Pessach Seders Executed Here

First of all, with reference to my previous post: below, with my thanks, are comments and additions by my colleague Ruchie Avital:


Hebrew

English

במסגרת

Also possible if you can't work around it: in the context of.

פריפריה

Actually, the concept of center/periphery is not an Israeli concept. Google it and see.

הטבה, הטבות

And perks, extras and even freebees, register permitting.

לתת מענה

Also: address



As for the title of this post, it refers to my absolute abhorrence of the ridiculous Israeli tendency to overuse the words לבצע, ביצוע – levatze'ah, bitzu'ah.
The other day I noticed that the toy and stationery store around the corner displays a sign saying כאן מבצעים תיקוני אופניים – kan mevatz'im tikunei ofanayim – literally: bicycle repairs executed here. Why, oh why? Why not, simply, כאן מתקנים אופניים, for instance?...

And now, for today's batch of awkward words, not in table format because it's such persnickety work and takes forever. (If you know why a table created in Word does not appear as such when copy-pasted into Blogspot, speak now, or forever… no, you can speak later, too.)

Hebrew
גורם
English
Usually used in Hebrew as a blanket term to mean the person, party or agency involved, or in charge.
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Hebrew
לפנות, פניה, פניות
English
Conveniently unspecific in Hebrew, it may mean: to write, call, contact, ask, inquire, approach. Decide according to context.
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Hebrew
להעביר
English
As a letter, report, information, etc: Send, send on, forward, pass on to someone, submit
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Hebrew
מושקעת
English
(When applied to an apartment.) Grrr… hate that one. We all know what it means – owners put lots of money into the apartment to make it nicer and more comfortable, presumably. But without knowing what was done, how can you safely write "refurbished", "decorated" or "renovated"? Perphaps the owners meant merely "properly maintained"? Or "fully accessorized"? (With thanks to Ruchie.)
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Hebrew
קסום
English
Charming, enchanting, enchanted, magical – and a few other words available in your thesaurus. Not our fault that the word is overused.
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Hebrew
מפנק
English
On principle, I refuse to buy any product or service that is advertised as "mefanek" – just sick and tired of this adjective!
When translating, try to avoid "pampering" – it rarely fits the bill. Again: get out your thesaurus and find an adjective or two that can apply to the specific "mefaneking" item. If it's a body lotion or bubble bath, it can be sensuous, luxurious, rich. And so on. You get the idea.
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Hebrew
יוקרתי
English
Have you noticed how everything in Israel is "yokrati"? All apartments, cars, neighborhoods, appliances, dishes… you name it. Sounds like even if you wanted to buy a simple, modest item you wouldn't be able to find one.
Sometimes the literal translation – prestigious – works. Often it does not. Luckily for the Hebrew>English translator, we have so many adjectives at our disposal! Though do try to resist the temptation to write "pretentious" :-)
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Hebrew
עשיר
English
"Ashir" -- cousin of yokrati and mefanek. Sumptuous or lavish often work well.
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Hebrew
לעדכן
English
Le'adken. Beware of trap. Israelis often use this verb when all they mean is "inform". So don't automatically assume they really mean "to update".
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Hebrew
נחשפנו ל... תיחשפו ל...
English
Beware of overexposure! This verb, originally meaning to be exposed to, has been overused and has practically taken over in contexts where a simple, "old fashioned" verb would do just as well, if not better: We learnt about… we experienced… we saw for the first time… So don't squirm in an attempt to translate the word literally, thus exposing yourself to, er… criticism?