<P> Speech is considered to be lashon hara (detraction) if it says something negative about a person or party, is not seriously intended to correct or improve a negative situation, and is true . Statements that fit this description are considered to be lashon hara, regardless of the method of communication that is used, whether it is through face - to - face conversation, a letter, telephone, or email, or even body language . </P> <P> Lashon hara (lit . "evil tongue") is considered to be a very serious sin in the Jewish tradition . The communicator of Lashon Hara (and rechilut) violates the prohibition of "Lo telech rachil b'ameicha (Leviticus 19: 16)." </P> <P> By contrast, hotzaat shem ra ("spreading a bad name"), also called hotzaat diba, or motzi shem ra (lit . "putting out a bad name") consists of untrue remarks, and is best translated as "slander" or "defamation" (calumny). Hotzaat shem ra is worse, and consequentially an even graver sin, than lashon hara . And the act of gossiping is called rechilut, and is also forbidden by halakha . </P> <P> The noun lashon, "tongue", followed by the definite article ha and the adjective ra, "evil". The Hebrew noun lashon means "tongue", and as in many languages, "speech" or "language". The phrase is generally translated as "evil speech". The term corresponds to the idea of an evil tongue in other cultures, such as the Latin mala lingua, the French mauvaise langue, and the Spanish mala lengua . </P>

Hebrew word for gossip in the old testament