What does “kisem oznayim” mean in Hebrew?

קיסם (kisem) is a toothpick. Stick אוזניים (oznayim), “ears,” next to it and you get a kisem oznayim, a cotton swab. Hebrew tends to build everyday object names this way: noun-plus-noun in smikhut (construct state), no preposition, no hyphen, no English loanword. Mivreshet shinayim is “tooth-brush.” Mishkafayim is “two-eye-things.” This compound habit is one of the first things Modern Hebrew teaches a beginner.

In the clip, a Davidson Institute scientist runs a milk-and-soap colour experiment with his son and asks for a קיסם אוזניים. The boy doesn’t know the word, gets a translation, and the demo proceeds. The whole scene is a tidy lesson in how Hebrew names new objects without borrowing.