תן לי
ten li
In Hebrew, 'give me' is expressed as תן לי (ten li).
Meaning: expression of preference (verb)
How does it change in a sentence?
The form תן לי is masculine. Use תני לי when addressing a female. Use תנו לי when addressing a group of people. The phrase תן לי is in the imperative mood, making it a direct command.
How do you pronounce it?
ten li
What mistakes should you avoid?
In casual spoken Hebrew, people often use תביא לי (bring me) instead of תן לי (give me) to mean 'give me'.
Did you know?
- In highly formal or liturgical Hebrew, such as in prayers, the request for something is often phrased as תן נא (give, please), where נא is an archaic particle used to soften a request to a higher power.
- In Hebrew, using the imperative תן לי can sound much more aggressive than in English, as it sounds like a strict command from a superior to a subordinate.
- When asking for a 'break' or a 'chance', Israelis use תן לי followed by פסק זמן (time interval) or צ'אנס (chance), borrowing the English word 'chance' directly into the phrase.
Examples in context
- תן לי את זה.Give me that.This sentence shows how to use תן לי to request a specific object.Tatoeba #1929420 by fekundulo, translation #2245526 by CK
- תן לי את זה!Give me that!This sentence demonstrates using תן לי as an emphatic command.Tatoeba #2153001 by fekundulo, translation #10025450 by espamatics
- תן לי דף חלק.Give me a blank sheet of paper.This sentence shows how to use תן לי when requesting a specific item like a blank sheet of paper.Tatoeba #1429725 by Eldad, translation #250172 by CK
- 154 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Agur and Daniel are deciding which movie to watch.
- עגור Adiתן לי לבחור את הסרט הפעם.Ten li livchor et haseret hapaa.Give me the chance to choose the movie this time.
- דניאל Danielלמה? בחרת כבר את שבוע שעבר.Lama? Bacharta kvar at shavua sheavar.Why? You already chose last week.
- עגור Adiבבקשה, תן לי את השלט.Bevakasha, ten li et hashalet.Please, give me the remote.
- דניאל Danielבסדר, הנה השלט.Beseder, hine hashalet.Alright, here is the remote.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
