30 Hebrew slang words Israelis actually use (and where you hear them in songs)
Textbook Hebrew and street Hebrew are not the same language. Israelis pack their sentences with Arabic borrowings, army abbreviations and Yiddish leftovers, and most of it turns up in pop lyrics long before it turns up in courses. Here are thirty expressions you will hear on day one in Tel Aviv.
The everyday ten
Start here — these cover most casual conversation.
- סַבָּבָּה — sababa — cool, fine, all good (from Arabic)
- אַחְלָה — achla — great, excellent
- וַואלְלָה — walla — really? / wow / true
- יַאלְלָה — yalla — come on, let's go
- חֲבָל עַל הַזְּמַן — chaval al hazman — literally 'a waste of time', used to mean amazing
- מָה נִשְׁמָע — ma nishma — what's up
- בְּסֵדֶר — beseder — okay, fine
- תַּכְלֶס — tachles — bottom line, let's get to the point
- פִּצּוּץ — pitzutz — 'an explosion', i.e. fantastic
- אֵין עָלֶיךָ — ein alecha — 'there's no one like you', you're the best
Feelings and reactions
Israeli conversation is loud about emotion, and slang carries most of it.
- מְעַצְבֵּן — me'atzben — annoying
- מַהְמִים — mahmim — stunning, gorgeous
- מְפֻגָּר — mefugar — ridiculous, dumb (rude)
- סוֹף הַדֶּרֶךְ — sof haderech — 'the end of the road', meaning the best
- לֹא נוֹרָא — lo nora — never mind, not a big deal
- חַם לִי — cham li — I'm hot (Hebrew puts the feeling on you, not on the weather)
- מָה קוֹרֶה — ma kore — what's happening
- עַל הַפָּנִים — al hapanim — 'on the face', terrible
People, love and going out
The vocabulary of Israeli nightlife and of most Mizrahi pop choruses.
- מוֹתֶק / מָמִי — motek / mami — sweetie, babe
- נְשָׁמָה — neshama — 'soul', used as darling
- כַּפָּרָה — kapara — term of endearment, roughly 'my dear'
- גֶּבֶר גֶּבֶר — gever gever — a real man
- פְּרֵחָה / אַרְס — freicha / ars — flashy stereotypes, often used in song lyrics ironically
- לְהִתְפַּרְגֵּן — l'hitpargen — to treat yourself, indulge
- לָצֵאת — latzet — to go out
- דֵּיט — deit — a date
Army and abbreviations that leaked into daily life
Almost every Israeli passes through the army, so its shorthand became normal speech.
- אַחֲרֵי — acharei — 'after me', charge / let's go
- צָ'פַּחַת — tzapachat — a slap, playfully
- רֹאשׁ קָטָן — rosh katan — 'small head', doing the minimum
- בַּלַגָן — balagan — chaos, mess
- פַּדִיחָה — padicha — embarrassment, a fail
- לְהַבְרִיז — l'havriz — to flake, skip out
Learn slang the way Israelis learned it — from songs
Eden Ben Zaken, Eyal Golan and most contemporary Israeli pop write in exactly this register: motek, neshama, balagan, chaval al hazman. Play those songs with synced lyrics and translation on Shir-ly and the slang arrives with a melody attached, which is why it stays.
Frequently asked questions
What does sababa mean in Hebrew?
Sababa (סבבה) means cool, fine or all good. It comes from Arabic and is probably the single most common piece of Israeli slang.
What does chaval al hazman mean?
Literally 'a waste of time', but Israelis usually mean the opposite: something is so good it is hard to describe. Tone tells you which is meant.
Is Israeli slang okay to use as a beginner?
Yes — sababa, yalla, beseder, walla and ma nishma are used by everyone in any casual setting. Avoid the insulting ones until you can hear the tone.
Where can I hear Hebrew slang in context?
Contemporary Israeli pop is full of it. On Shir-ly you can follow the lyrics word by word with translation and transliteration while the song plays.