Israeli HebrewSlang Dictionary

סבבה

Cool, great, awesome, no problem, alright

יאללה

Let's go, come on, hurry up, okay/bye

וואלה

Really? No way! Seriously! Wow! (surprise or affirmation)

אחי

Bro, dude, man (lit. 'my brother')

אחלה

Awesome, great, excellent, perfect

חבל על הזמן

Incredible, amazing (lit. 'waste of time')

מה נשמע

What's up? How are you? (lit. 'what is heard?')

מה קורה

What's happening? What's going on? What's up?

מה המצב

What's the situation? How's it going?

לא נורא

Not bad, it's okay, don't worry (lit. 'not terrible')

נו

Well? So? Come on! (impatient filler)

בסדר

Okay, fine, alright, in order

יופי

Great, wonderful, beauty (exclamation of approval)

כיף

Fun, pleasure, great time

דפוק

Messed up, broken, screwed up, crazy

פראייר

Sucker, pushover, naive person, easy mark

בלגן

Mess, chaos, disorder

חוצפה

Audacity, nerve, bold impudence (often admiringly)

מסכן

Poor thing, pitiful person (sometimes affectionate)

שרמוטה

Slut, whore (vulgar insult)

כוס אמק

Your mother's [vulgar] (strong curse)

זיין

F*** (verb, vulgar) / also the letter Z

ביצים

Balls (vulgar) / eggs (literal) — used as 'guts/courage' or expletive

גנגסטר

Tough guy, cool dude (used admiringly among youth)

חיות

Animals (slang for wild, intense, incredible)

מניאק

Maniac, crazy person (often complimentary)

בוגד

Traitor, someone who betrayed you (also used playfully)

קצוץ

Cut off, rejected, done/finished (slang: 'aced it' or 'over')

על הפנים

Terrible, awful (lit. 'on the face')

בושה וחרפה

Shame and disgrace (strong condemnation)

מטומטם

Stupid, idiot, dimwit

אידיוט

Idiot (direct loanword)

גבר

Man, dude, guy (term of address)

אשכרה

Literally, for real, actually, genuinely

פייסא

Money, cash (slang)

שלמד

Mess, disaster, complicated situation

נחמד

Nice, cute, pleasant (sometimes dismissive)

אנרגיות

Vibes, energy, feelings

סטייל

Style, cool, in a stylish way

טירוף

Insanity, madness, craziness (often admiring)

מטורף

Crazy, insane, wild (positive or negative)

ממש

Really, truly, absolutely

בכיף

With pleasure, gladly, for fun

לא בא לי

I don't feel like it, not in the mood (lit. 'doesn't come to me')

בא לי

I feel like it, I want to, I'm in the mood for

עציץ

Flowerpot (slang: someone who's just there, a nobody)

ספיח

Hanger-on, tagalong, someone who latches on

מה הסיפור

What's the story? What's going on? What's your deal?

על הגל

On the wave, riding high, trending, in the zone

נקי

Clean, pure — slang for clear/innocent or done cleanly

לסבך

To complicate, to mess up

ג'חנון

Yemenite pastry — also slang for a slow, dense person

פלאפל

Falafel (food) — slang for 'zero', 'nothing'

לזרום

To go with the flow, to chill, to roll with it

מקופח

Deprived, shortchanged, disadvantaged

מופרע

Disturbed, crazy, out of control (strong)

פוצה פה

One who complains/speaks up (lit. 'opens mouth')

שבת שלום

Shabbat peace — traditional Shabbat greeting

בן זונה

Son of a b**** (vulgar but ubiquitous)

קלוט

Cool, absorbed, easygoing (lit. absorbed/taken in)

ירח בדבש

Honeymoon (lit. 'moon in honey')

הורה

Traditional circle dance — slang for something going in circles

ישראבלוף

Israeli bluffing — overconfidence + improvisation culture

שלום

Hello, goodbye, peace

היי

Hey, hi (informal)

להתראות

Goodbye, see you (lit. 'to be seen again')

ביי

Bye (casual farewell)

מותק

Sweetie, honey, darling (lit. 'sweetness')

נשמה

Soul, sweetheart (lit. 'soul')

מלאך

Angel (term of endearment)

חביבי

My love, darling, buddy (Arabic term widely used)

כוכב

Star (used as a compliment or term of endearment)

חמודה

Cutie, sweetie (feminine)

אחד שתיים שלוש

One two three — military counting used in civilian life

פקודה

Order, command (lit. military order)

תקתק

Quickly! Chop chop! Get it done!

לוחם

Fighter, combatant — used admiringly for anyone tough

מגנ"ץ

Super annoying person, a nag

שחיז

Attractive person (slang from army/youth)

ג'ובניל

Youngster, juvenile (also: immature person)

חייל

Soldier — also used for anyone who works hard

גולני

Elite IDF infantry brigade — also adj for tough/rough

טנק

Tank (vehicle) — slang for a big, powerful, unstoppable person

צ'קאו

Check it, look at that, watch this

ג'ינג'י

Redhead (sometimes affectionate, sometimes teasing)

מטח

Sweetheart, darling (masculine/neutral form of motek)

תרגיל

Exercise/drill — slang: a trick, scheme, manipulation

שלמזל

Unlucky person, loser (Yiddish classic)

שמוק

Idiot, jerk (Yiddish vulgar term)

מזל טוב

Congratulations, good luck (lit. 'good star')

קיטשה

Mess, dirty state, unpleasant situation

פלצן

To burst (from joy or frustration) — 'I could burst!'

