Judeo-English Languages

Yiddish words used in the English language include both words that have been assimilated into Englishused by both Yiddish and English speakersand many that have not. An English sentence that uses either may be described by some as Yinglish, though a secondary sense of the term describes the distinctive way certain Jews in English-speaking countries add many Yiddish words into their conversation, beyond general Yiddish words and phrases used by English speakers.

Many of these words have not been assimilated into English and are unlikely to be understood by English speakers who do not have substantial Yiddish knowledge. Leo Rosten's book ''The Joys of Yiddish'' explains these words (and many more) in detail.

Yinglish

''Yinglish'' words (also referred to colloquially as ''Hebronics'') are neologisms created by speakers of Yiddish in English-speaking countries, sometimes to describe things that were uncommon in the old country. Leo Rosten's book ''The Joys of Yiddish'' uses the words ''Yinglish'' and ''Ameridish'' to describe new words, or new meanings of existing Yiddish words, created by English-speaking persons with some knowledge of Yiddish. Rosten defines "Yinglish" as "Yiddish words that are used in colloquial English" (such as ''kibitzer)'' and Ameridish as words coined by Jews in the United States; his use, however, is sometimes inconsistent. According to his definition on page x, ''alrightnik'' is an Ameridish word; however, on page 12 it is identified as Yinglish.

While "Yinglish" is generally restricted in definition to the adaptation of Yiddish lemmas to English grammar by Jews, its usage is not explicitly restricted to Jews. This is especially true in areas where Jews are highly concentrated, but in constant interaction with their Gentile fellows, esp. in the larger urban areas of North America. In such circumstances, it would not be unusual to hear, for example, a Gentile griping about having "shlepped" a package across town.

The portmanteau word ''Yinglish'' is first recorded in 1942.Lambert, James. 2018. A multitude of 'lishes': The nomenclature of hybridity. ''English World-wide'', 39(1): 33. DOI: 10.1075/eww.38.3.04lam Similar colloquial portmanteau words for Yiddish influenced English include: ''Yidlish'' (recorded from 1967), ''Yiddiglish'' (1980), and ''Yenglish'' (2000). A number of other terms have been promulgated, such as ''Engdish'' and ''Engliddish'', but these have not enjoyed widespread adoption.

As with Yiddish, Yinglish has no set transliteration standard; as the primary speakers of Yinglish are, by definition, Anglophones (whether first-language or not), Yinglish used in running speech tends to be transliterated using an English-based orthography. This, however, varies, sometimes in the same sentence. For instance, the word may be spelled ''farkakte'', ''ferkockte'', ''verkackte'', among others. In its roots, though, Yiddish (whether used as English slang or not) descended from mediaeval High German; although mediaeval German suffered from the same vagaries in spelling, it later became standardised in Modern High German. This list shall use the same conventions as Modern High German, with the exception of certain words, the spellings of which have been standardised. Furthermore, common nouns shall be left lowercase, as in English.

Yinglish was formerly assigned the ISO 639-3 code yib, but it was retired on July 18, 2007, on the grounds that it is entirely intelligible with English.

A

* aidim (Yid. ): son-in-law, from middle-high-German ''eidam''
* a schande (Yid. ): a disgrace; one who brings embarrassment through mere association, cf. German ''eine Schande'', translated "a disgrace", meaning "such a shame"
* a schande far di goyim (Yid. ): "A disgrace before (in front of) the Gentiles", used as a Jewish insult against Jews who are perceived to further antisemitic stereotypes. Also spelled in varied phonetic and Germanic ways as "a shanda fur di goyim," "a schande fur die goyim," and so forth. Sometimes partially mistranslated as "a shande for the goyim," though ''far'' here means before and not for.
* ay-ay-ay (Yid. ) (sometimes spelled ''ai-yi-yi''; spoken "ei, yei, yei")
* abi gezunt! (Yid. ): the first word is Slavic: compare Ukrainian ''aby'' (аби), Belarusian ''aby'' (абы) and Polish ''oby'', both meaning "if only", "hopefully". The second word is Germanic, cognate to High German ''gesund.'' The phrase thus means "As long as you're healthy!"; often used as an ironic punchline to a joke
* abi me lebt (Yid. ): ''abi'' from Slavic, as in the previous entry; ''me lebt'' cognate to the German, ''man lebt,'' meaning "At least I'm alive"

