How to "Win" an Election in Hebrew?

The U.S. elections have us worried—not about the outcome, but because most Hebrew speakers make a common mistake with the verb “לנצח” (to win). So how do we use it correctly?

Let’s start with the end: לנצח בבחירות (to win in an election), not לנצח את הבחירות (to win the election). Similarly: להפסיד בבחירות (to lose in an election), not להפסיד את הבחירות (to lose the election). Confused?

While everyone is still waiting for the official results, we, in our usual way, already have a linguistic fix for a very common mistake heard in TV studios and news broadcasts.

In Hebrew, you "win" against the opposing candidate—not the election itself. The same applies in sports: your team wins the game against the other team, not *the game* itself.

The origin of this common mistake is in English. In English, you say "to win the election." But in Hebrew, it’s לנצח בבחירות or להפסיד בבחירות—not לנצח את הבחירות or להפסיד את הבחירות.

Wishing success to the sane camp in the United States!