Lot’s of Fun with Yiddish Words
Posted by Neal Walters | Filed under Self Improvement
Ashkenazi Jews from Europe often speak the Yiddish language, whereas Sephardic Jews speak Ladino. Yiddish seems to be a cross of Hebrew, Russian, German, and Polish and is written with the Hebrew alphabet. The language developed in the 10th and 11th centuries in the Rhineland and then spread other parts of Europe and the rest of the world. It has been estimated that 10 million people in the world speak Yiddish.
Hebrew is known as the “Holy Language” (LASHON KODESH). The Hebrew “HA-LASHON” means “the tongue”, and thus figuratively “language”. Yiddish calls itself “Mame-loshen” which literally means “mother-tongue”. “MAME” is clearly related to the word “MAMA” or “Mother”. Yiddish has always been written with the Hebrew alphabet, but it can be transliterated into English letters.
Hundreds of Hebrew and Yiddish words have made it into English, and even Websters dictionary. For example, gezuntheit (good health), gefilte fish (stuffed fish), kosher (proper Jewish food), and mishmash (a mess or confusion). “Chutzpah” means “guts” or “brazen”.
Now, let’s learn some of the more interesting Yiddish words and phrases. Es macht mir nit oys - It doesn’t matter to me. A foigel is a smart guy, but a foiler is a lazy man.
A famous phrase is “Oi vai” - which means “Dear me, or “woe is me”. Another “OI” phrase you might have heard is “Oi gevald”, which is a cry of frustration.
Some words are specific to Judaism, “Milchiks” (similar to our word “milk”) refers to dairy foods and cooking utensils (as Jews separate meat from milk). On the other hand, “flaishik” means “meet” foods (compare to the English word “flesh”). A “pushkeh” is a charity box used to collect money.
The word “NIT” is a cognate of our word “NOT”. “Nit gidacht!” means “It shouldn’t happen”. “Nit heint, nit morgen!” means “not today, and not tomorrow.” Simlary, “NISHT” is another word that means “no” or “not”, as in “Nisht Naitik” (not necessary).
To me, phrases that start with “SH” and another consonant are interesting. For example “Shmo” is a naive person. Perhaps this come from the hebrew word “SHEM” (name) or “SHEMO” (his name). “Shmuts” means dirt, and “shmutzik” therefore means “dirty”. A “shnook” is a dolt, and a “shnorrer” is a moocher. A “shlimzael” is a person without “mazal” (luck), thus an “unlucky person”.
Last but not least, here are some “Z” words and phrases. “Zindit nit” = “Don’t complain”. “Zitsen ahf shpilkes” means “sitting on pins and needles” or “fidgety”. You probably guess the “Shpilkes” is similar to the English “spikes”. Probably one of the funniest phrases is “Zol vaksen tzibbelis fun pipek” - which means “Onions should grow from your navel!”.
Neal Walters creates Hebrew software and has a few Yiddish products at his Learn Hebrew website, http://HebrewResources.com. Visit the Uber Article Directory to get a totally unique version of this article for reprint.
Tags: foreign language, self help, Self Improvement, Yiddish
