שדה תעופה
sde te'ufa
The Hebrew word for airport is שדה תעופה (sde te'ufa).
שדה תעופה refers to a place designated for airplanes.
Meaning: place designated for airplanes (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
This is a compound noun. The first part, שדה, means field and the second part, תעופה, means aviation or flight, literally translating to field of aviation.
How does it change in a sentence?
שדה תעופה is a grammatically masculine noun. To express the plural form, airports, use שדות תעופה.
How do you pronounce it?
sde te'ufa
Did you know?
- Ben Gurion Airport, the main international hub, is often called נתב״ג for short. This is an acronym for נמל תעופה בן גוריון, meaning 'Ben Gurion Aviation Port'.
- The word שדה for 'field' has ancient roots in Akkadian, where the similar word šadûm actually referred to a 'mountain' or 'desert'.
- In Israel, the experience of arriving at the שדה תעופה is culturally linked to the 'airport greeting', where large groups of family members gather to welcome a traveler.
Example conversation
Noa and Itay are discussing their travel plans.
- נועה Noaמתי אנחנו נוסעים לשדה תעופה?matai anachnu nos'im le-sde te'ufa?When are we leaving for the airport?
- איתי Itayנעזוב את הבית בעוד שעה.na'azov et ha-bayit be-od sha'a.We will leave the house in an hour.
- נועה Noaאתה בטוח שזה מספיק זמן?ata batuach she-ze maspik zman?Are you sure that is enough time?
- איתי Itayכן, שדה תעופה לא רחוק מכאן.ken, sde te'ufa lo rachok mikan.Yes, the airport is not far from here.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries שדה, שדה תעופה, CC BY-SA 4.0.
