לגדול
ligdol
To grow in Hebrew is לגדול (ligdol).
The verb לגדול is intransitive, meaning it is used to describe someone or something becoming bigger.
Meaning: (intransitive) to become bigger (verb)
Which one should you use?
It is important to distinguish between the intransitive לגדול (to grow) and the causative, transitive form לגדל, which means to grow or raise something, such as a plant or a child.
How does it change in a sentence?
The past tense of לגדול is גדל. If you want to say "I grew" in the first-person singular, you use גדלתי. For the third-person singular feminine past tense, use גדלה.
How do you pronounce it?
ligdol
Did you know?
- In some contexts, לגדל can mean 'to exaggerate'. Telling a 'grown' story means making it bigger than it actually was in reality.
- The root of the verb, G-D-L (ג-ד-ל), is also the basis for the Hebrew word for 'greatness', which is גדולה.
- When talking about a child's growth, Israelis often use the phrase גדל מהר, meaning 'grew fast'. This is a common social compliment used when meeting a child after a long time.
Examples in context
- אתה רוצה לגדול להיות גדול וחזק כמו טום, לא?You want to grow up to be big and strong like Tom, don't you?This sentence is useful for seeing how to use לגדול when talking about growing up.Tatoeba #2561794 by VirtuOZ, translation #2042781 by CK
- הפרוייקט התפתח בצורה מדהימהThe project has grown in an amazing way.
- העסק שלו התחיל לצמוח במהירותHis business started growing rapidly.
- המתמודדים צריכים לגדול ולהתחזקThe contestants need to grow and strengthen themselves.
- את הגרעין יש להשאיר באדמה, כך שהעץ יצמח.You should leave the seed in the ground, so that the tree will grow.
- הילד הזה ימשיך לגדול כל יום.ha-yeled ha-ze yam-shikh lig-dol kol yom.This boy will continue to grow every day.
Example conversation
Noa and Daniel are looking at a photo from last year.
- נועה Noaתראה איך הכלב שלנו הצליח לגדול.tireh eikh hakelev shelanu hitsliakh ligdol.Look how our dog managed to grow.
- דניאל Danielהוא באמת נראה הרבה יותר גדול עכשיו.hu be'emet nir'e harbe yoter gadol akhshav.He really looks much bigger now.
- נועה Noaהוא ימשיך לגדול עוד כמה חודשים.hu yamshikh ligdol od kama khodashim.He will continue to grow for a few more months.
- דניאל Danielאני מקווה שהוא לא יהיה גדול מדי.ani mekave shehu lo yihye gadol miday.I hope he won't be too big.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
