Today, I want to hand you the words locals know and use every day in Israel. The ones you’ll hear Israelis reach for every single day. And they’re not all real Hebrew words. They are the ones you should learn if you want to communicate with Israelis.
The most common words Israelis use include a mix of English words said with an Israeli accent, a few borrowed from Arabic, and homegrown Hebrew expressions that never made it into your textbook. Knowing even a handful instantly changes how local you sound, and none of them require you to know the Hebrew alphabet first.
Watch: Learn 20 Israeli Words You NEED!
Words You Already Know (You Just Didn't Know You Knew Them)
Some of the most common words in daily Israeli conversation aren't Hebrew at all. They're English, said in an Israeli accent, dropped into Hebrew sentences like they always belonged there.
Okay - Said constantly, almost identical to how you’d say it, just with the Israeli O sound which is less like the O in the American Okay and more like the British Okay. You'll also hear the Hebrew versions, /be-’se-dar/ בְּסֵדֶר or /tov/ טוֹב, which mean the same thing.
Wow - Used exactly the way you use it. Wow, that's beautiful. Wow, where did you get that? If something impresses an Israeli, this is usually the first word out. In Hebrew writing, וָאוּ.
Super - is the word we use as short for supermarket סוּפֶּרְמַרְקֶט. It is often our everyday word for a grocery store, from the small corner kiosk to the big chain. "I'm going to the super" is something you'll hear constantly. Pronounced /’soo-per/.
Getaway - A typical Israeli cabin getaway, often up north but not only is /’tsee-mer/ צִימֶר.. "We’re going to a tzimmer this weekend" is a very common Israeli getaway.
Words Borrowed From Arabic
Let’s Go! Come on, let's go, hurry up, I'm in - is all /’ya-lah/ יַאלְלָה. It's one word doing the work of five different English phrases, depending on the tone.
No Way! Really? And then there is this one that sounds almost the same as the one above it, only this one is used to express amazement or disbelief. Wow, the movie was soooooo good. /ya ‘a-lah/ יָא אַלְלָה, the movie was soooooo good. Or - /ya ‘a-lah/ יָא אַלְלָה, Why is this taking so long?
Purely Hebrew Words
Exactly! /bool/ Means Stamp but we use the same word to express precisely, spot on, exactly right. If someone guesses correctly or nails what you meant, you say /bool/ בּוּל. You hit the nail on the head. Got it exactly right.
Mensch - This is the Hebrew equivalent for a mensch using the formal Hebrew word for "a man" to say - what an awesome individual, when that person is male. High praise, said with real warmth. We say “What a man” in Hebrew /’e(y)-zeh ’ge-ver/ אֵיזֶה גֶּבֶר.
Enough! You'll hear it from kids constantly, asking their play buddies to stop, and from parents asking their kids to stop already. We say /day/ דַּי, and if you are not familiar with how to use my phonetic system, we pronounce this one just like the English word Die. Using my phonetic system, we mark it /day/ given the vowel sounds we have in Hebrew. We do not read it as the English word for Day.
Returning home, Coming home - "homeward", heading home, going in the direction of home. You'll hear it in daily conversation, and you'll hear it in the context of the hostages - the call to bring them home. It is /ha-’bay-tah/ הַבַּיְתָה.
Are you available? Is this number available? The word available is pronounced /za-’meen/ זָמִין for a man, /z-mee-’nah/ זְמִינָה for a woman, and is used in the context of us being available or our phones being available and being able to get through.
Like - This Hebrew word means "as if" but it serves much like the English ‘Like’ filler word. You'll hear it constantly woven through casual speech. Pronounced /ke-’ee-loo/ כְּאִלּוּ.
Be chill, go with the flow - This is a verb that means to flow, and it is used to express - to go with the flow, to be easygoing and not uptight. There's no clean English equivalent. It's a whole attitude packed into one word. /leez-’rom/ לִזְרֹם.
