Free guide · Intermediate

15 Israeli Slang Words & Expressions You’ll Actually Hear

By Elisahar, native Hebrew speaker 5 min readUpdated November 4, 2026

Quick answer

The Israeli slang you will hear most often includes sababa (cool, OK), yalla (come on, let’s go), achla (great), tachles (bottom line) and stam (just kidding). Much of it comes from Arabic, Yiddish and English, and it is used constantly in casual speech, but not in formal writing.

Tap the speaker next to a Hebrew word to hear it. Words without a native recording yet use your device’s Hebrew voice.

Everyday slang

Hebrew	Say it	Meaning
סבבה	sababa	cool, OK, fine
יאללה	yalla	come on, let’s go, hurry up
אחלה	achla	great, excellent
תכלס	tachles	bottom line, let’s be practical
סתם	stam	just kidding / for no reason
בקטנה	bekatana	no big deal, don’t worry about it
אין מצב	ein matzav	no way!
חבל על הזמן	chaval al hazman	amazing (literally "a waste of time")
על הפנים	al hapanim	terrible, awful
באסה	basa	bummer, what a shame
אחי	achi	bro, dude (literally "my brother")
כפרה עליך	kapara alecha	darling, you’re the best (affectionate)
דוגרי	dugri	straight talk, being blunt
חפיף	chafif	sloppy, done carelessly
יאללה ביי	yalla bye	OK, bye! (ending a call)

How to use slang without sounding odd

Start with sababa, yalla and achla. They are safe in almost any casual situation.
Avoid slang in emails, job interviews and with officials, where it can sound unprofessional.
"Chaval al hazman" is positive in slang but can literally mean "a waste of time", so tone and context matter.
Listen to how Israelis say it. Intonation changes "sababa" from enthusiastic to a reluctant "fine".

Where Israeli slang comes from

Modern Hebrew slang borrows heavily from Arabic (sababa, yalla, achla), Yiddish (shvitzer for a show-off), English and army life. New words appear all the time through TV, music and social media, which is why song lyrics and native audio are some of the best ways to keep up.