Lesson 113: Problems and Solutions
A useful B2 skill at work and in life: naming a problem clearly, then proposing a way out. This lesson gives you the vocabulary of difficulties and solutions.
A deadline problem
יֵשׁ לָנוּ בְּעָיָה עִם הַפְּרוֹיֶקְט.
yesh lanu be’aya im haproyekt.
We have a problem with the project.
מָה הַקֹּשִׁי?
ma hakoshi?
What’s the difficulty?
אֵין לָנוּ מַסְפִּיק זְמַן.
ein lanu maspik zman.
We don’t have enough time.
הַפִּתְרוֹן פָּשׁוּט: נְחַלֵּק אֶת הָעֲבוֹדָה.
hapitaron pashut: nechalek et ha’avoda.
The solution is simple: we’ll divide the work.
רַעְיוֹן טוֹב. כָּךְ נִתְמוֹדֵד עִם זֶה.
ra’ayon tov. kach nitmoded im ze.
Good idea. That way we’ll cope with it.
Grammar: the problem-and-solution frame
Name the issue with בְּעָיָה (be’aya, “problem”) or קֹשִׁי (koshi, “difficulty”), then introduce the way out with הַפִּתְרוֹן הוּא… (hapitaron hu…, “the solution is…”).
Two verbs carry this register: לִפְתֹּר (liftor, “to solve”) + a problem, and לְהִתְמוֹדֵד עִם (lehitmoded im, “to cope / deal with”) + a challenge. The proposed solution naturally takes the future (“we’ll divide…”, “we’ll cope…”).
Tip: לְהִתְמוֹדֵד עִם implies facing something hard head-on — stronger and more admirable than merely לִפְתֹּר (“to solve”).
Vocabulary
The problem
| בְּעָיָה | be’aya | problem |
| קֹשִׁי | koshi | difficulty |
| אֶתְגָּר | etgar | challenge |
The solution
| פִּתְרוֹן | pitaron | solution |
| לִפְתֹּר | liftor | to solve |
| לְהִתְמוֹדֵד עִם | lehitmoded im | to cope with, tackle |
| לְחַלֵּק | lechalek | to divide, share out |