So, your Hebrew is… not bad. You can order coffee, talk politics with your taxi driver and borrow an egg from your neighbor. But when it comes to writing a client-facing email or chiming in during a team meeting? Suddenly you’ve lost your confidence.
Professional Hebrew requires formal phrasing, industry-specific jargon and emails that don’t sound like they were written by Google Translate on a bender. That can be scary.
But don’t worry—you can improve your language skills and feel confident in a Hebrew-speaking work environment. Here’s how to boost your professional Hebrew, one manageable step at a time:
Read the news—but skip the headlines
Yes, read the news. But not just the short updates about war, politics and the latest sports scores. Go deeper: feature articles, opinion pieces, magazine-style interviews. These longer formats offer richer vocabulary, more sophisticated sentence structures and the kind of language you’re more likely to use in emails or meetings.
Pick a topic you already enjoy, whether it’s sports, culture, tech or something else. You’re more likely to stick with it if you care about the content.
Re-read a book you loved—in Hebrew
Take a book you’ve already read in English (and liked!), and read the Hebrew version. Since you already know what’s happening, you can stop stressing about the plot and start focusing on how the language works. Pay attention to grammar, phrasing and how ideas are structured.
Binge some Israeli TV
TV is your crash course in natural speech—intonation, slang, pacing and all. Subtitles are your friend. Start with them on, then try turning them off. You’ll start to internalize how people actually speak in work settings (and not just in textbook-perfect Hebrew).
Bonus: now you can finally understand what your coworkers are quoting from that show everyone seems to be watching.
Use Hebrew at work—even if it’s clunky
Start small. Write your internal WhatsApps in Hebrew. Draft emails. Add a quick disclaimer: “Feel free to correct my Hebrew—still learning!” Most people are happy to help, and showing effort builds trust.
Want to avoid cringe? Use AI to proofread your Hebrew before sending. This is a great way to ensure that external emails or important texts that will be shared widely around your company reflect well on you.
Get a tutor or go to ulpan
It may sound old-school, but structured learning still works. A good tutor can focus specifically on the vocabulary and scenarios you use at work. Meetings, reports, polite disagreement—whatever you need, they’ve seen it before.
And if the idea of going back to school sounds painful? Many tutors work online, and lessons can be quick, flexible and tailored to your schedule.
Make your own professional word bank
Think of the English words you use over and over again at work. Now look up the Hebrew equivalents. Create a list. Study it. Review it. You’re basically building your own industry-specific phrasebook. No more fumbling for “stakeholders” or “deliverables” mid-sentence.
Show up to events—in Hebrew
Go to lectures, panels, meetups—anything related to your field. It’s a great way to absorb professional lingo in a real-world context, meet people and test out your shiny new Hebrew in low-pressure conversations.
Professional Hebrew is a muscle
It’s not about being perfect. It’s about practice. Read, watch, listen, speak, and write—bit by bit, word by word. Professional Hebrew isn’t just about grammar rules or verb conjugations; it’s about being able to show up, contribute and connect in your work life.
So go ahead—write that email. Say that sentence. Use that slightly weird-sounding phrase. You’re building confidence, one awkward WhatsApp at a time. Soon you’ll forget you ever found it hard to communicate in Hebrew at work.
If, despite all your efforts, you still find professional Hebrew challenging, there’s also the possibility of working in Israel without fluent Hebrew.