B

* billig or billik (Yid. ): cheap, shoddy (said of merchandise); common expression "Billig is Teir" (cheap is expensive). As the German ''billig'', "cheap."
* bissel (Yid. ): a small amount, "a pinch of" something (cf. Austrian/Bavarian ''bissl'', a dialectal variant of the more standard German ''bisschen'', "a little bit")
* bentsch/bentsching (Yid. ): to bless, blessing; commonly referred to saying Birkat Hamazon (grace after meals) or when lighting shabbat candles (bentsch-light), from Latin, "benedicere", (to bless).Joyce Eisenberg, Ellen Scolnic, ''Dictionary of Jewish Words: A JPS Guide'', 2010
p. 17
/ref>
**bentcher a booklet with Birkat Hamazon and other prayers and songs associated with meal.
* bubbameisse (Yid. ) Old wives' tale, cock and bull story (often attributed by erroneous folk etymology to combination of ''bubbe'', "grandmother", and ''meisse'', "tale", but in fact derives from "''Bove-meisse''", from the "Bove Bukh", the "Book of Bove", the chivalric adventures of fictitious knight Sir Bevys ("Bove") of Hampton, first published in Yiddish in 1541 and continually republished until 1910.

C

* chazerei/chazerai/chozerai (Yiddish, ''khazerai'' "filth" or, perhaps more literally, "piggery", from ''khazer'' "pig" from Hebrew "hazeer", pig): junk, garbage, junk food

E

* ekht (Yid. ): real, true (from German ''echt'', "real")
* emes (Yid. ): the truth. From Hebrew ''emet'', "truth."
* eppes (Yid. ) a little, not much, something. Probably from Old High German ''eddeshwaz'', with the eventual /-tw-/ assimilating into /-p-/. Compare modern Swiss German and Bavarian dialects which have a rough equivalent
* ess (Yid. ; ''"Iss!"'' German imperative for "Eat!"): to eat, especially used in the imperative: ''Ess! Ess!''

F

* fachnyok (Yid. ): negative term meaning very religious, often used to connote someone holier-than-thou. Can be shortened to "chenyok", or used as a noun ("don't be such a chenyok") or an adjective ("you're so chnyokish"). Possibly derived from Russian (''khnyka'').
* farblunjet (Yid. ): confused, perplexed, totally lost
* farkakte (Yid. ): screwed up, contemptible; literally " shat upon" (see ''verkackte'')
* farklemt (Yid. ): choked up (with emotion) (cf. German ''verklemmt'')
* farmisht (Yid. ): confused (cf. German vermischt = intermingled, mixed)
* farshtunken: contemptible, nasty (cf. German ''verstunken'')
* feh (Yid. ): expression of disgust
* feygele or faygeleh (Yid. ): (pejorative) homosexual (literally 'little bird', from Old High German ''fogal''; cf. modern German ''Vögele'', also possible cf. German word ''Feigling'', meaning 'coward'), could be used for anyone slightly effeminate, "Ugh, that, Moishele washes his hands, what a faygel." Often used as a disparaging term for a homosexual male.
* fress (Yid. ): to eat, especially with enthusiasm (German ''fressen'' = "to eat like an animal, in an untidy way")
* frimmer (Yid. ): (British English slang): a Hasidic Jew (from Yiddish "frum", religious; also cf. German "Frommer" = pious person)

G

* gantz; gantze (Yid. ): all, the whole of ("the ganze mischpache" = the whole family, etc., cf. German ''ganz'' = "whole, all")
* gei gesund (Yid. ''gey gezunt''): (from German) go in health; used as a goodbye. Repeated in reply. Usually neutral, but can be used sarcastically to mean "good riddance".
* gei avek (Yid. ): go away, from German.
* gei shlofen (Yid. ): (from German ''Geh schlafen'') go osleep.
* gehivays (Yid. ): literally "go know", as in "go figure". ("Last week she said she hated his guts and now she's engaged to him. Geh vays.")
* genug (from German ''genug''; Yiddish ): enough
* geschmad, geschmadde (Yid. , from Hebrew ''meshumad'', "destroyed"): adjective meaning "(a Jew who) converted to Christianity".
* gewalt (Yid. ; from German ''Gewalt'', violence): equivalent to "oi, weh" or "good grief!" Literally "violence".
* glück (Yid. , German): a piece of good luck
* gonef or gonif (Yid. , also ''ganiv''): thief (Hebrew ''ganav''. This can be used as a somewhat generic insult, implying a "lowlife"): the word has also been adopted from Yiddish into German as ''Ganove'', also a thief (often figurative)
* gornisht (Yid. , from German ''gar nichts'' = nothing at all): nothing, not a bit, for naught
* goyisher mazel (Yid. ): good luck (lit. "Gentile luck"). ''Mazel'' is from Hebrew ''mazzal'', referring to luck or fate.
* graube (Yid. ): (from German ''grobe'', rough) coarsely or crudely made.

