The Yiddish Dictionary - (Complete with words you wouldn't dare ask your grandmother the meaning of) - Miscellaneous - http://maxpages.com/makeoneup/Yiddish

While this should be enough just to get you in the mind frame if you want a complete dictionary go to this site

A bisel - A little
A biseleh - A very little
A broch! - Oh hell! Damn it!! A curse!!!
A broch tsu dir! - A curse on you!
A brocheh - A blessing
A deigeh hob ich - I don't care. I should worry.
A farshlepteh krenk - A chronic ailment
A feier zol im trefen - He should burn up!
A gesheft hob ich - I don't care
A gezunt ahf dein kop! - Good health to you (lit., Good health on your head)
A glick ahf dir! - Good luck to you (Sometimes used sarcastically about minor good fortunes) Big thing!
A glick hot dir getrofen! - Big deal! Sarcastic; lit., A piece of luck happened to you.
A groyser tzuleyger - A big shot (sarcasticly.)
A kappore - A catastrophie.
A klog iz mir! - Woe is me!
A klog tzu meineh sonim! - A curse on my enemies!
A leben ahf dir! - You should live! And be well and have more!
A lung un leber oyf der noz - Stop talking yourself into illness! (Lit., Don't imagine a lung and a liver upon the nose)
A mentsh on glik is a toyter mensh - An unlucky person is a dead person.
A metsieh fun a ganef - It's a steal (Lit., A bargain from a thief.)
A nechtiker tog! - Forget it!
A nishtikeit! - A nobody!
A ritch in kop - Crazy (in the head.)
A schwartz yor - Bad luck. (LIT., A bad year)
A schwartzen sof - A bad end.
A shandeh un a charpeh - A shame and a disgrace
A shtik naches - A great joy
A sof! A sof! - Let's end it ! End it!
Abi gezunt! - As long as you're healthy!
Achrahyes - Responsible
Ahf mir gezogt! - I wish it could be said about me!
Ahf tsores - In trouble
Ahntoisht - Disappointed
Ahzes ponim - Impudent fellow
Aidel - Cultured or finicky
Aidim - Son-in-law
Aiver butel - Absent minded; mixed up
Alaichem sholom - To you be peace
Alef-bais - Alphabet; the first two letters of the Jewish alphabet
Alevei! - It should happen to me (to you)!
Alteh moid - Spinster, old maid
Alteh bocher - Bachelor
Alter Kucker - A lecherous old man
An alteh machashaifeh - An old witch
An alter bakahnter - An old acquaintance
An alter trombenick - An old bum
Arein - Come in!
Arumgeflickt! - Plucked! Milked!
Arumloifer - Street urchin; person who runs around
Az a yor ahf mir. - I should have such good luck.
Az och un vai! - Touch luck! Too bad! Misfortune!
Azoy? - Really?
Azoy gait es! - That's how it goes!
Azoy gich? - So soon?
Azoy vert dos kichel tzekrochen! - That's how the cookie crumbles!

Chaloshes
Chaloshes: Disgusting, unbelievably hideous. Usually pronounced with the guttural h, ha-loo-shess. In my family, we use it primarily to describe food, as in: "You wouldn't believe the meal they served; it was chaloshes!" Occasionally it may be used to describe a person's appearance; most likely describing a teenager's dress, as in: "You're not going to shul in that chaloshes outfit!"

Chutzpah
Chutzpah: guts, or as they say in Spanish, cojones. Used both positively and negatively, as in:
"It takes chutzpah to for her to get up and sing in front of all those people!" or "He's got real chutzpah to show up at my son's bar mitzvah with that floozy!"

Feh!
Feh: There really is no translation for "feh" - the closest you might come is "p'shaw!" It is used to express disbelief or disgust. "Feh!" is so expressive that when it is used, no further explanation is generally required, such as:
(upon hearing that someone you hate has just been awarded the Nobel Peace prize) "Feh!"
(upon hearing that your wonderful son the doctor has been sued for malpractice) "Feh!" (upon hearing that Congress has awarded itself yet another pay raise) "Feh!"
You get the idea.

Kenanhora
Kenanhora: This is translated as "there should be no evil eye." The way I have heard it pronounced is "kennahura." It is used to ward off evil spirits. Usually it is said after somebody well-wishes you or upon noting your good fortune, in the same way one would say, "Knock on wood." Examples:
"My son has never been sick a day in his life, kenanhora."
"I hear your new job is going well!" "It is, kenanhora!"
A reader who wishes to remain anonymous tells me one may embellish this exclamation by grasping the thumb of the right hand between the index and third finger and spitting on the hand. This may be for extra emphasis, I don't
know.

