Hebrew Phrases for the Beach (You'll Need Them in Tel Aviv)

Tel Aviv's beach is basically the city's backyard. Locals spend half their summer there, and if you're visiting in July or August, you'll probably end up there too. The vocabulary is different from the rest of your Hebrew learning, so here are the beach words and phrases you'll actually use in Tel Aviv.

The basics

• Yam (יָם), sea. The most common word you'll hear.
• Chof, beach / shore. Chof ha-yam, the seashore.
• Chol, sand.
• Galim, waves. Gal gadol, a big wave.
• Shemesh, sun.
• Mits'an... actually, shemshiyah, beach umbrella.
• Migvat, towel. Migvot, towels.
• Begged yam, bathing suit. Literally "sea clothing".
• Mishkafei shemesh, sunglasses.

Activities at the beach

• Lischot, to swim. Ani sochei, I swim.
• Lehishtazef, to tan / to sunbathe.
• Lesachek matkot, to play matkot. Matkot is Israel's unofficial national beach sport: wooden paddles and a rubber ball. You'll hear the clack of matkot constantly.
• Leshachev ba-shemesh, to lie in the sun.
• Lirchotz ba-yam, to bathe in the sea.

The matkot culture

Matkot (מַטְקוֹת) is a beach paddle game played by two people hitting a rubber ball back and forth, trying to keep the rally going as long as possible. It's not competitive in the score sense. The goal is just to hit the ball as many times as possible without dropping it. Tel Avivians will play matkot for hours, and the constant "tuk-tuk-tuk" sound is the soundtrack of every Tel Aviv summer.

If you want to blend in, buy a set of matkot for 50 shekel at any beach shop and find a partner. You'll be terrible at first. By the end of a week, you'll be decent.

Food and drinks at the beach

Most Tel Aviv beaches have kiosks or cafés right on the sand. Common orders:

• Mayim karim, cold water.
• Mitz tapuzim, orange juice.
• Bira karah, cold beer.
• Artik, popsicle.
• Glida, ice cream.
• Sandwich, sandwich.
• Araq, Middle Eastern spirit, surprisingly popular at sunset.

You can also bring your own food and drinks. Nobody will stop you. Israelis show up with giant coolers for long beach afternoons.

Asking for things

• Efshar li shtei bakbukei mayim?, can I get two water bottles?
• Yesh shemshiyot le-haskara?, are there umbrellas for rent?
• Kama ole liskor kise?, how much to rent a chair?

At most Tel Aviv beaches, you can rent a beach chair (kise chof) and umbrella for a small daily fee.

Safety vocabulary

• Matzil, lifeguard.
• Mgdal matzil, lifeguard tower.
• Degel adom, red flag (danger, don't swim).
• Degel katom, orange flag (swim with caution).
• Degel lavan, white flag (safe).
• Ezrah!, help!

Tel Aviv beaches are generally well supervised, and lifeguards announce warnings over loudspeakers in Hebrew and English. Pay attention to the flags.

The unwritten beach etiquette

A few Israeli beach customs to know:

• Topless sunbathing exists in Tel Aviv but is uncommon. Some beaches are more conservative than others.
• The northernmost beach, Tel Baruch, is traditionally for religious families and has separate swimming days for men and women.
• The main beaches (Gordon, Frishman, Banana Beach) are the most mixed and international.
• The beach south of Charles Clore Park is a classic LGBTQ+ hangout.
• Late afternoon (5-8 PM) is the best time. The heat is gone, the sun is golden, and everyone comes out.

The golden hour phrase

Every Tel Avivian has a soft spot for the beach at sunset. The phrase you'll hear is shki'ah (sunset). People will say bo la-shki'ah ba-chof (come for sunset at the beach) and it's one of the warmest invitations you can get.

For more travel and daily life vocabulary, our topics pages cover related words, and our phrases section has sentences for summer activities.

Pack your matkot, buy an artik, and watch a Tel Aviv sunset. That's the whole summer experience in one evening.