Can't Spell To Save Her Skin

You have just finished your first month of Hebrew studies, congratulations! It's time to celebrate with a self designed Hebrew tattoo:


Today's victim went for the same message as previously featured British model Danielle Lloyd. Her back is supposed to read "Only God is my Judge". By some miracle, she got the sentence structure right. No such luck with the spelling, though.

There are four words in this girl's tattoo, three of them are misspelled. Who's up for a game of "find the difference"?


Seriously now, if Hebrew is not your native tongue and you're set on designing your own Hebrew tattoo, at least verify its correctness. Upload your design to Flickr or ask at Yahoo! Answers. This kind of disaster doesn't have to happen!

7 comments:

  1. Needless to say, regardless of correctness of spelling - this sentence sounds ridiculous to any Hebrew speaker.

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  2. I don't know, maybe it sounds just a bit awkward but it's not that bad.

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  3. Count on me to figure this one out: What you guys ain't seeing is that it's a right-to-left problem(!) (Add a tag at your pleasure, typo.)
    Yes, it very nicely says: Kar me'hallah, ve aah, yi'ta'pesh. ("Colder than challah bread, and ahh.. it get's stupider") To remind herself not to put the bread in the freezer. Takes too long to defrost in the middle of the night.
    I haven't found yahoo-answers much of an 'ohr le'reg'lei' (lamp unto my feet) but maybe... Shavua tov.

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  4. That's an interesting interpretation, but why would she put this message on her back? She'll never remember to defrost it now...

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  5. Yonatan - except, of course, that the English word "hallah" is a bad transliteration of the Hebrew word חלה, which is not what she has tattooed into her back.

    And Shai, you're totally right. Colloquial Hebrew would be רק אלוהים שופט אותי or something like that. The possessive form (שופטי for השופט שלי or שופט אותי) has allmost disappeared in modern usage.

    Of course, it is not clear that she'd want colloquial Hebrew usage for her tat. I mean, is she making a statement to god? Or to some Israeli dude who is looking down the back of her shirt? Or to alternative judgers?

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  6. Ah, so much comment, so small box, ha. Shunra: you are correct of course, regarding 'Challah/hallah/Ya'allah. But, at the risk of risque, the message is intended to be read from 'astride' her 'obverse' anatomical side? Who am I to judge? It is precisely Typo's exhaustive list of possible 'ti'rutz'im (excuses) here which allow free rein to the facetious imagination. Bless their hearts, they may some-day be tax-paying, IDF-serving, turn-signal-using citizens of our fine country.. Although in her case, psoraisis might get her a low profile. Shavua tov

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