לקנות או לשכור דירה? חוויות מהשטח

What does “nadlan” mean in Hebrew?

Explaining why he rents instead of buying, a man sighs about the hassle of property: «אתה יודע מה זה להתעסק עם הנדל“ן?» (”do you know what it’s like dealing with real estate?“). נדל”ן (nadlan) means “real estate.”

It’s an acronym, נכסי דלא ניידי (“immovable assets,” partly Aramaic), pronounced as a single word, nadlan. Hebrew loves these acronym-words: חו“ל (chul, ”abroad“), דו”ח (doch, “a report or ticket”). Behind the clip is Israel’s brutal housing market, the sky-high משכנתא (mortgage) and הון עצמי (down payment) that push many to rent for life.