Lesson 137: The Art of Negotiation
Negotiation — over a salary, a price, a deal — has its own choreography in Hebrew: stating expectations, acknowledging the other side, proposing a compromise, and closing.
Negotiating a salary
אֲנִי מְצַפֶּה לְמַשְׂכֹּרֶת גְּבוֹהָה יוֹתֵר.
ani metsape lemaskoret gvoha yoter.
I expect a higher salary.
אֲנִי מֵבִין, אֲבָל יֵשׁ לָנוּ תַּקְצִיב מֻגְבָּל.
ani mevin, aval yesh lanu taktsiv mugbal.
I understand, but we have a limited budget.
אוּלַי נוּכַל לְהִתְפַּשֵּׁר בָּאֶמְצַע?
ulai nuchal lehitpasher ba’emtsa?
Maybe we can compromise in the middle?
זֹאת הַצָּעָה הוֹגֶנֶת. בּוֹא נַחְתֹּם עַל הֶסְכֵּם.
zot hatsa’a hogenet. bo nachtom al heskem.
That’s a fair offer. Let’s sign an agreement.
Register: the moves of a negotiation
Each line does a job. You state an expectation with אֲנִי מְצַפֶּה לְ… (ani metsape le…, “I expect…”). The other side acknowledges then pushes back with the classic אֲנִי מֵבִין, אֲבָל… (ani mevin, aval…).
The pivotal move is the compromise: לְהִתְפַּשֵּׁר (lehitpasher, “to meet in the middle”). You close by calling the offer הוֹגֶנֶת (hogenet, “fair”) and moving to הֶסְכֵּם (heskem, “an agreement”).
Tip: The whole activity is מַשָּׂא וּמַתָּן (masa umatan, literally “carrying and giving”) — the standard Hebrew term for “negotiation”, in business and diplomacy alike.
Vocabulary
Negotiating
| מַשָּׂא וּמַתָּן | masa umatan | negotiation |
| הַצָּעָה | hatsa’a | offer, proposal |
| לְהִתְפַּשֵּׁר | lehitpasher | to compromise |
| הֶסְכֵּם | heskem | agreement |
Useful words
| תְּנַאי | tnai | condition, term |
| הוֹגֵן | hogen | fair |
| מֻגְבָּל | mugbal | limited |
| לַחְתֹּם | lachtom | to sign |