H

* hegdesch (Yid. ): pigpen, often used to describe a mess (as in "your room is a hegdesch")
* hock (Yid. ): Bother, pester (as in the character Major Hochstetter from ''Hogan's Heroes''; a hockstetter being someone who constantly bothers you); a contraction of the idiom ''Hakn a tshaynik'' (literally "to knock a teakettle"; Yiddish: ), from the old time pre-whistle teakettles whose tops clank against the rim as the pressure pushed them up and down. Often partially translated in informal speech, as in, "Don't hock my tshaynik about it!" ("Don't pester me about it!")
* hocker (Yid. ): botherer, pesterer (see above)

K

* kadoches (Yid. ): a fever; frequently occurs in oaths of ill-will (e.g., "I'll give him a ''kadoches'' is what I'll give him!). From Hebrew ''kedachat''.
* keppalah (Yid. ): forehead, diminutive of ''keppe''.
* keppe (Yid. ): head (e.g. "I needed that like a loch in keppe", i.e. a hole in my head); German "Kopf", coll. "Kopp": "head"; German "Loch": "hole".
* keyn ayn horeh (Yid. ; also pronounced: ''kin ahurrah''): lit., "No evil eye!"; German ''kein'': none; Hebrew ''ayn''—eye, ''harrah''—bad, evil; an apotropaic formula spoken to avert the curse of jealousy after something or someone has been praised
* khaloymes (Yid. ): dreams, fantasies; used in the sense of "wild dreams" or "wishful thinking", as in "Ah, boy, that's just khaloymes, it'll never come true." From the Hebrew ''khalom'' (dream), pl. ''khalomot''.
* kife or kyfe (Yid. ): enjoyment. From Arabo-Persian ''keyf'' 'opiate; intoxication; pleasure, enjoyment'.
* klop (Yid. ): a loud bang or wallop (German ''klopfen'' = "to knock")
* klumnik (Yid. ): empty person, a good-for-nothing (From Hebrew ''klum'', nothing.)
* krankhayt (Yid. ): a sickness (German ''Krankheit'')

L

* l'ch'oira: (Yid. ) "seemingly". From Hebrew ''lichora''. Ultimately from ''or'', "light", as light is being shed on what has happened.
* lobbus: a rascal, or young mischievous person. From lobes, lobus 'urchin, young rascal'.
* luzim (Yid. ): let it go, forget about it, from Old High German ''lazan'', "let, allow". Famously used by the " Indians" in ''Blazing Saddles'', where Mel Brooks says ''luzim gayen'' (), "let him go."

M

* maiseh (Yid. ): lit. "deed, occurrence", a story or vignette about a person or event, (Heb. ''ma'aseh'' (same meaning as in Yiddish, though infrequently used). A small problem that blew up into a big story would be called a "ganze maiseh". Also famous in the phrase a "bubbe maiseh", the equivalent of the English idiom "an old wives' tale".
* mamish (Yid. ): really, very (an expression of emphasis) From the Hebrew ממש (''mamash''), "substantially"
* maydl (Yid. ): Girl, young woman, from Austrian ''Maedel''. "That's a shayne (pretty) Maydl."
* mazel (from Hebrew ''mazal''): luck (literally, ''constellation'' of stars)
* mechaye (Yid. ): a source of pleasure (from the Hebrew "chayim", meaning "life")
* mechutanista (f), mechutan (m), mechutanim (pl), Machtainista (f): kinship term for one's child's female or male parent-in-law (Yid. , from Hebrew ''mekhután'', "belonging to the groom").
* meh, mnyeh: an expression of indifference or boredom
* meiven (a variant of maven): expert (from Yiddish ''meyvn'', from Hebrew ''mevin'' 'one who understands')
* mishegoss: a crazy, mixed up, insane situation; irrationality (from Yiddish ''meshugas'', from ''meshuge'' 'crazy')

P

* pulke (Yid. ): thigh, particularly fat ones on babies. From Russian (''pol''), "half."
* punkt farkert (Yid. ) : just the opposite, total disagreement. German: ''punkt verkehrt''; lit "point/precisely false/backward" = wrong.
* pupik (Yid. ): the navel; belly button (Polish ''pępek'', navel) ( used by American comedian Moe Howard in the short subject film ''You Nazty Spy!'' from 1940)

