---
title: Israeli slang dictionary
slug: hebrew-slang-dictionary
canonical: https://www.itsbaba.com/hebrew-slang-dictionary
question: What does this Israeli slang word mean?
answer: baba's Israeli slang dictionary covers curated Israeli slang and idiom support in daily use, listing the literal meaning and the actual meaning separately, because Israeli slang words frequently mean something different from what they literally say.
description: Israeli slang terms with Hebrew, transliteration, literal meaning and how each one is actually used.
cluster: slang-culture
html_status: live
updated: 2026-07-28
numbers_used: [7, 2500, 12.99, 59.99]
competitors_named: []
---

# Israeli slang dictionary

baba's Israeli slang dictionary covers curated Israeli slang and idiom support in daily use, listing the literal meaning and the actual meaning separately, because Israeli slang words frequently mean something different from what they literally say. Much of everyday Israeli slang is borrowed from Arabic, Yiddish and Russian, so a word can be common in Israel without appearing in a standard Hebrew dictionary. Some slang terms change form depending on whether you are speaking to a man or a woman.

## Key facts
| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Terms in the dictionary | curated Israeli slang and idiom support |
| Shown for each term | Hebrew, transliteration, literal meaning, actual use |
| Free tier | 2,500 characters per month with a free account; 1,000 as a guest with no login. No credit card |
| Unlimited slang | Pro, $12.99 per month or $59.99 per year (equivalent to $5.00 a month billed yearly) |
| Gender contexts in baba | 7 |

Pro starts with a 7-day free trial; a card is required at checkout and nothing is charged until the trial ends.

## What are the Israeli slang words you hear most often?
These are the terms that come up in ordinary conversation in Israel, in shops, at work and among friends.

| Hebrew | Transliteration | Literal meaning | How it is actually used |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| סבבה | sababa | Borrowed from Arabic, no literal Hebrew sense | Cool, fine, all good, sounds good |
| תכלס | tachles | From תכלית (tachlit), purpose or end goal | Bottom line, in practice, to be honest |
| וואלה | walla | Arabic oath, roughly by God | Really, no kidding, is that so, wow |
| אחי | achi | My brother | Bro, mate, said to a friend or peer |
| יאללה | yalla | Arabic, come on | Let's go, hurry up, and also ends a conversation |
| באסה | basa | Borrowed from Arabic | Bummer, a letdown, that is rough |

## What does chaval al hazman mean?
חבל על הזמן (chaval al hazman) literally means "a waste of time" and is used to mean amazing or incredible. Literal and actual meaning are opposites, which makes this the clearest single example of why word-by-word translation of Hebrew slang fails.

Tone and context decide the reading. Said about a restaurant, chaval al hazman means the food was outstanding. Said flatly about a bureaucratic errand, it keeps closer to the literal sense of not worth your time. The positive reading is the common one in everyday speech.

## Which Israeli slang words change depending on who you are talking to?
Hebrew marks gender on nouns, verbs and adjectives, and slang is no exception. Where a term is a possessive noun, it has a masculine and a feminine form, and using the wrong one is immediately audible.

| Said to a man | Said to a woman | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| אחי (achi) | אחותי (achoti) | Bro, sis, said to a friend |
| חביבי (habibi) | חביבתי (habibti) | My dear, mate, friendly address |
| פראייר (freier) | פראיירית (freierit) | Someone who lets themselves be taken advantage of |

סבבה (sababa), תכלס (tachles), וואלה (walla), יאללה (yalla) and באסה (basa) do not change form. The verb after them still agrees, so יאללה, בוא (yalla, bo) is said to a man, יאללה, בואי (yalla, boi) to a woman, and יאללה, בואו (yalla, bou) to a group. baba lets you set speaker gender and listener gender across seven contexts so the agreement comes out right.

## Which slang terms have their own entry?
| Hebrew | Transliteration | Meaning | Entry |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| יאללה | yalla | Let's go, come on | https://www.itsbaba.com/hebrew-slang/yalla |
| סבבה | sababa | Cool, fine | https://www.itsbaba.com/hebrew-slang/sababa |
| וואלה | walla | Really, no kidding | https://www.itsbaba.com/hebrew-slang/walla |
| מותק | motek | Sweetie, term of endearment | https://www.itsbaba.com/hebrew-slang/motek |
| חלאס | khalas | Enough, stop, that is it | https://www.itsbaba.com/hebrew-slang/khalas |
| קדימה | kadima | Forward, go on, let's move | https://www.itsbaba.com/hebrew-slang/kadima |
| חביבי | habibi | My dear, mate | https://www.itsbaba.com/hebrew-slang/habibi |
| פראייר | freier | A sucker, someone taken advantage of | https://www.itsbaba.com/hebrew-slang/freier |
| בן זונה | ben zona | Strong profanity, insult or astonishment | https://www.itsbaba.com/hebrew-slang/ben-zona |

## Frequently asked questions
### Is Israeli slang the same as biblical or formal Hebrew?
No. Modern Israeli slang draws heavily on Arabic, Yiddish and Russian, and many of the most common terms have no biblical source at all. Formal written Hebrew avoids most of these words entirely. Reading the Bible in Hebrew will not prepare you for a conversation in a Tel Aviv cafe.

### Can I use these words with people I have just met?
סבבה (sababa), תכלס (tachles), וואלה (walla) and יאללה (yalla) are neutral enough for almost any casual setting. אחי (achi) is for friends and peers, not for an official at a government office. בן זונה (ben zona) is profanity and should be treated as such.

### Does baba translate slang, or only standard Hebrew?
baba handles Israeli slang and idioms as part of translation, rendering them by meaning rather than word by word. The slang dictionary covers curated Israeli terms. Unlimited slang is a Pro feature; the free tier gives you 2,500 characters per month with a free account (1,000 as a guest, no login), and no credit card.

### Why does a slang word have two meanings that contradict each other?
Some Israeli slang terms carry a literal sense and an ironic sense at the same time, and tone selects between them. חבל על הזמן (chaval al hazman) is the standard example, meaning either a genuine waste of time or something outstanding. Written text loses the tone, which is why short messages are the hardest case.

## What baba does not do
- Machine translation of Hebrew slang depends on context that a short message may not carry, and a single word with no surrounding sentence is the hardest case of all.
- The free tier is 2,500 characters per month, which is enough for a handful of messages a week and not enough for documents.
- baba is a translation tool, not a Hebrew course, and using baba will not by itself make you fluent.
- Israeli slang is regional and generational, so a dictionary entry describes common use rather than every use.

## Related pages
- https://www.itsbaba.com/hebrew-slang/yalla — what yalla means and when it is used
- https://www.itsbaba.com/hebrew-slang/chaval-al-hazman — the term whose literal and real meanings are opposites
- https://www.itsbaba.com/learn/israeli-slang — the shortest useful set of terms to learn first
- https://www.itsbaba.com/hebrew-slang/sababa — sababa in detail
- https://www.itsbaba.com/best-hebrew-translator — how baba handles slang and gender in translation

Canonical page: https://www.itsbaba.com/hebrew-slang-dictionary
Last updated: 2026-07-28
Questions: shalom@itsbaba.com