Lesson 30 - davka & takhles
These are two common but difficult to understand slang words.
| English | Transliteration | Hebrew |
|---|---|---|
| specifically, precisely ; in fact, actually, in contrast; on purpose, exactly so | dav-ka | דווקא |
| actual details, practical purpose, contrary, bottom line | takh-les | תכל'ס |
Used to denote something that's done on purpose (usually - but not exclusively - negatively so).
| English | Transliteration | Hebrew |
|---|---|---|
| You're doing this to me on purpose. | at o-sa li dav-ka. | את עושה לי דווקא. |
| He's doing this on purpose. | hu o-se et ze dav-ka. | הוא עושה את זה דווקא. |
| Why are you behaving childishly? - I'm doing it on purpose [to irritate you]. | la-ma a-ta mit-na-heg ba-tsu-ra yal-du-tit? a-ni o-se dav-ka. | למה אתה מתנהג בצורה ילדותית? - אני עושה דווקא. |
| Precisely because the manager allowed me to do it and not you. [incomplete sentence but still instructive] | dav-ka big-lal she-a-ni ha-me-na-hel mu-tar li la-a-sot et ma shel-akh a-sur. | דווקא בגלל שאני המנהל מותר לי לעשות את מה שלך אסור. |
| She dresses like this on purpose [to attract people's attention]. | hi mit-la-be-shet ka-kha bish-vil la-a-sot dav-ka. | היא מתלבשת ככה בשביל לעשות דווקא. |
Used to denote contrast.
| English | Transliteration | Hebrew |
|---|---|---|
| This lecturer doesn't know how to teach. -Really? [contrary to your/ other people's opinion] I like him. | ha-mar-tse ha-ze lo yo-de-a le-la-med. - be-e-met? a-ni dav-ka o-he-vet o-to. | המרצה הזה לא יודע ללמד. -באמת? אני דווקא אוהבת אותו. |
| [Contrary to what other people think] I like the way she dresses. | a-ni dav-ka o-hev eikh she-hi mit-la-be-shet. | אני דווקא אוהב איך שהיא מתלבשת. |
| [Contrary to what most of my friends thought of it] I liked the movie. | dav-ka a-hav-ti et ha-se-ret. | דווקא אהבתי את הסרט. |
| [Unlike what folks say about this guy] He doesn't seem childish to me. | dav-ka hu lo nir-e li yal-du-ti. | דווקא הוא לא נראה לי ילדותי. |
| [Contrary to what you/ your mother/ the Prime Minister thinks,] I love him. | a-ni dav-ka o-he-vet o-to. | אני דווקא אוהבת אותו. |
| Everybody liked the movie and I actually hated it. | ku-lam a-ha-vu et ha-se-ret ve-dav-ka a-ni sa-ne-ti o-to. | כולם אהבו את הסרט ודווקא אני שנאתי אותו. |
| I expected him to like the movie but he actually didn't. | tsi-pi-ti she-hu ya-a-hav et ha-se-ret a-val hu dav-ka lo. | ציפיתי שהוא יאהב את הסרט אבל הוא דווקא לא. |
| I actually like singing despite not being good at it. | a-ni dav-ka o-hev la-shir lam-rot she-a-ni lo tov ba-ze. | אני דווקא אוהב לשיר למרות שאני לא טוב בזה. |
Used as general word for emphasis.
| English | Transliteration | Hebrew |
|---|---|---|
| What mother wouldn't let her son play in the hockey league? -[Precisely] Because I am your mother I don’t want you taking part in this dangerous game! | ei-zo i-ma lo no-te-net la-ben she-la le-hish-ta-tef be-li-gat ho-ki? - dav-ka big-lal she-a-ni i-ma shel-kha a-ni lo ro-tsa she-te-sa-khek et ha-mis-khak ha-me-su-kan ha-ze! | איזו אימא לא נותנת לבן שלה להשתתף בליגת הוקי? -דווקא בגלל שאני אימא שלך אני לא רוצה שתשחק את המשחק המסוכן הזה! |
| I visited the Apple Store and [of all the iPad models that exist] they didn't have the iPad model I wanted. | nikh-nas-ti la-a-pel stor ve-dav-ka et ha-de-gem shel ha-ai-pad she-ra-tsi-ti lo ha-ya la-hem. | נכנסתי לאפל סטור ודווקא את הדגם של האייפד שרציתי לא היה להם. |
| There were many dishes on the menu, but [just/ as if on purpose/ in line with my long streak of bad luck/ ...] what I wanted was missing from it. | ha-yu har-be ma-not ba-taf-rit, a-val dav-ka et ma she-ra-tsi-ti lo ha-ya. | היו הרבה מנות בתפריט, אבל דווקא את מה שרציתי לא היה. |
| He didn't give her the toy actually. | hu lo na-tan la et ha-tsa-a-tsu-a dav-ka. | הוא לא נתן לה את הצעצוע דווקא. |
Takhles.
| English | Transliteration | Hebrew |
|---|---|---|
| Cut to the chase/ cut the bullshit/ be direct with me. (literally: talk takhles) | da-ber takh-les. | דבר תכל'ס. |
| Let's be honest and open with each other (literally: Let's talk takhles) | bo ne-da-ber takh-les. | בוא נדבר תכל'ס. |
| The bottom line is, he's a liar. | takh-les, hu shak-ran. | תכל'ס, הוא שקרן. |
| The bottom line is, he disappointed me. | takh-les, hu ikh-zev o-ti. | תכל'ס, הוא אכזב אותי. |
| I heard what you have to say but [in reality/ for every practical purpose] I don't care. | sha-ma-ti et ma she-yesh le-kha le-ha-gid a-val takh-les ze lo me-an-yen o-ti. | שמעתי את מה שיש לך להגיד אבל תכל'ס זה לא מעניין אותי. |
| [To be direct with you (and leave aside for a minute how or why)] I want him to succeed. | takh-les, a-ni me-od ro-tse she-hu yats-li-akh. | תכל'ס, אני מאוד רוצה שהוא יצליח. |
| He sang really well. - [Bottom line] I agree. | hu shar ma-mash tov. - takh-les. | הוא שר ממש טוב. -תכל'ס. |
| [Actually/ in practice] He sings better than he thinks. | takh-les, hu shar yo-ter tov mi-ma she-hu kho-shev. | תכל'ס, הוא שר יותר טוב ממה שהוא חושב. |
| Get to the point, what are you trying to say? | takh-les, ma a-ta ro-tse le-ha-gid? | תכל'ס, מה אתה רוצה להגיד? |
| [In practice/ bottom line speaking] Nothing new is written here. | takh-les, lo ka-tuv po shum da-var kha-dash. | תכל'ס, לא כתוב פה שום דבר חדש. |
| What did you mean [bottom line-speaking, and please cut the bullshit]? | takh-les, le-ma hit-ka-van-ta? | תכל'ס, למה התכוונת? |