This page is an appeal to expand the most comprehensive Yiddish-English dictionary to date by Beinfeld/Bochner/Niborski/Vaisbrot. As a Yiddish translator, I find words, variant definitions of existing words, and many abbreviations that are simply not in the dictionary. I have started compiling a list, which I would gladly see incorporated in the dictionary’s second edition.
I will attempt to systematically show my proof for the given definitions, using examples from original written Yiddish samples. At the same time, I have not chosen to add non-YIVO standard spelling, or German/English words simply written in Hebrew letters. The following are words that I believe truly should be new entries in the standard Yiddish dictionary. The notes refer to letters I have on hand with the usage. If you want a copy for a particular word in its original context, I can send it to you.
Let me know what words you haven’t been able to find using the comment feature below!
New Yiddish Words
אױך – oykh
even
e.g., “Even Aunt Goldi knows this…”
אומשעלטער – umshelter
shift key (on typewriter/computer keyboard)
אונדז – undz
2. we
e.g., “Undz shrayben nisht tsu keyn kinder zey zolen undz shikn gelt.” (We don’t write to any of the children to send us money.((15.8.2, https://twitter.com/YiddishFeed/status/935707325914144775)))
אַזױרימעט – azoyermet
with it (?)
comp. אַזױנאָך; alt. spelling אַזױאַרימעט
Confirmation: eydes.de
איבונגען דורכפֿירן – ibungen durkhfirn
to workout, to do exercises((https://twitter.com/YiddisherVinkel/status/937375568319991808))
איבערגעבן – ibergebn
adj. devoted ((15.22.1))
אָנברעכן – onbrekhn
אָנברעכן די בײנער – onbrekhn di beyner
to beat up (See בײן)
אָנשיכּורן זיך – onshikern zikh
to get drunk
e.g., “Noekh shikert zikh on.” (Noah gets drunk. – as the section header for explaining Torah portion)
אַרױסריקן – aroysrikn
to move on, move forward, further
אַרומרײַסערײַען זיך – arumrayserayen zikh
see אַרומרײַסן זיך
squabble, bicker
באַהיטן – bahitn
באַהיטע גאָט – bahite got!
God forbid!
באָד – bod
איך האָב אים אין באָד – ikh hob im in bod
I don’t care about him! I couldn’t care less. Literally: “I have him in the bathtub.”((https://twitter.com/jewyid/status/935986919556747269))
See איך האָב דיך אין בױדעם
באָמבע־קשיא – bombe-kashe
profound question; Good question!
באַשײגעצן – basheygetsn
to scold, berate
בױדעם – boydem
איך האָב דיך אין בױדעם – ikh hob dikh in boydem
Get lost! I don’t care (about you/what you say). Longer version: ikh hob dikh in boydem, mit dayn tate und bobe. (I don’t care about you, your dad, or your grandmother.) Literally: “I have you in the attic.”((http://www.ivelt.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=32349 , http://www.kaveshtiebel.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=11695&start=75))
See איך האָב אים אין באָד
ביזנעסער – bizneser
pl. of biznes. Businesses
e.g., “mentshn velkhe firn bizneser oder organizatsies” ((https://twitter.com/GestetnerList/status/934789171373330432 , https://yi.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%91%D7%99%D7%96%D7%A0%D7%A2%D7%A1 ))
בער – ber
מע קען נישט לערנען אַן אַלטן בער טאַנצן – me ken nisht lernen an altn ber tantsn
You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. (Lit. “You can’t teach an old bear to dance.”)
קוש אַ בער – kush a ber
lit. “kiss a bear” = kiss off! Go fly a kite! Extended Yiddish insult is “gey kush a ber untern fartekh!” “Go kiss a bear under its apron!”
גיטלער – gitler
Hitler (Adolf)
גלײַך – glaykh
regular/plain
e.g., “er vet krigen fil mer vi di glaykhe regelmesign oyfn.” (He’s going to get a lot more than the regular way of doing things.) ((16.7.2.3))
גלעזער – glezer
glasses (reading glasses, optical glasses)((https://twitter.com/hasidic1/status/951135528333791232))
געבע גאָט – gebe got
May God let it be/happen (subjunctive)
e.g., “Gebe gott es zol emes zayn.” (“May God let it come true.” ((15.25.J-Gp2.15l, 15.25.J-Gl1.40)))
געמלט – gemalt
circumcised
see מילה; alternative spelling גע’מל’ט
נישט געפֿערלעך – nisht geferlekh
not so bad; not a bad thing
גרינצײַג – grintsayg
vegetables
דרעליע – drelye
also דרעלע
בעלזער־דרעלע – Belzer-drele
Belzer Chassid (derogatory, lit. “Belzer fish gel”. 2 alternative meanings: They jump up and down when praying, jiggling like this food. / They might jiggle when praying, but they’re still cold on the inside (like the food).)