שמאטה

Rag, cheap clothing — slang for someone worthless

ממים

Memes (internet memes Hebraicized)

קריינג'

Cringe, embarrassing (direct English borrowing)

וייב

Vibe, atmosphere, mood

סטוריז

Instagram/social media stories

בוסט

Boost (energy, social media boost)

פלוס

Plus, bonus, extra point

מינוס

Minus, drawback, negative point

גו עם זה

Go with it, roll with it

מקסי

Maximum, the most, incredible

מיני

Tiny, mini, small (also slang for something minor)

צ'יל

Chill, relaxed, cool

טוקסיק

Toxic (person or situation)

גאז לייט

Gaslighting (manipulation)

דרמה

Drama, unnecessary fuss

קאנסל

Cancel culture — to cancel someone

גולשים

Internet users/surfers (lit. 'surfers')

ספוילר

Spoiler (media spoiler)

פושר

Someone pushy, a pusher (drug dealer in slang)

נטוורקינג

Networking (professional connections)

אוי

Oh! Oy! (pain, surprise, dismay)

אוי ואבוי

Oh my, woe is me (dramatic complaint)

אלוהים

Oh God! (exclamation, not necessarily religious)

ישו

Jesus! (exclamation — secular use)

אל תדאג

Don't worry (lit. 'don't stress')

יהיה בסדר

It'll be okay, everything will be fine

לחץ

Stress, pressure — also: don't stress me!

פרייר

Sucker, naive person (alternate spelling of Freier)

חמור

Donkey, idiot, stubborn fool

עז

Goat — slang insult for someone annoying

פח

Trash can — insult for a useless person or situation

אפס

Zero, nothing, a nobody

מוצ'ניק

Nerd, geek, intellectual (sometimes affectionate)

ארס

Thug, lowlife, uncultured person

פרחה

Trashy girl, uncultured woman (feminine of ars)

נוד

Annoying person who never stops talking/bothering

מת עליו

Obsessed with someone (lit. 'dying over him')

שלמד בצד

Problem aside, mess on the side

דוגרי

Straight talk, direct, honest (blunt)

פריחה

Blooming, thriving, doing amazing

ראש גדול

Big head — initiative, thinking outside the box

ראש קטן

Small head — doing only the minimum, no initiative

ויברציות

Vibrations, vibes (spiritual/energy sense)

להכין בראש

To mentally prepare (lit. to prepare in the head)

פיצוח

Cracking it, figuring something out, nailing it

עבר על עצמו

Outdid himself, went above and beyond

כאב ראש

Headache — slang for a difficult, annoying problem

לקחת את הראש

Taking the head — monopolizing attention/being a burden

אחד מאה

One in a hundred — outstanding, exceptional

שים לב

Pay attention, be careful (lit. 'put your heart')

נגמר לו

He's done, finished, run out (of patience, money, etc.)

פתח עיניים

Open your eyes! Wake up! Pay attention!

קפוץ עליו

Jump on it, grab the opportunity

צ'ופר

Freebie, bonus, something extra for free

ג'אנק

Junk, garbage (quality or food)

פרופיל

Profile (social media) — also: someone with influence

חנון

Nerd, geek, grade-grubber

אקדמאי

Academic — slang for someone overthinking or theoretical

יש לו ידיים

He has hands — he's practical, skillful

בלי ידיים

Without hands — incompetent, helpless

על הדרך

On the way, en route — also: while you're at it

תקנה לעצמך מוח

Buy yourself a brain! (you're acting stupid)

מה יש לך

What's your problem? What do you have? (confrontational)

הגיע הזמן

It's about time! Finally!

אל תגזים

Don't exaggerate, don't overdo it

לאט לאט

Slowly slowly, take it easy, step by step

מה זה קשור

What's that got to do with anything? That's irrelevant!

עד כאן

That's enough, I've had it, up to here

קדימה

Forward! Let's go! Move ahead!

תן גז

Give it gas! Step on it! Go full speed!

חנק

Stifling, suffocating — slang for unbearable

מבאס

Bummer, disappointing, brings you down

קטע

A thing, a scene, a vibe, a situation

אין דבר

No problem, never mind, don't mention it

סתם

Just, for no reason, whatever, kidding

ממש לא

Absolutely not, definitely not

אין מצב

No way, impossible, there's no situation where...

פלא

Wonder, miracle — slang: unbelievable, wow

ג'וק

Cockroach — slang for someone dirty/lowlife

לשפוך

To spill — slang: to tell everything, overshare

קלס

To praise, flatter — also sycophancy

חלאס

Enough! Finished! That's it! (Arabic origin)

ביחד

Together — also slang for in sync, united

גרוש

Cent, small coin — slang: penniless

מכות

Hits/blows — slang for something intense or great

פצצה

Bomb — slang: bombshell, incredible, gorgeous

ספיר

Sapphire — slang for a beautiful/precious person

נסיכה

Princess — slang: high-maintenance girl or beloved daughter

אמיר

Prince — slang: VIP treatment, being treated royally

גנב

Thief — slang: someone who 'steals' the show or hearts

פגום

Damaged, flawed, broken (person or thing)

צ'ארם

Charm, charisma

קסם

Magic, spell — slang: someone magical/amazing