Cafe Ivrit, Food, Israel
Cafe Ivrit: Hebrew Food Vocabulary
Where does Hebrew come from?
Hebrew dates to at least the 10th century BCE. After the Babylonian Exile in the 6th century BCE, Hebrew fell out of daily use. The revival of Hebrew was initially a very conscious effort, led chiefly by Eliezer ben Yehuda (1858-1922). In coining new words, he would first try to use Hebrew roots. However, where he failed to find a relevant root or where the result was awkward, he would turn to Aramaic or Arabic in search of a source word, due to their proximity to Hebrew. English vocab also entered the language because of British rule (1917-1948) and American cultural influence.
| ?…יֵשׁ | Yesh …? | Is / are there …? |
| ?… מָה הַמָּנָה הֲכִי | Mah hamanah hakhi …? | What’s the most … dish? |
| ?… אֶפְשָׁר עוֹד | Efshar ‘od …? | Can I get some more …? |
| ַּפְרִיט | tafrit | menu |
| ִסְעָדָה | misada | restaurant |
| קִנוּחַ | kinuach | dessert |
| צִמְחוֹנִי | tzimkhoni | vegetarian |
| חַם | kham | hot |
| קַר | kar | cold |
| טַעַם | ta’am | taste/flavor |
| טָעִים | ta’im | tasty/delicious |
| מָלוּחַ | maluakh | salty |
| חָרִיף | kharif | spicy |
| חָמוּץ | khamutz | sour |
| מָתוֹק | matok | sweet |
| זוֹל | zol | cheap/inexpensive |
| יָקָר | yakar | pricey/inexpensive |
| חֲטִיף | khatif | snack |
And for ordering coffee…
| הָפוּך | hafukh | flipped/upside-down |
use this for discussing espresso hafukh (~cappuccino) or cafe hafuch (~latte)
| בְּלִי סֻכָּר | bli sukar | without sugar |
| עִם חָלָב | im khalav | with milk |