| The First Words You Learn Selected Yiddish Words and Phrases - impress your friends and family A BI GEZUNT: So long as you're healthy. Expression means, "Don't worry so much about a problem, whatever it is. You've still got your health." ALTER COCKER: An old and complaining person, an old fart. AY-YAY-YAY: A Joyous, or at times sarcastic, exclamation. BALABUSTA: The wife of an important person or a bossy woman. BEI MIR BIST DU SHAYN: To me you're beautiful. BERRYER: Denotes a woman who has excellent homemaking skills. Considered a compliment in the pre-feminist era. BISSEL, BISSELA: A little. BOBBEMYSEH: Old wive's tales, nonsense. BOYCHICK: An affectionate term for a young boy. BROCHE: A prayer. BUBBA: A grandmother. BUBBALA: A term of endearment, darling. BUPKES: Something worthless or absurd. CHAYA: An animal. "Vilda Chaya," a wild animal, is a term used to describe unruly children. CHAZEREI: Food that is awful, junk or garbage. CHUTZPAH: Nerve; gall, as in a person who kills her parents and asks for mercy because she is an orphan. DRECK: Shit. Can refer to the ugliness of objects or people. ESS: Eat. FAYGALA: A male homosexual. (literally, little bird.) FERBLUNJIT: Lost, mixed up. FERCOCKT: All fucked up. FERDRAYT: Dizzy, confused. FARPITZS: All dressed up. FERMISHT: All shook up, as in an acute disturbance. FERSHLUGINA: Beaten up, messed up, no good. FERSHTAY?: Do you understand. FERSHTINKINER: A stinker, a louse. FERTUMMELT: Befuddled, confused. FRESS: To eat like an animal, i.e., quickly, noisily, and in great quantity. (Compare with ess, to eat like a human being.) 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." GAY SHLAFEN: Go to sleep. 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. GREPSE: To belch. GORNISHT: Nothing. Often used in a sarcastic manner, as in what did you get from her? Gunisht. 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, to tease or joke around. A kibitzer gives unasked for advice. KINE-AHORA: A magical phrase to ward off the evil eye or to show one's praises are genuine and not tainted by envy. KISHKA: Intestines, belly. To hit someone in the "kishka" means to hit him in the stomach or guts. KLUTZ: An awkward, uncoordinated person. KOSHER: Refers to food that it prepared according to Jewish law. More generally kosher means legitimate. 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. MACHER: An ambitious person; a schemer with many plans. MAVEN: An expert, a connoisseur. MAZEL TOV: Good luck, usually said as a statement of support or congratulations. MEESA MASHEENA: A horrible death. The phrase "a messa mashee af deer" means a horrible death to you and is used as a curse. Some have suggested that Masheena is the origin for the insulting name for Jews of sheeny. MEESKAIT: A little ugly one; a person or thing. MEGILLAH: Long, complicated and boring. MENSCH: A person of character. An individual of recognized worth because of noble values or actions. MESHUGGE or MESHUGGINA: Crazy, refers to a more chronic disturbance. MISHEGOSS: Inappropriate, crazy, or bizarre actions or beliefs. MISHPOCHA: Family, usually extended family. MOMZER: A bastard, an untrustworthy person. MOYL: The man who circumcises baby boys at a briss. 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 whore. NARRISHKEIT: Foolishness, trivia. NEBBISH: An inadequate person, a loser. NOODGE: To bother, to push, a person who bothers you. NOSH: To snack. NOSHERYE refers to food. 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. ONGEPOTCHKET: Messed up, slapped together without form, excessively and unesthetically decorated. OY-YOY-YOY: An exclamation of sorrow and lamentation. OY VEY: "Oh, how terrible things are". OH VEZ MEAR means "Oh, woe is me". 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. POTCHKA: To fool around; to be busy without a clear goal. PUPIK: Belly button. PUTZ: A vulgarism for penis but most usually used as term of contempt for a fool, or an easy mark. RACHMONES: Compassion. SAYKHEL: Common sense. SCHLOCK: A shoddy, cheaply made article, something thats been knocked around. SCHMALTZ: Literally chicken fat. Usually refers to overly emotional and sentimental behavior. SCHMUCK: A vulgarism for penis, strong putdown for a jerk, a detestable person. SHADKHEN: a professional matchmaker. SHANDA: A shame, a scandal. The expression "a shanda fur die goy" means to do something embarrassing to Jews where non-Jews can observe it. SHAYGETS: A gentile boy and man, also means a clever lad or rascal. SHAYNER: Pretty, wholesomely attractive, as in shayner maidel (woman.) 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. Can refer to a person, a "shlepper," who is unkempt and has no ambition. SHLIMAZL: A chronically unlucky person, a born loser, when a shlimazl sells umbrella the sun comes out. SHMENDRICK: A weak and thin pipsqueak. The opposite of mensch, a a physically small shlemiel. SHMEGEGGE: A petty person, an untalented person. SHMATTA: A rag, often used as a putdown for clothes of the unfashionably dressed. 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. SHMUTZIK: Dirt. SHNORRER: A begger, a moocher, a cheapskate, a chiseler. SHNOZ: A Nose. Jimmy Durante was known as a the great shnoz. SHTETL: A Jewish ghetto village. SHTIK: A stick or thing. Often refers to an individual's unique way of presenting themselves, as in "She is doing her shtik." SHTUNK: A stinker, a nasty person or a scandalous mess. SHTUP: An expression for sexual intercourse, to "screw." SHVITZ: To sweat, also refers to a Turkish bath house. A shvitzer means a braggart, a showoff. SHVANTZ: A word for penis. SPIEL: To play, as in to play a game. TCHOTCHKA: An inexpensive trinket, a toy. Can also mean a sexy but brainless girl. The affectionate diminutive is tchotchkala. TSETUMMELT: Confused, bewildered. TSIMMES: A side dish, a prolonged procedure, an involved and troubling business, as in the phrase, "don't make a tsimmes out of it." TSORISS: Suffering, woes. TSUTCHEPPENISH: Something irratating that attaches itself like an obsession. She has a tsutcheppenish that is driving everyone crazy. TUCHES: Backside, ass, "tuches lecker" means ass kisser, one who shamelessly curries favor with superiors. TUMMEL: Noise, commotion, disorder. UNGABLUZUM: To look as if one is going to cry. VER CLEMPT: All choked up. VUS MACHS DA: What's happening? What's up? YENTA: A busybody, usually refers to an older woman. YENTZ: Course word for sexual intercourse. Also means to cheat or screw someone. Yentzer is the noun. ZAFTIG: Juicy, plump. Can refer to food, ideas or people. A buxom woman. ZIE GA ZINK: Wishing someone good health. ZETZ: A strong blow or punch. ZEYDE: Grandfather, or old man. ZHLUB: An insensitive, ill-mannered person, a clumsy individual.
Gai feifen afenyam/Gai kakhen afenyam
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