נועם רוצה להאכיל את מרים

What does “miday” mean in Hebrew?

Baby Miriam refuses everything her brother offers, and each guess follows one pattern: מתוק מדי “too sweet,” מלוח מדי “too salty,” חריף מדי “too spicy.” Hebrew’s “too” is מדי — and it comes after the adjective, not before. Literally it’s מ + די, “from enough”: more than enough. Where English says “too sweet,” Hebrew says “sweet beyond enough.”

די on its own is “enough” — the word Israeli parents shout as !די “stop it!” Add the מ and you can complain about anything: יקר מדי “too expensive,” מאוחר מדי “too late,” יותר מדי “too much.” The story’s punchline needs no adjective at all: Miriam happily eats her brother’s pizza.