The 22 Best Yiddish Words to Know
A brief glossary of important and commonly used Yiddish
words and phrases.
Abrief glossary of important and commonly used Yiddish
words and phrases.
Bissel (bisl)—
A little bit, as in “I just want to eat a bissel right now.”
Bubbe (bubby)
— Grandmother
Chutzpah —Nerve, extreme arrogance, brazen presumption, confidence,
as in “It took real chutzpah for him to ask for a raise when he kept
showing up late for every appointment.”
Help
us keep Jewish knowledge accessible to millions of people around the world.
With
your help, My Jewish Learning can provide endless opportunities for learning,
connection and discovery.
Daven — To
pray
Klutz — A
clumsy person
Kvell — To experience pride in someone else, typically one’s
children, as in “David decided to go into oncology, and I’m just kvelling.”
Kvetch — To complain,
whine or fret, as in “He likes to kvetch at me when we serve kasha varniskes, because he doesn’t like it.”
Mensch (mentsch)—
Literally “man,” an honorable, decent, stand-up person, as in, “I don’t care
who you marry, as long as he’s a mensch.”
Meshuggeneh — Crazy,
ridiculous, insane, as in, “He must be meshuggeneh to think he can wear that
getup to a funeral.” (A related word is mishegoss, or craziness.)
Mishpocheh (mishpokhe,
mishpucha)— Family, or someone who is “like family”
Nosh — To
eat or nibble, as in “I’d like something to nosh on before dinner.” Can also be
used as a noun to mean any kind of food.
Oy vey—An expression of woe,
as in “Oy vey, we left the gefilte fish at the grocery store!”
Read: The history of
the expression “Oy vey.”
Putz —A jerk, or a
self-made fool, but this word literally means penis.
Schlep — To
carry or travel with difficulty, as in “We shlepped here all the way from New
Jersey.”
Schmooze (shmooze)—
Chat, make small talk, converse about nothing in particular.
Schmuck (shmuck)—A
jerk, or a self-made fool, but this word literally means penis.
Shande (shanda, shonda) —
A scandal, embarrassment.
Shmatte — A rag or old
garment.
Tachlis —Nuts
and bolts, practical, concrete matters.
Tchotchke (tchatchke)—
Knick-knack, little toy, collectible or giftware.
Tuches (tuchis)
— Butt, behind, sometimes shortened to
tush or tushy.
Zayde (zaide)—
Grandfather
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/yiddish-words/?utm_source=MJL_Iterable&utm_campaign=MJL&utm_medium=email
No comments:
Post a Comment