© 2026 baba. All rights reserved.
חוצפה
Chutzpah
/KHOOTS-pah/
Audacity, nerve, bold impudence (can be admired or criticized)
💬What does Chutzpah mean in Hebrew?
Chutzpah (חוצפה, pronounced KHOOTS-pah) means audacity, nerve, or bold impudence — and depending on context, it can be admired or condemned. In Israeli culture, chutzpah is often seen as a positive trait: the courage to do what others won't. In business and innovation, chutzpah is widely cited as a driver of Israel's startup success. The word has entered mainstream English and is used worldwide.
🔊How to pronounce Chutzpah
חוצפה
Chutzpah
KHOOTS-pah
Capitals = stressed syllable
The Hebrew script reads right-to-left. The English transliteration uses the Israeli Sephardic pronunciation standard.
🇮🇱When do Israelis use Chutzpah?
One of Hebrew's most internationally famous exports. Chutzpah means the audacity to do something others wouldn't dare — and in Israel, this is often admired. A startup founder who cold-emails a billionaire has chutzpah. Someone who cuts in line also has chutzpah — context determines whether it's admirable or annoying.
Fun fact
Chutzpah appears in Merriam-Webster's English dictionary. Dan Senor and Saul Singer's book "Start-Up Nation" (2009) credits Israeli chutzpah as a core reason for Israel's outsized tech success. Misconception: in traditional Yiddish/religious usage, chutzpah was purely negative (shameless disrespect); the positive "brave audacity" meaning is a modern Israeli reframe.
📝Chutzpah in a sentence — examples
יש לו חוצפה לבקש העלאה אחרי שבועיים בעבודה.
Yesh lo chutzpah livkosh ha'ala'a akharei shvu'ayim ba'avoda.
He has the nerve to ask for a raise after two weeks on the job.
צריך חוצפה כדי להצליח בעסקים.
Tzarich chutzpah kedei lehatsliach ba'asakim.
You need chutzpah to succeed in business.
אה, איזה חוצפה! איך היא יכולה לאמר את זה?
Ah, eize chutzpah! Eikh hi yakhola lomar et ze?
Oh, what nerve! How could she say that?
📖Origin of Chutzpah
From Hebrew/Aramaic "chutzpah" (חצפה — impudence, audacity). One of the very few Hebrew/Yiddish words that has fully entered mainstream English and appears in Merriam-Webster. The Yiddish form "khutspe" carried it into American English via Jewish immigration.
Heard "Chutzpah" and need to translate it?
baba is the only Hebrew translator that actually understands slang like Chutzpah. Regular translators give you literal (wrong) translations. baba gives you the real meaning.
iOS & Android · 3 free slang translations per month
Related Hebrew slang words
פראייר
Freier
FREH-yer
Sucker, pushover, naive fool who gets taken advantage of
דוגרי
Dugri
DOOG-ree
Straight talk, direct, honest, blunt (without sugarcoating)
ראש גדול
Rosh gadol
rosh gah-DOL
Big head — taking initiative, going beyond instructions
בלגן
Balagan
bah-lah-GAN
Mess, chaos, disorder, total mayhem