נמיה
nemiya
The Hebrew word for mongoose is נמיה (nemiya).
נמיה is a noun used to refer to a small carnivore of the family Herpestidae.
Meaning: small carnivore of the family Herpestidae (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is nemiya.
Did you know?
- There are no species of mongoose native to Israel, so the word is often used in a strictly zoological or educational sense rather than in daily conversation about local wildlife.
- Biblical Hebrew does not have a specific word for 'mongoose', so modern speakers use נמיה to translate foreign texts and scientific descriptions.
- In Hebrew, the word נמיה is used for both the mongoose and the closely related weasel, as they are often grouped together in common speech.
Examples in context
- ראיתי נמיה בסרט דוקומנטרי.ra'iti nemya be-seret dokumentari.I saw a mongoose in a documentary.
Example conversation
Ido and Rotem are looking at a nature book.
- עידו Idoתראי, זו נמיה!Tira'i, zo nemiya!Look, this is a mongoose!
- רוטם Rotemהיא נראית כמו שועף קטן.Hi nir'et kmo sho'af katan.It looks like a small fox.
- עידו Idoנמיה היא טורפת מיומנת מאוד.Nemiya hi torefet miyumanet me'od.A mongoose is a very skilled predator.
- רוטם Rotemזה באמת מרשים, עידו.Ze be'emet marshim, Ido.That is really impressive, Ido.
