Hebrew word of the day · Street Hebrew and slang
סְתָם (שׁוּב)stam
just / not serious
Israelis answer "why?" with one word: סְתָם.
Hear it read by a native speaker
In a sentence
אֲנִי סְתָם צוֹחֵק
ani stam tsokhek
I'm just kidding
How Israelis use stam
סְתָם
(stam) just, for no reason, nothing serious
✗The book sentence
אֲנִי רַק צוֹחֵק (ani rak tsokhek) An Israeli hears "I'm only laughing, not crying".
✓What people actually say
אֲנִי סְתָם צוֹחֵק (ani stam tsokhek, I'm just kidding)
Why it works
stam takes the weight out of what you said. Nothing serious is behind it.
It also stands alone
Someone asks why you called and there's no reason. Full answer: סְתָם
The second job
How was the movie? Nothing special, don't bother. סְתָם
Your turn
Which one will you use first tonight, the joke one or the "no reason" one?
The mistake English speakers make
Israelis put the 'just' right before the verb: אֲנִי סְתָם צוֹחֵק
סְתָם
(stam, just / not serious) It tells the other person not to take what follows seriously.
✗The end of the sentence
אֲנִי צוֹחֵק סְתָם (ani tsokhek stam) Understandable, but that is not how Israelis say it.
✓Right before the verb
אֲנִי סְתָם צוֹחֵק (ani stam tsokhek, I'm just kidding)
Why
It softens the word that comes after it, so it has to stand in front of that word.
Say it tonight
Someone asks why you asked. סְתָם שָׁאַלְתִּי (stam shaalti, I was just asking)
One more from the street
A friend asks where you're going. סְתָם הוֹלֵךְ לְהִסְתּוֹבֵב (stam holekh lehistovev, just going for a wander)
Your turn
Where were you putting it until today, before the verb or at the end? Tell me in the comments.
Today's Hebrew challenge
Hebrew challenge #19
תַּכְלֶס
takhles
What does it mean?
- AGoodbye for now
- BHonestly, bottom line
- CA kind of salad
The answer
BIsraelis drop it before the real point: תַּכְלֶס, זֶה לֹא עָבַד.
Published 1 October 2026 by the Israeli Hebrew Institute. Every word, sentence and vowel point on this page was checked by a native Israeli teacher.