Hebrew slang that came from Arabic
A lot of Israeli slang is borrowed from Arabic, and most speakers use it without thinking twice.
ashkaraאשכרה
for real, actually
חשבתי שהוא צוחק, אבל הוא אשכרה קנה כרטיס לאילת ועזב באמצע השבוע.
“I thought he was joking, but he actually bought a ticket to Eilat and left in the middle of the week.”
khamsin(khamseen)חמסין
hot dry desert wind; heatwave
אל תקבע כלום לצהריים, יש חמסין ואי אפשר לנשום בחוץ.
“Don't plan anything for the afternoon, there's a khamsin and you can't breathe outside.”
bekhafif(bechafif)בחפיף
half-heartedly, cutting corners, with minimal effort
הוא צבע את הקיר בחפיף, ואחרי שבוע כבר ראו את הצבע הישן מתחת.
“He cut corners painting the wall, and within a week you could already see the old paint underneath.”
sulkha(sulha)סולחה
reconciliation, a patched-up peace
אחרי שבוע של צעקות בקבוצת הוואטסאפ, אמא הכריחה את כולם לעשות סולחה.
“After a week of yelling in the WhatsApp group, Mom made everyone make up.”
ya'ani(yani)יַעְנִי
supposedly, so-called (spoken air quotes)
הוא בא יעני לעזור, ובסוף ישב על הספה כל הערב.
“He supposedly came to help, and ended up sitting on the couch all evening.”
sakhtein(sahten)סחתיין
respect; nicely done
סחתיין עליך שסידרת את כל העניין בטלפון אחד, אני הייתי מתעסק עם זה שבוע שלם.
“Respect for sorting the whole thing out with one phone call, I'd have been fiddling with it for a week.”
Yaacov, native Jerusalemite
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