What does “מועקה (mo’aka)” mean in Hebrew?
פגישה מביכה עם הפסיכולוגית באמצע הצומת
A2 Hebrew listening practice · Standard Hebrew · Picked for people who know a little
In this comedy bit, a man bumps into his therapist at a junction and blurts out that lately he feels “מין מועקה כזאת בבוקר,” a kind of מועקה in the mornings. Mo’aka is that heavy, pressing feeling in the chest, a mix of unease, gloom, and weight on the heart. It comes from the root ע־ו־ק, “to press or burden.”
Israelis also borrow the English סטרס (stress), and the joke has him fumbling between the two before the therapist cuts him off with “נגמר לנו הזמן” (“we’re out of time”). Mo’aka is the more poetic, inward word: not busy-stress, but a quiet heaviness. A lovely one to know for talking about feelings in Hebrew.
How common are the words?
How common are the words in this A2 Hebrew listening practice video?
How common in written Hebrew
How common in spoken Hebrew
Harder words in this video
These words are harder than A2. Here is what they mean.
Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · OpenSubtitles 2018 (HermitDave) (spoken). These numbers are close, not perfect.
- ▸In Israeli conversations and therapy about how you really feel
- ▸In Hebrew song lyrics and poetry about inner heaviness
- ▸In Israeli stand-up and comedy like Alterman’s
- ▸Alongside the English loan סטרס (stress) in everyday speech
- ▸Any time a Hebrew speaker names a mood that words barely cover