Something - I want something sweet. Something like that. It shows up constantly in casual speech, often said fast, almost blending into one sound. The formal word for Something is /’ma-she-hoo/ מַשֶּׁהוּ although we can say it fast so it sounds more like /’ma-shoo/.
Talk later - This is how you should say "we'll talk," and it's also a standard way to end a conversation, expressing ‘talk later’. It's a soft, easy way to close things out. /ne-da-’ber/ נְדַבֵּר.
Oleh (for a man) / Olah (for a woman) - The word for a new immigrant to Israel. You'll hear it used on its own to describe someone who made the move to live in Israel. In full, it is /o-’leh kha-’dash/ עוֹלֶה חָדָשׁ for a male, and /o-’lah kha-da-’shah/ עוֹלָה חֲדָשָׁה for a woman, but we commonly use the first word only in each in short.
Not great - We use the Hebrew word for ‘less’ to express that we didn’t love something, to say the least. How was the date? /pa-’khot/ פָּחוֹת.
The Mall - We use the English word for a canyon - for shopping. You'll hear it constantly if you're making weekend plans with Israelis. We say either /kan-’yon/, ken-’yon/ or /’ken-’yon/ and write it קַנְיוֹן.
The Head of Anything (the year, the government, the month) - It means ‘head’ and it shows up everywhere: head of the government, head of a department, the head of the year, the beginning of the month. Once you know it, you'll start noticing it everywhere. /rosh/ רֹאשׁ.
Nonsense - We use the Hebrew word for nonsense to express that something is not true. It’s not going to happen. It's a common, blunt way to shut down something you don't believe. Israelis use it to express that it did not happen, is not true, has no legitimacy. /sh-too-’yot/ שְׁטוּיוֹת.
Why These Words Matter More Than You'd Think
Here's the part that actually matters for you as a learner.
Every one of these words is proof that speaking Hebrew was never about mastering an alphabet first, or memorizing formal grammar before you're allowed to talk. It's about understanding the patterns and rhythms of how Hebrew actually gets used, in real rooms, by real people.
That's the whole idea behind how I teach. Not a list of vocabulary to memorize in isolation, but the patterns and structure that let you use words like these the way Israelis do, naturally, in context, without translating in your head first.
This is exactly what I built Practically Speaking Hebrew (online Hebrew course) around: speaking and understanding Hebrew the way it's actually spoken, from day one, with no alphabet required to start.
And if you're also curious about reading these words the way they're written, Hebrew 1-2-3 is where that happens. The two work together. Understanding what you're saying and reading what's written are two different skills, and you don't need one to start the other.
Common Questions About Israeli Slang
Is it okay to use colloquial words and phrases as a beginner, or will it sound wrong?
Use it. Israelis light up when an English speaker drops in a word like yalla or bool naturally. It doesn't sound wrong, it sounds like you're paying attention to how the language is actually used.
Do I need to know the Hebrew alphabet to use these words?
No. Using a phonetic system you understand allows you to read and pronounce everything in Hebrew correctly like a local. You don’t need to know a single letter to do that. This is why you learn my phonetic system in lesson 1 inside each of my programs.
Why do Israelis use so many English words in Hebrew sentences?
Israeli Hebrew is a living, breathing language, and it absorbs words the way any living language does. English is everywhere in Israeli media and culture, so words like "okay" and "wow" simply became part of everyday Hebrew.
Will learning colloquial words replace learning how to actually build sentences in Hebrew?
No, and it shouldn't. Colloquial Hebrew is seasoning. You still need the underlying structure, how Hebrew sentences are actually built, to use these words in context instead of just memorizing them as isolated phrases.
What's the fastest way to start using words like these naturally? Hearing them in context, the way you just did, and then using them. Confidence comes from actually saying them out loud in real conversations, not from a flashcard.
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- How to Learn Hebrew as a Complete Beginner
- How to Speak Hebrew: A Guide for English Speakers
Ready to Sound Like a Local?
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Inbal Amit is a native Israeli Hebrew teacher, Amazon bestselling author, and the creator of Practically Speaking Hebrew - a speaking and understanding program built specifically for English speakers.