The spring festival called Pesach celebrates the emancipation of the ancient Jews from slavery. These eight days of celebration are an occasion of joy for all people of the Jewish faith. If you have Jewish friends or relatives, you can impress them and earn a reputation as a true mensch by learning to say "Happy Passover" in their language.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Say "Happy Jewish Easter"
Step 1. To say "happy", use sameach
In Hebrew, the idea of happiness is expressed with the word simcha. To say "happy", as an adjective, sameach is used, a term derived from the noun.
The pronunciation is " sah-MEI-akh". Use the hard" k "sound, with guttural aspiration, do not use the Italian" ch ".
Step 2. Use "Pesach" for "Passover"
This is the traditional Hebrew name for this religious holiday.
"Pesach" is pronounced " PEI-sock". Again, he ends the word with a hard, guttural sound.
Step 3. Reverse the order of the words
In Hebrew, the words of a sentence do not always respect the order that you would expect in Italian. In this case, the adjective goes after the name, so "Happy Passover" actually becomes "Pesach Sameach".
To pronounce the entire sentence, combine the two pronunciations indicated above: " PEI-sock sah-MEI-akh". Congratulate yourself on learning a new Hebrew phrase!
Method 2 of 2: Other Things to Say
Step 1. If you wish, you can add chag before "Pesach sameach"
This is the traditional Hebrew word for "holiday" according to the scriptures. Saying "chag Pesach sameach" is the same as saying "Happy Passover holiday!". This is not a better or worse version than the previous one; it is simply an alternative.
- "Chag" is pronounced " KHAHG. "Remember to use a hard, throaty sound for the c.
- Some claim that "chag" is mainly used by Sephardic Jews.
Step 2. Omit "Pesach" and try to say "Chag Sameach"
This phrase literally means "Happy Holidays" and is similar to our "Happy Holidays".
You can use this phrase for almost any Jewish celebration, but it's best suited for Passover, Sukkot, and Shavu'ot, which are technically the only religious holidays. Chanukah and other feast days are considered, on the other hand, to be mere "holidays"
Step 3. Use "Chag kasher v'sameach" to make a good impression
This is an elegant way to wish someone happy holidays. The approximate meaning is "Have a happy and kosher party". In this case, you are referring to the Jewish concept of Kashrut (religious nutrition laws).
This sentence is pronounced " KHAGH kah-SHEHR vuh-sah-MEI-akh"." Chag "and" sameach "are pronounced as described above." Kasher "uses a light r sound pronounced at the back of the mouth, similar to a French r. Don't forget to insert a quick v before" sameach ".
Step 4. Try "Chag Kashruth Pesach" for a specific Passover greeting
In this case, the meaning is similar to "Happy Kosher Passover". The difference between this sentence and the previous one is a direct mention of Easter.
You can pronounce "kashruth" like "'kash-RUUT" or " kash-RUTH"- both dictions are acceptable. In both versions use the tip of the tongue to produce a slight r sound. This is a consonant similar to the Spanish r.
Step 5. Use "Happy Pesach" if you want to cheat
Can't learn the difficult Hebrew pronunciations described in this article? Try this alternative halfway between Hebrew and Italian. While this is not a traditional greeting, many Italian Jews use this handy "shortcut" during Pesach.
Advice
- The aspirated "kh" sound used in these sentences can be particularly difficult for an Italian to reproduce. Try listening to these pronunciation examples to hear native Hebrew speakers using that sound.
- This page contains an audio clip of "kosher", which explains how to pronounce the difficult r sound at the end of the word.
