עצלן במשרד מקבל מכתב פיטורים מפתיע
B2 Hebrew listening practice · Standard Hebrew · Curated for upper-intermediate learners
What does “atzlan” mean in Hebrew?
Hebrew’s -an suffix is a tiny machine for turning traits into people. Atzel means “lazy”; עצלן (atzlan) is “a lazy person.” The same suffix gives daygan (worrier), kameitzan (penny-pincher), azvani (an abandoner), ravchan (a profiteer). Most of the resulting nouns are mildly insulting because the trait being labelled is rarely flattering. Hebrew speakers feel the -an sting the way English feels the -aholic glow.
In this Nirve Gali office-comedy sketch, every coworker calls Tzachi an עצלן for refusing to refill the watercooler, swap the printer paper, deliver mail. He stays seated. The reveal is in the printout: it’s his own pink slip, and the whole bit lands on one trait label.
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Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · OpenSubtitles 2018 (HermitDave) (spoken). Buckets approximate; exact ranks not stored.
- ▸On Kan 11 and Reshet 13 sketch-comedy slots and the Israel Television Academy award short-lists
- ▸In Hebrew workplace-culture columns by Globes and Calcalist
- ▸In Hebrew Academy explainers on the -an and -it personal-trait suffixes
- ▸In Israeli stand-up specials from Adir Miller and Eretz Nehederet office-life sketches