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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
- 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."
- 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.”
This is a list of words that have entered the English language from the Yiddish language, many of them by way of American English. There are differing approaches to the romanization of Yiddish orthography (which uses the Hebrew alphabet ); thus, the spelling of some of the following words may be variable (for example, shlep is a variant of ...
- Lauren Le Vine
- Alterkaker. An old fart.
- Bupkis. Nothing (figurative) Extra credit: In Yiddish, bupkis comes from the word for goat turd. The usual Yiddish word for nothing is gornisht.
- Chutzpah. Supreme self-confidence. Extra credit: Keep in mind that chutzpah is a breath-taking audacity (something that is not valued in Yiddish culture, but is highly praised in the United States).
- Klutz. In English, klutz has come to mean accident-prone. Extra credit: However, in Yiddish the “clumsy” sense of klutz comes from its primary meaning of wooden beam, which was extended to refer to really awkward questions (klutz kashes), the kind of questions that stop a conversation like a wooden beam in the middle of the road.
Yenta is a Yiddish female name, derived from Yentel, which comes from the French word “gentille” (gentle). It has come to refer to a talkative and nosy woman and/or one who engages in matchmaking.
Yiddish Dictionary. An English-Yiddish dictionary for the 21st century Online. Free online. Emphasis on living Yiddish culture.
