תכל'סTachles
Bottom line, seriously, get to the point, practically speaking
What does Tachles mean in Hebrew?
Tachles (תכל'ס, pronounced TAKH-les) means "bottom line", "practically speaking", or "seriously, let's get to the point". It comes from the Hebrew word tachlit (purpose) filtered through Yiddish pronunciation. Israelis use it to cut through small talk and demand concrete, practical answers: "tachles, ma ata rotse?" means "seriously, what do you actually want?" It reflects the same blunt, no-nonsense communication style as dugri.
How to pronounce Tachles
תכל'ס
The Hebrew script reads right-to-left. The English transliteration uses the Israeli Sephardic pronunciation standard.
When do Israelis use Tachles?
Tachles cuts through small talk and demands concrete, practical answers. It is one half of Israel's directness toolkit alongside "dugri": while dugri means speak honestly, tachles means speak practically and skip the fluff.
Fun fact
Tachles is often paired with dugri as one of the two words that best capture Israeli directness: dugri means "speak honestly", tachles means "speak practically, skip the fluff".
Tachles in a sentence: examples
בוא נדבר תכל'ס, אין לנו הרבה זמן.
Bo nedaber tachles, ein lanu harbe zman.
Let's get to the point, we don't have much time.
תכל'ס, מה אתה רוצה שאני אעשה?
Tachles, ma ata rotse she'ani e'ese?
Bottom line, what do you want me to do?
אני מדבר איתך תכל'ס: זה מה שבאמת קרה.
Ani medaber itkha tachles: ze ma she'be'emet kara.
I'm being real with you: that's what actually happened.
עזוב הקדמות, בוא תכל'ס.
Azov hakdamot, bo tachles.
Skip the preamble, let's get practical.
מה התוכנית תכל'ס? יש לנו תקציב?
Ma hatokhnit tachles? Yesh lanu taktziv?
What's the plan, practically speaking? Do we have a budget?
Origin of Tachles
From Hebrew "tachlit" (תכלית: purpose, objective), which passed through Yiddish (where the ending softened to "-es", a common Yiddish nominal pattern) and re-entered spoken Israeli Hebrew as "tachles", written with a geresh (תכל'ס) to mark the Yiddish-flavored ending.
Heard "Tachles" and need to translate it?
baba includes curated support for expressions like Tachles. Compare the literal words with the intended meaning and use the surrounding sentence to choose the right translation. To translate a whole message with the right gender and register, use the free Hebrew to English translator.
iOS & Android · Unlimited slang translations with Pro