S

* schicker (Yid. ''shikhur'') or schickered: drunk, intoxicated (from the Hebrew ''shikor'': drunk, cf. German oll.''angeschickert'' "soused, tipsy")
* schissel or shisl (Yid. ): bowl, especially a large mixing bowl (from German ''Schüssel'', bowl)
* schlepper: bum (Yiddish ''shlepr'' and German ''schleppen'')
* schmeckle (Yid. ): a little penis, often ascribed to a baby boy. Diminutive of ''shmok'', "penis."
* schmeer (Yid. ) also schmear: as a verb, to spread, e.g., the cream cheese on your bagel; also, as a noun, that which you spread on something, e.g., "I'll have a piece of challah with a schmeer." Can also mean "to bribe" (to spread money on someone's hands). (cf. German ''schmieren'')
* schrai (Yid. ): a shriek or wail, sometimes used to connote exaggerated hysterics. ("When I told her I'd be ten minutes late, she let out such a shrai!") (cf. German ''Schrei'')
* schtick'l: a little piece of something, usually food. Dim. of stick, from German ''Stückchen''. In "delis", salami ends were sold from a plate on the counter labeled "A nickel a schtickel"
* schtupp, schtuff: (vulgar) to have sex with, screw (from Yiddish ''shtupn'' 'push, poke'; similar to 'stuff'); to fill, as in to fill someone's pocket with money. ("Schtupp him $50.") Frequently used in the former context by Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. In German 'stopfen' means to (overly) fill or to stuff something.
* schverr (Yid. ): father-in-law (German ''Schwager'', obsolete form "Schwäher")
* schvigger (Yid. ): mother-in-law (German ''Schwiegermutter'')
* Shabbos goy: A non-Jew who performs labour forbidden on the Jewish Sabbath for observant Jews; sometimes used (by implication) for someone who "does the dirty work" for another person. (from Yiddish ''Shabbos,'' Sabbath and goy, a non-Jew)
* shep naches (Yid. ): take pride. Sometimes shortened to "shep". ("Your son got into medical school? You must be shepping.") From (''shepn''), "derive", from Old High German ''scaphan''; and Hebrew ''nachat'', "contentment."
* sheyne meydel (Yid. ): a beautiful girl (cf. German ''schönes Mädel'')
* Shiva (Yid. ''shive''): The mourning of seven days after one dies by his family. From Hebrew ''shiv'a'', "seven".
* shmegege (Yid. ): a stupid person, a truly unlucky one; has been said to be the one who cleans up the soup the shlemiel spilled on the shlimazel.
* shpilkes (Yid. ): nervous energy; to be feeling "antsy", to be "sitting on pins and needles". Cf. Polish ''szpilka'', "pin"
* shtark (Yid. ), shtarker: strong, brave (German ''stark''), zealously religious
* shtick: comic theme; a defining habit or distinguishing feature (from Yiddish ''shtik'', 'a piece of something': cf. German ''Stück'', "piece").
* shtotty (Yid. ): fancy or elegant; may sometimes be pejorative ("She thinks she's so shtotty with that new dress of hers.")
* shtuch (Yid. ): to put someone down, often facetiously ("I shtuched him out." Can be used as a noun to refer to a clever put-down or rejoinder ("When I told my father that my stupidity must be hereditary, it was such a good shtuch!")
* shtick dreck (Yid. ): literally "a piece of dirt" (see Dreck), but usually applied to a person who is hated because of the antisocial things he has done: "He's a real shtuck dreck." Possibly shtick dreck: a piece of crap. Cf. German ''Stück Dreck''.
* shtuss (Yid. ): nonsense, foolishness (from Hebrew שטות ''shetut'', pl. ''shetuyot''); also the name of a card game. In German, 'Stuss' means nonsense.
* shvartze or shvartzer: (): Black person (either neutral or possibly derogatory depending on context) (from ''shvarts'' "black", German ''schwarz'')

T

* takeh (Yid. ): really, totally. "This is takeh a problem!" From Russian/Ukrainian (''taki''), "still, after all, in spite of."
* tchepen sikh (Yid. ''tshepen zikh''): to bother someone incessantly ("Stop tcheppening me!") or to playfully banter with someone ("We spent the entire date tcheppening each other about what bad taste the other one had.") From Polish ''czepiać sie'', "cling to, find fault with."
* tornig (Yid. ): a disobedient nephew
* tsim gezunt (Yid. ): to ourhealth! Used as a response to a sneeze; from German ''gesund'', "healthy")
* Tsekruchen (adj.): to be bent over, to be dejected. "Don't be so ''tsekruchen'' all the time, lighten up a bit"
* tummel (Yid. ): excitement (cf. German ''tummeln'', "to romp")

