11 Things You Didnt Know About The Hebrew Language

Hebrew is an ancient and unique language. Having survived centuries of history, it was finally revived as a modern language over 150 years ago, and today is spoken in Israel and beyond. As the language of the bible, Hebrew continues to fascinate and interest people around the world. We bring you 11 facts you need to know about the Hebrew language.

1. Hebrew is commonly considered to be a holy language (lashon hakodesh) – many ultra-orthodox will only use it for prayer.
2. Hebrew was originally a biblical language and after 2000 years was revived. It is now spoken as a modern language by over 9 million people. Although it was never actively spoken it never stopped being used as a written language.

3. After Israel, the United States has the second largest Hebrew speaking population (about 220,000 fluent speakers).
4. Hebrew is written right to left, but numbers are written left to right. The numbers used are exactly as in English, Arabic Numerals.
5. The Hebrew alphabet is an abjad, a writing system that lets the reader supply the appropriate vowel. Hebrew has vowels but they mostly aren’t marked – you have to know how each word is pronounced.

6. There is an official body that decides on new words for the Hebrew language called The Academy of the Hebrew Language, but very often its decisions aren’t followed. For example, shokoladai is the word for chocolatier, but nobody ever uses it.
7. Pure Hebrew words are always based on a three letter root word (sometimes four), but lots of non-Hebrew words have entered the language especially in the last 100 years. For example, the word for car is mechonit but people also call it an auto.
8. While the word bible is from the Greek, many Hebrew words from it have entered the English language. For example: hallelujah (praise God ), amen, mammon (money), satan and even abracadbra.
9. Hebrew is very close to Arabic – they are both Semitic languages. Although they have different scripts, they have parallel grammar systems and often similar words; for example, shalom in Hebrew is salam in Arabic (meaning both peace and hello).
10. Many words in Arabic are used by Hebrew speakers as slang words. For example, sababa (great) and mabsut (satisfied).

Eliezer Ben Yehuda Courtesy of WikiCommons/Tamarah

11. The Noah Webster of the Hebrew language is Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, who not only wrote the first Modern Hebrew dictionary but also raised the first only-Hebrew speaking children in 2000 years. His son Benzion didn’t utter a single word until the age of four, and his mom taught him Russian secretly. When Ben-Yehuda heard about it he fumed, and the kid started to speak.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.