מזמן לא התראינו
mizman lo hitra'inu
The English phrase "long time no see" is translated into Hebrew as מזמן לא התראינו (mizman lo hitra'inu).
This phrase is used when meeting someone you have not encountered for a significant period of time.
Meaning: idiomatic: I (or we) have not seen you for a long time (intj)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to "long time not we saw each other".
How do you pronounce it?
mizman lo hitra'inu
Did you know?
- In casual Israeli speech, מזמן לא התראינו is often followed by the question מה נסגר? ('what's closed?'), which actually means 'what's the latest news with you?'
- The word לא used in this phrase is a direct cognate of the Arabic word لا, reflecting the shared Proto-Semitic origins of both languages.
- The verb התראינו is in the reflexive form, meaning the speakers didn't just 'see' each other, but 'caused themselves to be seen' by one another.
Examples in context
- מזמן לא התראינו.Long time, no see.This sentence is useful for practicing the phrase מזמן לא התראינו.Tatoeba #1896250 by MrShoval, translation #417003 by CK
- באמת, מזמן לא התראינו.be'emet, mizman lo hitra'inu.Truly, it's been a long time since we saw each other.
Example conversation
Noa and Noam bump into each other at a cafe.
- נועה Noaנועם! מזמן לא התראינו!Noam! Mazman lo hitrainu!Noam! Long time no see!
- נועם Noamנועה! נכון, עברו שנים.Noa! Nachon, avru shanim.Noa! True, it's been years.
- נועה Noaמה שלומך? איך הכל?Ma shlomcha? Eich hakol?How are you? How is everything?
- נועם Noamהכל מצוין, תודה רבה.Hakol metzuyan, toda raba.Everything is great, thank you very much.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries לא, מזמן, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