V

* verblandzhet (Yid. ; ''far-'' cf. German ''ver-'' and Polish ''błądzić'' = "to stray around"): lost, bewildered, confused, mixed-up (appropriately, there are several variant spellings)
* verdreyt (Yid. ; ''drey'' meaning ''turn'', cf. dreidel; also cf. German ''verdreht'' = "twisted"): confused, mixed-up, distracted
* verfrumt (Yid. ): negative term for someone very religious or pious. "She came back from seminary and became all farfrumt." From Old High German ''fruma'', cognate to German ''fromm''.
* vershimmelt (Yid. ''farshmilt''): shook up, rattled, in a state of nerves. "She wasn't hurt in the accident, but she was pretty farshimmelt". (cf. German ''verschimmelt'' = mouldy)
* verkakte (Yid. ): an adjective, meaning 'screwed up' or 'a bad idea'; literally, 'crapped' or 'becrapped', cf. German "verkackte(r)"
* vershtuft (Yid. ''farshtuft''): (pejorative) pregnant, recently had sex, constipated. (stuffed) (cf. German "verstopft"= blocked)

W

* wilde chaya (Yid. ''vilde chaye''): impolite or undisciplined child, literally, wild beast. From Old High German ''wildi'' and Hebrew (''ḥaye'', "animal").

Y

* Yiddishe Mama (Yid. ): a stereotypical Jewish mother
* Yiddisher kop (Yid. ): intelligence (lit. "Jewish head"; German "Jüdischer Kopf": Jewish head)
* yiddisher mazel (Yid. ): bad luck (lit. "Jewish luck") From Hebrew ''mazal'', "constellation".
* yungatch (Yid. ''yungatsh''): a rascal. From ''yung'' (OHG ''junc'').

Yinglish words

''The Joys of Yiddish'' describes the following words as Yinglish except where noted as Ameridish:
* alrightnik, alrightnikeh, alrightnitseh – male, female, female individual who has been successful; ''nouveau riche''
* bleib shver  – from German ''bleibt schwer'', meaning ''remains difficult'' – unresolved problem, especially in Talmud learning (cf. wikt:תיקו)
* blintz (Yinglish because the true Yiddish is ''blintzeh'')
* bluffer, blufferkeh – male, female person who bluffs
* boarderkeh, bordekeh – (Ameridish) female paying boarder
* boychick, boychikel, boychiklekh – young boy, kiddo, handsome
* bulbenik (Ameridish) – an actor who muffs his lines, from ''bilbul'' – mixup (alternative theory – ''bulba'', literally ''potato'', figuratively ''error'')
* bummerkeh (Ameridish) – a female bum
* chutzpah (Ameridish) – audacity
* cockamamy false, ersatz, crazy (of an idea), artificial, jury-rigged (prob. from Eng. "decalcomania," a "decal," a sticker, a cheap process for transferring images from paper to glass.) In the Bronx, in the first half of the 20th century, a "cockamamie" was a washable temporary "tattoo" distributed in bubblegum packets.
* donstairsikeh, donstairsiker – female, male living downstairs
* dresske – bargain-basement dress
* fin – five, or five-dollar bill, shortened form of Yiddish ''finif'' (five)
* kosher – Yinglish, not in its religious or Yiddish meanings, but only in five slang senses: authentic, trustworthy, legitimate, fair, and approved by a higher source. Its pronunciation, as "''kōsher''", is another distinguishing factor, as in true Yiddish it is pronounced "''kūsher''" or "''kösher''"
* mensch – a person of uncommon maturity and decency
* nextdoorekeh, nextdooreker – female, male living next door
* opstairsikeh, opstairsiker (Ameridish) – female, male living upstairs
* pisha paysha – corruption of English card game "Pitch and Patience"
* sharopnikel (Ameridish) – a small object that causes quieting, such as a pacifier, teething ring, cf. ''shaddap'' (shut up!)
* shmata – everyday clothing (literally "rags")
* shmegegge (Ameridish) – an unadmirable or untalented person
* shmo – shortened version of 'shmock' or 'shmearal', see 'shnuk'
* shnuk (Ameridish) – an idiotic person
* tararam – a big tummel
* tuchas – buttocks

See also

* List of English words of Hebrew origin
* List of German expressions in English
* List of English words of Yiddish origin
* Lists of English words by country or language of origin
* Jewish English Lexicon
* Yeshivish
* Scots-Yiddish

References

External links

Jewish Language Research Website: YiddishOn-line Yiddish dictionaryThe Spoken Yiddish Language Project (Columbia University)
*Bennett Muraskin
You Know More Yiddish Than You Think
''Jewish Currents'', December 10, 2014

{{Jewish languages

Judeo-English languages
Macaronic forms of English

Lists of loanwords of Germanic origin