Home


What's New
Health & Fitness
Legal & Financial
Home & Garden
Family
Communities
Holidays
People
Roots
Pets
Arts & Leisure
People
Forever Young
About Us
Search the Site












Yiddish Phrases

Yiddish is such a rich and descriptive language. Many words and phrases have made it into the mass culture but others are not as well known.

Have fun browsing these expressions. Be a mensch and send us any others you may know of.

ALTER COCKER: An old person that complains a lot.

BISSEL, BISSELA: A little.

BOBBEMYSEH: Old wive's tales, nonsense.

BOYCHICK: An affectionate term for a young boy.

BUBBA: A grandmother.

BUBBALA: A term of endearment, darling.

BUPKES: Something worthless or absurd. I fold - I've got bupkes.

CHUTZPAH: Nerve; gall, as in a person who kills her parents and asks for mercy because she is an orphan.

DRECK: Shoddy or inferior.

FERBLUNJIT: Lost, mixed up.

FARPITZS: All dressed up.

FERSHLUGINA: Beaten up, messed up, no good.

FERSHTINKINER: A stinker, a louse.

FERTUMMELT: Befuddled, confused.

FRESS: To eat like an animal, i.e., quickly, noisily, and in great quantity

GAVALT: A cry of fear or a cry for help. Oy Gevalt is often used as expression meaning "oh how terrible."

GAY AVEK: Go away, get out of here.

GAY GA ZINTA HATE: Go in good health. Often said in parting but can be spoken with irony to mean, "go do your own thing."

GELT: Money.

GONIF: A thief, a tricky clever person, a shady character.

GOY: A derogatory term meaning gentile, goyim is the plural, and goyisher is the adjective.

GORNISHT: Nothing. Often used in a sarcastic manner, as in what did you get from her?

HAYMISH: Informal, friendly. A haimisher mensch is someone you feel comfortable with.

HOK A CHAINIK: To talk too much, to talk nonsense.

KIBITZ: To offer comments which are often unwanted during a game.

KISHKA: Intestines, belly. To hit someone in the "kishka" means to hit him in the stomach or guts.

KLUTZ: An awkward, uncoordinated person.

KVELL: To beam with pride and pleasure, Jewish parents are prone to kvell over their children's achievements.

KVETCH: To annoy or to be an annoying person, to complain.

LOCH IN KOP: Literally a hole in the head, refers to things one definitely does not need.

LUFTMENSH: A dreamer, someone whose head is in the clouds.

LUZZEM: Leave him be, let her or him alone.

MACH SHNEL: Hurry up.

MAVEN: An expert, a connoisseur.

MAZEL TOV: Good luck, usually said as a statement of support or congratulations.

MENSCH: A person of character. An individual of recognized worth because of noble values or actions.

MOMZER: An untrustworthy person.

NACH A MOOL: And so on.

NACHES: Joy. To "shep naches" means to derive pleasure. Jewish children are expected to provide their parent with naches in the form of achievement.

NAFKA: A woman of ill repute.

NEBBISH: An inadequate person, a loser.

NOODGE: To bother, to push, a person who bothers you.

NOSH: To snack.

NU: Has many meanings including, "so?; How are things?; how about it?; What can one do?; I dare you!"

NUDNIK: A pest, a persistent and annoying person.

OY VEY: "Oh, how terrible things are".

PISHER: A bed-wetter, a young inexperienced person, a person of no consequence.

PLOTZ: To burst, to explode, "I can't laugh anymore or I'll "plotz." To be aggravated beyond bearing.

SCHLOCK: A shoddy, cheaply made article, something that's been knocked around.

SCHMALTZ: Literally chicken fat. Usually refers to overly emotional and sentimental behavior.

SHAYGETS: A gentile boy and man, also means a clever lad or rascal.

SHIKSA: A gentile girl or woman.

SHLEMIEL: A dummy; someone who is taken advantage of, a born loser.

SHLEP: To carry or to move about.

SHLIMAZL: A chronically unlucky person, a born loser.

SHMENDRICK: A weak and thin pipsqueak. The opposite of mensch.

SHMEGEGGE: A petty person, an untalented person.

SHMEER: To spread as in to "shmeer" butter on bread. Can also mean to bribe and can refer to the "whole package", as in I'll accept the whole shmeer.

SHMOOZ: To hang out with, a friendly gossipy talk.

SHNOZ: A Nose.

SHTIK: A stick or thing. Often refers to an individual's unique way of presenting themselves, as in "She is doing her shtik."

SHVITZ: To sweat, also refers to a Turkish bath house. A shvitzer means a braggart, a showoff.

TCHOTCHKA: An inexpensive trinket, a toy. Can also mean a sexy but brainless girl. The affectionate diminutive is tchotchkala.

TSORISS: Suffering, woes.

TSUTCHEPPENISH: Something irritating that attaches itself like an obsession. She has a tsutcheppenish that is driving everyone crazy.

TUCHES: Backside, rear-end.

TUMMEL: Noise, commotion, disorder.

VER CLEMPT: All choked up.

YENTA: A busybody, usually refers to an older woman.

ZAFTIG: Juicy, plump. Can refer to food, ideas or people. A buxom woman.

ZIE GA ZINK: Wishing someone good health.


Thanks to Marty Fiebert, Jim Evans, Carolyn Javitch and others for their input.





Top of Page

Don't Miss the Mickey Katz song with the Klezmer clarinet

The Yiddish Policemen's Union
By Michael Chabon (book review)

Back to Jews in Cleveland





Visit our on-line Jewish Store
Books, Music, DVDs, Clothes, Gourmet Food, Jewelry and More










Copyright © 2002-2007 ClevelandSeniors.Com. All Rights Reserved.
Questions or Comments? E-Mail us at:
support@ClevelandSeniors.Com