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The 22 Best Yiddish Words to Know. A brief glossary of important and commonly used Yiddish words and phrases. By My Jewish Learning
- 1 min
- What Does 'Naches' Mean? Naches (נחת) is a Yiddish word that means "pride" or "joy." Typically naches refers to the pride or joy that a child brings a parent.
- What Does 'Mensch' Mean? Mensch (מענטש) means "a person of integrity." A mensch is someone who is responsible, has a sense of right and wrong, and is the sort of person other people admire.
- What Does 'Oy Vey' Mean? Oy vey (אױ װײ) is typically used when a situation is causing exasperation or dismay. It means something along the lines of "woe is me."
- What Does 'Mazel Tov' Mean? Mazel tov (מזל טוב) is a Hebrew and Yiddish phrase that literally means "good destiny, stars" but is used to say "good luck" or "congratulations."
Yiddish is a Germanic language, originally spoken by Jews in Central and later Eastern Europe, written in the Hebrew alphabet, and containing a substantial substratum of Hebrew words as well as numerous loans from Slavic languages.
- baleboste. A good homemaker, a woman who’s in charge of her home and will make sure you remember it.
- bissel. Or bisl – a little bit.
- bubbe. Or bobe. It means Grandmother, and bobeshi is the more affectionate form. Bubele is a similarly affectionate word, though it isn’t in Yiddish dictionaries.
- bupkes. Not a word for polite company. Bubkes or bobkes may be related to the Polish word for “beans”, but it really means “goat droppings” or “horse droppings.”
May 9, 2020 · Learn the meanings and origins of common Yiddish words, from baleboste to zeyde, and how they are used in Jewish culture and humor. Discover the differences between Yiddish and Hebrew, and the influences of American English and Southern Yiddish dialects.
May 13, 2019 · Learn the meaning and origin of common Yiddish words and phrases that have entered the English language, such as chutzpah, kvetch, and l'chaim. Rokhl Kafrissen, a humorless Yiddishist, breaks down the Yinglish expressions and their Yiddish roots.
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Yinglish words (also referred to colloquially as Hebronics) are neologisms created by speakers of Yiddish in English-speaking countries, sometimes to describe things that were uncommon in the old country. Leo Rosten 's book The Joys of Yiddish [3] uses the words Yinglish and Ameridish to describe new words, or new meanings of existing Yiddish ...
