¿Cómo dices esto en Hebreo? I wish

IF I wanted to say something like "I wish I spoke better Hebrew." or "I wish I had a million dollars" would it be best to use הלוואי or is there a better word to use? Thanks

Respuestas

ozdavidhaik

14 nov 2022

Hebreo

@HebrewDane הלוואי/אני מקווה

HebrewDane

14 nov 2022

Inglés (US)

@ozdavidhaik Thank you. I wasnt sure if מקווה was used in this way. I appreciate your help.

ozdavidhaik

14 nov 2022

Hebreo

@HebrewDane any time!😉

maya_xxx

24 nov 2022

Hebreo
Inglés (US) Casi fluido

Just to add to the previous answer: הלוואי sounds like you’re wishing for something to happen on its own (either something that doesn’t depend on you or something you don’t necessarily put an effort into). Therefore הלוואי is often (but not always!) used for things that are unlikely to happen, and only הלוואי can be used for unreal / hypothetical statements (when you ‘wish’ something happened in the past, for example “I wish I had done…” or “I wish someone told me…”). מקווה is more like “hope”.

So in the examples you gave, I think הלוואי sounds more natural.
הלוואי שהיה לי מיליון דולר. (wishing a million dollars would just appear out of thin air)
הלוואי שהעברית שלי הייתה טובה יותר. (you can’t use מקווה with the past tense in this case)
If you want to use מקווה in the latter one, you have to use the future tense and the meaning changes into “I hope my Hebrew improves”:
אני מקווה שהעברית שלי תהיה טובה יותר / אני מקווה שהעברית שלי תשתפר.
You can also use הלוואי for the future tense as in הלוואי שהעברית שלי תשתפר, but מקווה more strongly implies that you are working toward that goal.

Sometimes the two are interchangeable, though:
אני מקווה שלא ירד גשם מחר.
הלוואי שלא ירד גשם מחר.
I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow.

HebrewDane

24 nov 2022

Inglés (US)

@maya_xxx Wow. So much to consider. I appreciate the details. Things like this I usually cannot determine from taking lessons or studying flashcards. And sometimes I think I try ti find, in Hebrew, the exact way of saying something as we do in English. And often this doesn't work. The concept may be the same but the words may be different.
Thanks so much.