Israelis are obsessed with their head, rosh, in Hebrew. There are so many words and expressions with rosh, and today we talk about a few of them. Have a listen and find out what ‘rosh gadol’ and ‘rosh katan’ mean.

Hear the All-Hebrew Episode on Patreon

New Words and Expressions:

“Al tefached lihyot rosh gadol” – Don’t be afraid to be “rosh gadol” – אל תפחד להיות ראש גדול

“Rosh gadol ze davar she-matzil chayim, rosh katan ze davar she-mesaken chaim”. – Rosh gadol is something that saves lives, rosh katan is something that risks lives – ראש גדול זה דבר שמציל חיים, ראש קטן זה דבר שמְסכן חיים 

Lesaken – To risk, endanger – לסכן

Lehagdil rosh – To be rosh gadol – להגדיל ראש

Lehaktin rosh – To be rosh katan – להקטין ראש

Rosh ha-shana – Jewish New Year – ראש השנה

Rashi – Main – ראשי

Rehov rashi – Main street – רחוב ראשי

Reshit – Beginning – ראשית

Be-reshit – In the beginning – בראשית

Be-reshit bara elohim et ha-shamayim ve et ha-aretz – And in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth – בראשית ברא אלוהים את השמיים ואת הארץ

Rishon – First – ראשון

Rishoni – Initial, basic – ראשוני

Rosh ha-memshala – Prime minister (M.) – ראש הממשלה

Roshat ha-memshala – Prime minister (F.) – רֹאשת הממשלה

Rosh/Roshat ha-ir – Mayor – ראש/ראשת העיר

Lo ba-rosh sheli – I don’t feel like doing it – לא בראש שלי

Ba-rosh’kha lir’ot seret? – Do you feel like watching a movie? – בראש’ך לראות סרט

Ein li rosh le-ze achshav – I don’t feel like doing it right now – אין לי ראש לזה עכשיו

Yesh lo rosh – He’s smart – יש לו ראש

Yesh la rosh – She’s smart – יש לה ראש

Indo ras (Ar.) – He’s smart – ענדו ראס, عنده راس

Ind’ha ras (Ar.) – She’s smart – ענדהא ראס, عندها راس

Playlist and Clips:

Rosh Gadol TV Series

Bereshit – Bible

Radio Interview with Golda Meir

Roshat Ha-memshala

Arik Einstein – Ze Ba-rosh Shelach (lyrics)