Word of the day: נר - candle – Hebrew conjugation tables

The חֲנְכָּה ~ הנוכה Chanuka is ongoing!

The Hebrew word for a candle is נֵר ner. It is related to the word נוּר nur "light", which is rarely used in Hebrew (usually, אוֹר or is used instead), but is more prominent in Arabic.

Below are the lyrics (the Hebrew part) of Israel's Eurovision song of 2002, נַדְלִיק בְּיַחַד נֵר nadlik be-yachad ner "Let's like a candle together", composed by צביקה פיק‎‎ Tzvika Pik (music) and יואב גינאי Yoav Ginai (lyrics) and performed by שרית חדד Sarit Chadad. Scroll down for the video.

לִפְעָמִים נִדְמֶה שֶאֵין תִּקְוָה

Lif'amim nidme she-ein tikva

Sometimes it seems that there is no hope

וְהַכֹּל נִרְאֶה כָּל כָּךְ אָפֵל וְלֹא יָדוּעַ.

Ve-ha-kol nir'e kol-kach afel ve-lo yadua.

And everything looks so dark and strange.

הַפְּרָחִים עוֹד לֹא פָּרְחוּ בַּגַּן וּבַשָּׂדֶה,

Ha-prachim od lo parchu ba-gan u-va-sade,

The flowers have not yet blossomed in the garden and in the field,

וּבָעֶרֶב רַק מַכָּה הָרוּחַ.

U-va-erev rak maka ha-ruach.

And only the wind blows in the evening.

Literally, the wind "hits" or "strikes": מַכָּה maka is a present tense form of the verb לְהַכּוֹת lehakot "to hit".

אָז בּוֹאוּ וְנַדְלִיק בְּיַחַד נֵר!

Az bo'u ve-nadlik be-yachad ner!

So let's light a candle together!

The form of the verb לָבוֹא lavo is used here in the sense "let us", see one of our previous posts for an explanation.

לִפְעָמִים נִרְאֶה שֶהַמָּחָר

Lif'amim nir'e she-ha-machar

Sometimes it seems that tomorrow

לֹא יָבִיא כָּל נֶחָמָה לַבֶּכִי וְלַצַּעַר,

Lo yavi kol nechama la-bechi ve-la-tza'ar,

Won't bring any consolation against the cry and the sadness,

וְהַלַּיְלָה הָאָרֹךְ נִמְשָׁךְ בְּלִי הַבְטָחָה,

Ve-ha-laila ha-aroch nimshach bli havtacha,

And the long night lasts without assurance,

וְהַאֲפֵלָה חַדָּה כָּתַעַר.

Ve ha-afela chada ka-ta'ar.

And the darkness is sharp as a razor.

אָז בּוֹאוּ וְנַדְלִיק בְּיַחַד נֵר!

Az bo'u ve-nadlik be-yachad ner!

So let's light a candle together!

The plural of נר is נֵרוֹת nerot. Note that while most nouns with this plural ending are feminine, the word נר is masculine: הנרות בוערים ha-nerot bo'arim "the candles are burning".

That's all for now. All the best, shabbat shalom and have a good financial year!

Word of the day: נר - candle

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