Mentsch (Minch)
Mentsch: Literally, a human being. Used to describe someone who is a really nice person. Someone who always puts others first. Calling someone a mentsch is the highest compliment you can give. Examples: "She's such a mentsch, she took care of my children the whole time I was in the hospital."
"What a mentsch my son Herbie is-he calls to check on me every day!" "Oy vay, you're such a mentsch!" (In English, "You're such a good person that it gives me heartburn!" Just kidding.)

Meshuganah
Meshuganah: Simply put, a crazy person. Other forms of the word include: meshuga (adj., crazy) meshugas (n., craziness, foolishness.) Used primarily
as an insult. Examples: "Look at the way you drive! What are you, a meshuganah?" "You kids are driving me meshuga with your whining!" "You call this stale piece of matzah a meal? What kind of meshugas are you trying to pull?"

Milchig, Fleischig, Pareve
These words refer to what category foods fall under within the laws of kashrut (keeping kosher.) All kosher foods fall into one of three categories:
Milchig: All dairy products or any prepared food containing dairy products. Nothing that is milchig may be eaten at a meal with anything fleischig.
Fleischig: All meat products or any prepared food containing meat products. Nothing that is fleischig may be eaten at a meal with anything milchig.
Pareve: Anything that is neither milchig or fleischig, such as fruits,
vegetables or fish. (Fish is not considered fleischig.) Pareve food may be eaten with with either milchig or fleischig meals.

Putz (or Shmuck): Vulgar. Used to refer to someone who's a real jerk, as in: "That putz stuck me with the check again!"
or "That shmuck cut me off!"
Although both are commonly used in English, they really aren't terms for mixed company. (It seems to me that offensive foreign words have a tendency to lose some of their bite in the translation. My Jewish mother would frown at me if I used these indiscriminately, and so would yours.)

Oy
Oy: An untranslatable exclamation, used to express a variety of negative feelings ranging from anger, to annoyance, to fatigue, to melancholy, dismay and more. "Oy" may be used alone, but it may also be used in a variety of
combinations depending on the amount of emphasis called for: "Oy, will you look at that shlump my daughter is with?" (Mild annoyance.) "Oy vay, she's dating him?!" (Annoyance-related indigestion coming on.) "Oy vay es meir! She says she's in love with the shlump!" (Developing painful
ulcer.) "OY GEVALT! They're getting married!!" (Impending heart attack.)

Shiksa (f), Shaygetz (m): A goy; a non-Jew, particularly the nogoodnik that your son or daughter wants to break your heart by marrying. "You're going to marry that shiksa? Don't worry, darling, I'll wait till the day after the wedding to commit suicide. I wouldn't want to ruin your day."

Jewish Guilt
How many Jewish mothers does it take to change a light bulb?
"Oh, don't worry about me, dear. I'll just sit here in the dark."

Shmatte
Shmatte: A rag. In my family, pronounced to rhymes with putty (shmutty). Generally used to describe a parent's opinion of a teenage child's item of clothing, rather than an actual rag: "No daughter of mine is leaving the house in that shmatte!"

Yarmulke
Yarmulke: A skullcap, worn to cover one's head in the presence of God. Traditional Jews [men only] may wear one at all times. Reform Jews may often wear one during prayer or in the synagogue, but sometimes not at all. Recently, women have begun wearing yarmulkes in Reform synagogues; in
our synagogue, ironically, more women than men wear yarmulkes. The Hebrew term for a yarmulke is kippah. A yarmulke, pronounced to rhyme with Yamaha, may be made of various fabrics, especially satin or velvet, or sometimes are crocheted. Many a proud parent has had yarmulkes with the name of his or her child printed on the inside in honor of a bar or bat mitzvah. This is why, when you enter a synagogue, you will often find a pile of brightly colored yarmulkes for your use, with various imprintings on the inside, such as: "In Honor of Ethan Smith's Bar Mitzvah November 26 1998," or sometimes "Sandy and Dave's Wedding."
These are leftovers because everybody already has a pile of these at home in a drawer from past affairs. Parents, keep this in mind! How about useful party favors, like tickets to Hawaii? Just kidding.

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Page Updated Wed Sep 22, 1999 11:49am EDT