לספר
lesaper
The Hebrew word for telling is לספר (lesaper).
לספר means to tell, to narrate or to reveal information. When you are telling something to a specific person, you must use the preposition ל before the person, forming the pattern לספר ל… (to tell to…).
Meaning: revealing information, bearing significance (adj)
Which one should you use?
While לספר is used for telling stories or revealing information, the word לומר is used for the more general act of saying or stating something.
How does it change in a sentence?
The form לספר is the infinitive form of the verb. The present tense masculine singular form is מספר, and the past tense masculine singular form is סיפר.
How do you pronounce it?
lesaper
Did you know?
- If you are 'telling' a list of numbers, you use the same root, as לספר can mean 'to count'.
- There is a common Hebrew expression לספר סיפורים (telling stories) that is often used idiomatically to mean someone is lying or making things up.
- The root of לספר is also found in the word ספר, which means 'book'.
Examples in context
- תנסה לספר לתום על כך.Try telling Tom that.This sentence is useful for practicing the use of לספר.Tatoeba #5457003 by fekundulo, translation #3727935 by CM
- אינני חוששת לספר את האמת.I am not afraid of telling the truth.Tatoeba #10757903 by fekundulo, translation #5451703 by Adelpa
- מישהו מוכן לספר לי מה קורה?Would someone mind telling me what's going on?Tatoeba #5637769 by fekundulo, translation #4013979 by CK
- תוכל לספר לי בבקשה…?Could you please tell me…?
- 10 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Daniel and Agar are talking about a mysterious letter.
- דניאל Danielאת חושבת שזה יעזור לספר לו?At khoshevet she-ze ya'azor lesaper lo?Do you think it will help to tell him?
- עגור Adiכן, אני חושבת שחשוב לספר את האמת.Ken, ani khoshevet she-khashuv lesaper et ha-emet.Yes, I think it is important to tell the truth.
- דניאל Danielאני פשוט מפחד לספר לו לבד.Ani pashut mefaked lesaper lo levad.I'm just afraid to tell him alone.
- עגור Adiאני אעזור לך לספר לו מחר.Ani a'azor lekha lesaper lo makhar.I will help you tell him tomorrow.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
