Lesson 103: Technology in Daily Life
Talking about technology lets you practise a structure you’ll use constantly: the relative clause — “the phone that I bought”, “the apps that I need”. In Hebrew it all hangs on one small word.
A conversation about screens
הַטֶּלֶפוֹן שֶׁקָּנִיתִי שִׁנָּה לִי אֶת הַחַיִּים.
hatelefon shekaniti shina li et hachayim.
The phone that I bought changed my life.
לָמָּה?
lama?
Why?
יֵשׁ בּוֹ אֶת כָּל הָאַפְּלִיקַצְיוֹת שֶׁאֲנִי צָרִיךְ.
yesh bo et kol ha’aplikatsyot she’ani tsarich.
It has all the apps that I need.
אֲבָל אַתָּה לֹא חוֹשֵׁב שֶׁאֲנַחְנוּ תְּלוּיִים מִדַּי בַּטֶּכְנוֹלוֹגְיָה?
aval ata lo choshev she’anachnu tluyim miday batechnologya?
But don’t you think we’re too dependent on technology?
אוּלַי. כְּדַאי לִמְצֹא אִזּוּן בֵּין הַמָּסָךְ לַחַיִּים הָאֲמִתִּיִּים.
ulai. keday limtso izun bein hamasach lachayim ha’amitiyim.
Maybe. It’s worth finding a balance between the screen and real life.
Grammar: relative clauses with שֶׁ
English uses three different words — that, which, who — but Hebrew uses just one: שֶׁ־ (she‑), attached to the next word.
| Hebrew | Romanization | English |
|---|---|---|
| הַטֶּלֶפוֹן שֶׁקָּנִיתִי | hatelefon shekaniti | the phone that I bought |
| הָאַפְּלִיקַצְיוֹת שֶׁאֲנִי צָרִיךְ | ha’aplikatsyot she’ani tsarich | the apps that I need |
| הָאִישׁ שֶׁגָּר כָּאן | ha’ish shegar kan | the man who lives here |
Don’t confuse it with the other שֶׁ־ from expressing opinions (“I think that…”). Same word, two jobs: linking a thought, or attaching a description to a noun.
Tip: מִדַּי (miday) means “too (much)”: תְּלוּיִים מִדַּי — “too dependent”.
Vocabulary
Technology
| טֶכְנוֹלוֹגְיָה | technologya | technology |
| מַחְשֵׁב | machshev | computer |
| אַפְּלִיקַצְיָה | aplikatsya | app, application |
| מָסָךְ | masach | screen |
| רֶשֶׁת | reshet | network, the internet |
Talking about it
| תָּלוּי | talui | dependent; it depends |
| אֲמִתִּי | amiti | real, true |
| מִדַּי | miday | too (much) |
| לִמְצֹא | limtso | to find |
Connectors
| שֶׁ־ | she- | that / which / who |
| בֵּין… לְ… | bein… le… | between… and… |