Lesson 139: At the Bank
Handling a bank in Hebrew — transferring money, asking about fees, checking a balance — calls for a precise set of terms and the polite register of service interactions.
At the counter
שָׁלוֹם, בַּמֶּה אוּכַל לַעֲזֹר?
shalom, bame uchal la’azor?
Hello, how can I help?
אֲנִי רוֹצֶה לְהַעֲבִיר כֶּסֶף לַחֶשְׁבּוֹן שֶׁל חָבֵר.
ani rotse leha’avir kesef lacheshbon shel chaver.
I’d like to transfer money to a friend’s account.
בְּוַדַּאי. יֵשׁ עֶמְלָה קְטַנָּה עַל הַהַעֲבָרָה.
bevadai. yesh amla ktana al haha’avara.
Certainly. There’s a small fee on the transfer.
בְּסֵדֶר. מָה הַיִּתְרָה בַּחֶשְׁבּוֹן שֶׁלִּי?
beseder. ma hayitra bacheshbon sheli?
Okay. What’s the balance in my account?
רֶגַע, אֲנִי בּוֹדֵק.
rega, ani bodek.
One moment, I’ll check.
Register: the language of the bank
Two words anchor everything: חֶשְׁבּוֹן (cheshbon) — which you met as “bill”, and also means bank account — and יִתְרָה (yitra, “balance”). The core transactions form a tidy set:
| Hebrew | Romanization | English |
|---|---|---|
| הַעֲבָרָה | ha’avara | transfer |
| מְשִׁיכָה | meshicha | withdrawal |
| פִּקָּדוֹן | pikadon | deposit |
| עֶמְלָה | amla | fee, commission |
The service register is polite and slightly formal: בַּמֶּה אוּכַל לַעֲזֹר? (bame uchal la’azor?, “how can I help?”) opens almost every counter interaction in Israel.
Tip: The ATM is a כַּסְפּוֹמָט (kaspomat) — itself a coinage from כֶּסֶף (kesef, money) + “automat”.
Vocabulary
Accounts
| בַּנְק | bank | bank |
| חֶשְׁבּוֹן | cheshbon | account; bill |
| יִתְרָה | yitra | balance |
| כַּסְפּוֹמָט | kaspomat | ATM |
Transactions
| הַעֲבָרָה | ha’avara | transfer |
| מְשִׁיכָה | meshicha | withdrawal |
| פִּקָּדוֹן | pikadon | deposit |
| עֶמְלָה | amla | fee, commission |