Hebrew word of the day · Street Hebrew and slang
וואלהwalla
wow / really
One word, three tones, three different meanings. All of them tonight.
Hear it read by a native speaker
In a sentence
וואלה? בֶּאֱמֶת?
walla? be'emet?
Really? Is that so?
How Israelis use walla
וואלה
wala (wow / really). You'll hear it constantly in Israel, and it's not in your textbook.
✗The flat one at good news
Short, flat wala when a friend says she got the job. Israelis hear: okay, whatever.
✓Let your voice go up
וואלה? בֶּאֱמֶת? (wala? be'emet?, really? is that so?) That's real surprise.
Why it works
The word never changes. Your voice does the whole job, up for surprise, flat for a shrug.
Say it tonight
Someone tells you news on the phone. Answer: וואלה? בֶּאֱמֶת? and let them keep talking.
The third tone
Stretch it, waaala, and you mean wow, respect. Same letters, much warmer.
Your turn
Which tone have you been using without knowing it?
The mistake English speakers make
וואלה comes first in the sentence, not last like English wow.
✗the English word order
לֹא יָדַעְתִּי, וואלה (lo yadati, wala). An Israeli hears a word left hanging with nowhere to go.
✓the Israeli version
וואלה, לֹא יָדַעְתִּי (wala, lo yadati, wow, I didn't know).
why
וואלה opens your reaction, so it comes before the thing you're reacting to.
say it tonight
Someone tells you news you doubt: וואלה? בֶּאֱמֶת? (wala? be'emet?, really? is that so?)
Three sentences you'll hear today
One word covers surprise, agreement and a real compliment.
וואלה? לֹא יָדַעְתִּי.
walla? lo yadati.
Really? I didn't know.
on the phone
וואלה, זֶה טָעִים.
walla, ze taim.
Wow, this is tasty.
at a cafe, first bite
וואלה, אַתָּה צוֹדֵק.
walla, ata tsodek.
Yeah, you're right.
in a taxi, small talk
Quick check: which one is right?
Your friend got the job and you want to say: wow, nice!
- Aוָואלָה, יָפֶה! (wala, yafe!)
- Bיָפֶה, וָואלָה! (yafe, wala!)
The answer: A
וָואלָה, יָפֶה!
וָואלָה (wala) opens the reaction, like English wow. Israelis don't park it at the end of the sentence.
Today's Hebrew challenges
Hebrew challenge #1
עַל הַפָּנִים
al hapanim
What does it mean?
- AFace to face
- BStraight ahead
- CTerrible, awful
The answer
CLiterally 'on the face', but Israelis use it for anything bad: a day, a movie, the traffic.
Hebrew challenge #2
אֲנִי כְּבָר ___
ani kvar ___
Which word is missing?
- Aבְּהַדֶּרֶךְ (behaderekh)
- Bבַּדֶּרֶךְ (baderekh)
- Cבַּמִּטָּה (bamita)
The answer
BThe two prefixes merge into one syllable, so an Israeli says baderekh, never behaderekh.
Published 17 September 2026 by the Israeli Hebrew Institute. Every word, sentence and vowel point on this page was checked by a native Israeli teacher.