Lesson 79: Describing Your Town
“Where are you from?” naturally leads to “what’s it like there?” This lesson gives you the places in a town and the words to paint a picture of it.
What’s your town like?
אֵיךְ הָעִיר שֶׁלְּךָ?
eich ha’ir shelcha?
What’s your town like?
הִיא קְטַנָּה אֲבָל נְעִימָה.
hi ktana aval ne’ima.
It’s small but pleasant.
מָה יֵשׁ בָּהּ?
ma yesh ba?
What’s there?
יֵשׁ כִּכָּר יָפָה, כַּמָּה בָּתֵּי קָפֶה וּפַארְק גָּדוֹל.
yesh kikar yafa, kama batei kafe ufark gadol.
There’s a nice square, a few cafés, and a big park.
נִשְׁמָע מָקוֹם נֶחְמָד לָגוּר בּוֹ.
nishma makom nechmad lagur bo.
Sounds like a nice place to live.
Grammar: “there is” + describing a place
List what a place has with יֵשׁ (yesh, “there is/are”) + the places, and describe its character with adjectives joined by אֲבָל (aval, “but”) for contrast: קְטַנָּה אֲבָל נְעִימָה — “small but pleasant”.
Note the neat phrase מָקוֹם לָגוּר בּוֹ (makom lagur bo, “a place to live in”) — a noun + infinitive + a “in-it” word. Hebrew keeps that little בּוֹ (bo, “in it”) that English often drops.
Tip: בָּתֵּי קָפֶה (batei kafe) is the plural of בֵּית קָפֶה — a construct plural, “houses-of coffee” = cafés.
Vocabulary
Places in town
| כִּכָּר | kikar | square, plaza |
| פַּארְק | park | park |
| חֲנוּת | chanut | shop, store |
| בֵּית קָפֶה | beit kafe | café |
Describing it
| נָעִים | na’im | pleasant |
| שָׁקֵט | shaket | quiet |
| מָקוֹם | makom | place |
| לָגוּר | lagur | to live, reside |