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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.

In Yiddish itself, the language is known as “Mame-loshen” which literally means “mama’s tongue” or “mother-tongue”. “LASHON” is the Hebrew word for “tongue” or “language”, and the Hebrew language calls itself “LASHON KODESH” – the “Holy Tongue”. The Yiddish language is written with Hebrew 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.

Let’s now dig into several interesting Yiddish phrases. Es iz a shandeh far di kinder! = It’s a shame for the children. Onegeblozzen means conceited, but ongepatshket means cluttered or muddled.

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. —

“Oy Vai iz mir!” is a famous phrase you might have heard of; it means “Woe is me”. Other “OY” phrases include: “Oy gevald”, a cry for help or a cry of frustration, and “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”.

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”.

Finally, here are a few “Z” words. “Zaft” means “juice”. “Zaftik” literally means “juicky”, but figuratively refers tp a pleasantly plump and pretty woman. “Zaier shain gezogt” means “well said” (literally “very well said”). “Zorg zich nit!” translates to “Don’t worry!”.

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.

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