Hebrew for Life in Israel: Kupat Holim, the Bank and Bituach Leumi

In the first weeks after a move, you need Hebrew most in three places: at Kupat Holim, at the bank and at Bituach Leumi. People come there with the same requests and hear the same things in reply. So two or three dozen phrases that come up again and again are enough to start.

Below they are gathered by place. Each phrase has vowel marks, transliteration and a translation. The stressed syllable in the transliteration is in bold. Where a word changes for a man and a woman, both forms are given. In the transliteration the letter khet is always written "kh", while the names Kupat Holim and Bituach Leumi keep the spellings you'll see in English.

How to read the cards

In Hebrew the stress most often falls on the last syllable: מִרְשָׁם is read mirsham. The exceptions turn up in the cards: tofes, kesef, beten, shakhakhti. Their stress is already marked.

Gender in Hebrew shows in verbs and adjectives. A man says אֲנִי צָרִיךְ, a woman says אֲנִי צְרִיכָה. The exception is the first-person past tense: שָׁכַחְתִּי is "I forgot" for both a man and a woman, and קִבַּלְתִּי is "I received" for both.

Kupat Holim (קוּפַּת חוֹלִים)

In Hebrew the health fund is called קוּפַּת חוֹלִים, "kupat kholim", literally "the sick fund". At Kupat Holim you make appointments with your family doctor and get prescriptions and referrals. The conversation is usually short: what you need, what hurts, when to come.

The bank (בַּנְק)

At the bank you most often need six or seven things: open an account, get a card, deposit money, make a transfer, find an ATM, get a certificate. Bring your documents and write down what you hear. These phrases are enough for the conversation.

The word אִשּׁוּר translates as "confirmation" or "certificate". It turns up on other forms too, and very often.

Bituach Leumi (בִּטּוּחַ לְאֻמִּי)

Bituach Leumi is the National Insurance Institute, and it sends letters and forms in Hebrew. This article doesn't explain what the letters are about: for that, ask Bituach Leumi itself. The language task is simpler: understand what the letter asks for, and answer in plain words.

Words on forms and in letters

The forms at Kupat Holim, the bank and Bituach Leumi are almost the same. You'll meet the words in this table everywhere. Once you recognize them on sight, a form stops being a wall of text.

You sign at the end, under the word חֲתִימָה.

If you understand little

Almost everyone's first visits go the same way: you ask a question, and the answer comes back fast and long. That's normal, and staff are used to clients whose Hebrew is still limited. A simple routine helps.

1. Say right away that you're learning Hebrew. The person will start speaking more simply.
2. Ask them to speak more slowly. This is the phrase to learn first.
3. Ask about one word at a time. Don't just stay silent if you missed something.
4. Ask them to write it down. A room number, a day, a specialist's name: what is written down doesn't get lost.
5. Repeat what you heard aloud. If the other person nods, you understood correctly.

Before a visit, write the phrases you need on a slip of paper with the transliteration. A phone note works as well as paper, and showing the other person a line of Hebrew is sometimes easier than pronouncing it.

How to learn all this in one place

Phrases stick better when you hear them and say them aloud. For that, the Hebrew №1 app has dialogues from real life: Kupat Holim, the bank, Bituach Leumi, the shop, renting an apartment. You can listen to any letter, word and line. Repetition brings a word back when you begin to forget it.

Start with three phrases: "I need an appointment with a doctor", "I want to open an account", "I don't understand what the letter says". The rest will come as you go.