Lesson 138: Trends and Statistics
News, business, and research all speak in numbers — what’s rising, what’s falling, what a survey found. This lesson gives you the language of data and change.
Reading the figures
לְפִי הַסֶּקֶר הֶחָדָשׁ, מִסְפַּר הַלּוֹמְדִים עָלָה בַּעֲשָׂרָה אָחוּז.
lefi haseker hechadash, mispar halomdim ala ba’asara achuz.
According to the new survey, the number of learners rose by ten percent.
לְעֻמַּת זֹאת, הַהוֹצָאוֹת יָרְדוּ.
le’umat zot, hahotsa’ot yardu.
In contrast, expenses fell.
הַמְּגַמָּה הַכְּלָלִית חִיּוּבִית.
hamegama haklalit chiyuvit.
The overall trend is positive.
מֻמְחִים צוֹפִים הֶמְשֵׁךְ עֲלִיָּה בַּשָּׁנָה הַבָּאָה.
mumchim tsofim hemshech aliya bashana haba’a.
Experts predict a continued rise next year.
Grammar: rising, falling, and “by”
The two core verbs are לַעֲלוֹת (la’alot, “to rise”) and לָרֶדֶת (laredet, “to fall”). The amount of change takes בְּ־ (be-, “by”):
- עָלָה בַּעֲשָׂרָה אָחוּז ala ba’asara achuz — “rose by ten percent”
- יָרַד בַּחֲצִי yarad bachatsi — “fell by half”
To contrast two figures, use לְעֻמַּת זֹאת (le’umat zot, “in contrast / on the other hand”), and to attribute data, לְפִי (lefi, “according to”) + the source.
Tip: The nouns mirror the verbs: עֲלִיָּה (aliya, “a rise”) and יְרִידָה (yerida, “a fall”) — the same roots, nominalized for headlines.
Vocabulary
Change
| מְגַמָּה | megama | trend |
| לַעֲלוֹת | la’alot | to rise |
| לָרֶדֶת | laredet | to fall |
| עֲלִיָּה / יְרִידָה | aliya / yerida | rise / fall |
Data
| נְתוּנִים | netunim | data |
| סֶקֶר | seker | survey, poll |
| מְמֻצָּע | memutsa | average |
Useful words
| לְעֻמַּת זֹאת | le’umat zot | in contrast |
| חִיּוּבִי | chiyuvi | positive |
| לִצְפּוֹת | litspot | to predict, foresee |