Learn, Practice, and Perfect Your Hebrew: For When You're Feeling Bummed Out
There’s a perfect expression in English for this feeling of let-down and disappointment, mixed in with some mild annoyance: bummer. Such was my prevailing sentiment when I spilled coffee all over myself this morning. The Hebrew equivalent is basa, a majorly toned down version of an Arabic word meaning poverty, famine, torture, misery, war, catastrophe, etc. Instances of bummer-ness, which, in fairness, transcends culture and language, is the focus on today’s StreetWise Hebrew podcast called “Learning Hebrew Doesn’t Have to Be a Bummer.” During this episode, host Guy Sharrett goes over some ways to talk about being bummed out, annoyed, or pissed off.
The episode kicks off with a bit of Cohen@Mushon’s song “Basa,” which has the refrain eize basa, or “what a bummer.” (The accompanying music video, with its scenes of partying youth, doesn’t seem to be much of a bummer at all.) Another song used in the episode is Ha-Dag Nachash’s “Lazuz,” which gives us mevo’as, another word for feeling bummed or annoyed, as in ze lo meshane she-chavera shelcha mevo’eset, meaining “it doesn’t make a difference that your girlfriend is bummed.”