לתעב
leta'ev
To despise in Hebrew is לתעב (leta'ev).
The verb לתעב means to despise or abhor. It carries a very strong connotation of loathing or abhorrence, often used in literary or formal contexts to describe a deep-seated disgust.
Meaning: to regard with contempt or scorn (verb)
How does it change in a sentence?
The infinitive form is לתעב (leta'ev). The second person masculine singular future tense of לתעב is תתעב (tit'av). The noun form derived from this root is תועבה (to'avah), which means an abomination or something loathsome.
How do you pronounce it?
leta'ev
Did you know?
- While לתעב expresses a deep loathing, in modern spoken Hebrew, people often use the word שונא (shone'a), meaning 'hate', for everyday dislikes because לתעב sounds almost biblical.
- The noun form תועבה (to'avah) is most famously used in the Hebrew Bible to describe things that are not just unpleasant, but spiritually or morally forbidden.
- The root of the word, ת-ע-ב, is also related to the concept of 'rejection' or 'being shunned' in ancient Semitic contexts.
Examples in context
- אני שוֹנֵא את חום הקיץ.I despise the summer heat.
Example conversation
Noa and Ido are discussing a dishonest person.
- נועה Noaאני פשוט לתעב אנשים שמרמים.Ani pashut lit'av anashim she-meramim.I simply despise people who cheat.
- עידו Idoאני מסכים איתך, נועה.Ani maskim itakh, Noa.I agree with you, Noa.
- נועה Noaזה הופך את הכל לקשה יותר.Ze hofekh et hakol lekhashe yoter.It makes everything harder.
- עידו Idoבאמת, זה פשוט מגעיל.Be'emet, ze pashut magi'il.Truly, it is just disgusting.
