining us today! ma shlomech?

ערן, ליאת ויונתן

המורים שלנו לעברית בדרגת המתחילים

Liat:  shalom Yonatan!  ani margisha ne-hedar toda! - I feel wonderful and very happy to be here today, joining you for this Hebrew lesson!  It all seems like a lot of fun!  ma shlomcha?

Jonathan:  shlomi mezzu-yan and very excited to have you ‘on board’ for today’s Hebrew lesson. at makira et Eran? - Do you know Eran?

Liat:  ken kamuvan!  Yes of course!  shalom Eran, ma shlomech?

Eran:  achla!  a-halan Liat!  Great to have you here with us today!

המספרים אחד עד עשר

Jonathan:  sababa!  Let’s go ahead and start our Hebrew lesson for today. As we very well know, Hebrew uses different sets of numbers for different functions.

Liat:  Exactly! Since Hebrew uses different sets of numbers when counting feminine or masculine objects, it also uses corresponding sets of ordinal numbers, a set of masculine ordinal numbers and a different set of feminine ordinal numbers!

Jonathan:  Actually, we have already learned the feminine numbers.

Eran: Up to number twelve, when we discussed how to ask and say the time in audio/visual Hebrew lesson number 8.

מספרים על מחשבון

Jonathan:  And the ordinal masculine numbers,

Eran: Up to number seven, when we discussed the days of the week, in audio/visual Hebrew lesson number 5.  And up to number twelve when we discussed the months of the year in audio/visual Hebrew lesson number 9.

Jonathan: mezzu-yan. So what group of numbers are we about to continue studying today?

Eran:  It is very important to know, understand and memorize all of these sets of numbers which exist in Hebrew, but the most common and useful set is the set of feminine numbers, the same set we use for asking and telling the time.

זמן

Liat: This set of numbers is also used for unspecified numbers ...and by that…

Jonathan:  Okay, this is getting a little bit ‘unspecified’ for me. Maybe it is better to listen and review the dialogue you have prepared for us today, and then discuss its different aspects.

Liat: ken!

Eran: be-hechlet!

...

*Join the Hebrew Pod Beginner’s Learning Program and enjoy Eran and Liat’s “Let’s Count Up to a Hundred” Hebrew dialogue.

Some Grammar from This Lesson:

Numbers in Hebrew

Liat: Add to them the numbers one to nine.  In Hebrew though, we literally say ‘and’ between the tens number and the singular numbers one to nine.

Eran: ze nachon Liat! So in Hebrew, twenty-one is literally twenty and one. Twenty is esrim, one is achat, and is ve…twenty-one is esrim ve-achat. Twenty-two is, twenty and two, and in Hebrew – esrim ve shta-im.

Liat: Thirty-four is thirty and four, and in Hebrew – shloshim ve-arba, forty-five is forty and five.

Eran: And in Hebrew, arbaim ve chamesh

Jonathan: Excellent explanation!  Toda Liat ve Toda Eran. Let’s check the numbers we had in our Hebrew conversation, and see if they fit into our method. Liat, you have suggested that Eran use one of these numbers:

Liat: bediyuk. I suggested that Eran use mispar tsha esre, number nineteen. This number, as we learned, is a combination of number nine tesha, which has a slight declension and becomes tsha and the suffix esre. tsha esre –nineteen.

תשע עשרה

Eran: You also suggested number shloshim ve-shesh. shloshim is thirty, ve is and, shesh is six: thirty and six –shloshim ve-shesh – thirty-six.

Liat: Finally, I mentioned number shishim ve-shmone – shishim is sixty, ve is and, shmone is eight, sixty and eight - shishim ve shmone - sixty-eight.

שישים ושמונה

Jonathan: The last number you mentioned in your conversation was the frequency of these buses. You said:

הם יוצאים מהתחנה כל עשרים וחמש דקות

Jonathan: esrim is twenty, ve is and, chamesh is five. The buses leave the station every twenty-five minutes. kol esrim ve-chamesh dakot. 

Let’s refresh our memory regarding the function of unspecified numbers, which in Hebrew is performed by the feminine set of numbers.

The numbers of the bus lines Eran should choose from, for getting to the Old City, does not indicate how many lines there are….