Gypsy Camp Blog

The Yiddish language is the language of the Ashkenazi Jews that developed from about the 10th century in the Rhineland and then spread to central and eastern Europe and eventually to other continents. Besides German, Yiddish also borrows words from Polish and Russian. In the late’60’s, there were apparently about 10 million speakers of 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.

Dozens if not hundreds of Yiddish and Hebrew words have adopted by American English. Some of the words include: kindergarten, schmooz (to talk or chat), shtik (piece, a special bit of acting), and shnook (a dolt), a “toches” means a person’s behind.

This article will take a closer look at some fun Yiddish words and phrases. Es tut mir laid – I’m sorry. Farstunken means stinky, but farshvitst means sweaty.

Words like “Milchiks”, “Flaishik” and “Pushkey” 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 “Mechalel Shabbes” is one who works on or violates the Shabbat rest. —

Several phrases begin with “OY”. “Oy Vey” is a famous saying that means “Dear me”. Another is “Oy gevald”, a cry of anguish, and yet another is “Oy a shkandal” means “What a scandal!”

The word “NIT” is similar to our English word “NOT”. Thus, “nit ahin, nit aher” means “neither here nor there”. “Nit Kosher” is something not suitable to eat. “Nito farvos!” means “You’re welcome!”, i.e. “nothing to be thankful for”.

You might have heard of some of these “SH” words before. A “shvitz” is a steam bath, “shmaltz” is grease or fat, and thus figuratively can mean flattery or sweet talk. A “shmatteh” is a rag or worthless item, and like the German word “shmek” means smell. A “shmendrik” is a fool or dope, a “shnook” is a pasty or dolt, and a “shlump” is an untidy foolish, or dumb 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 offers Yiddish and Hebrew products. Visit his Beginning Hebrew website (http://HebrewResources.com) for more information. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service

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