האַנט־קוקער – hant-kuker
palm reader, palmist, chirologist((https://twitter.com/YiddisherVinkel/status/946128278217265153))
האַק – hak
gossip, news, word on the street (Yeshivish, commonly spelled “hock”)
היפּש – hipsh
pretty, rather (e.g., pretty difficult – hipsh shver)
הױכהילכער – hoykhilkher
loudspeaker (common on cars to make announcements to neighborhood)
הײשעריק / הײשרעק – heysherik, heyshrek
praying mantis, grasshopper, general category of locust-like insects
װאָגן – vogn
carriage (on typewriter)
װאָרט – vort
engagement party
װאַרנישקעס – varnishkes
see װאַרניטשקעס
Confirmation: eydes.de
װי מעגליך װאָס גיכער – vi meglikh vos gikher
as soon as possible, ASAP ((15.22.29))
װידער אַ מאָל – vider a mol
again, once more
װעמענען – vemenen
see װעמען (whom)
Confirmation: eydes.de
װערעמעט – veremet
how((15.8.5))
Confirmation1: alt. spelling װירימעט (see book)
Confirmation2: eydes.de
זאָגן – zogn
to sing
e.g., “Zog a nigen!” (“Sing a song!”)
זיאַלעװען זיך – zialeven zikh
to wait, expect, watch for((15.8.5))
Confirmation: book – Russian translation: жадвть
טאָג פֿאַר טאָג – tog far tog
each and every day, day by day((15.22.23))
טוצן – tutsn
dozen (sg. and pl.)((15.8.4))
Confirmation: eydes.de
טענצערײַען – tentserayen
dancing((https://twitter.com/YiddisherVinkel/status/943826096788733952))
טרעפֿן – trefn
to find((Very common in Chassidic Yiddish today. https://twitter.com/hasidic1/status/951135528333791232 ))
יונגער־מאַן – yunger-man
young married man, usually in Kollel
יעדערן – yedern
everyone (accusative)
see יעדערער
e.g., “azoy vi ikh shik yedern eyn karte fun mir, azoy shik ikh dir oykh eyn.” (“Just like I send everyone a picture of me, I am sending you one too.((15.8.8)))
Confirmation: eydes.de
יענע מחלה – yene makhle
cancer (euph., literally, that illness [that shall not be named])
יעקעטע – yekete
German woman, German-Jewish woman (hum.)
e.g., Es hot zikh im farkleptzet a yekete a yidishe un er loyft mit ir. (A German woman, a Jewish one, got her hooks on him and he’s running around with her.) ((15.25.J-Gl1.56))
ישובֿניק – yeshuvnik
see ייִשובֿניק
(Jewish country bumpkin)
Confirmation: eydes.de
לשונות – leshoynes
(Interjective) Watch your language! Watch your mouth! (said in response to hearing a curse / swear word)
לעבן זיך – lebn zikh
to be doing, how things are doing
e.g., “[ikh vil visn] vi es lebt zikh aykh in algemeyn.” (“I want to know how things are.”) “ikh leb zikh zeyer gut.” (“I am doing very well.”) ((15.22.31))
טאָן די מצוה / טאָן די מיצװה – ton di mitzve
to have sex (hum., vulg.) (literally, to do the commandment)
e.g. חסידישע פאליסמאן פון קווינס ישיבה ירמי שאלאמאן, עדות פון וועבערמאן קעיס ארעסטעד פארען טוהן די מצוה מיט יונגע מיידלעך ((https://twitter.com/hasidic1/status/878240071417294848))
מאַכטפֿול – makhtful
powerful((https://twitter.com/jewyid/status/949250745035034624))
מהיכא תיתי? – meheykhe teysi / makheteysi
(Aramaic. rhetorical question)
1. What is your source? Where are you getting this from?
2. Why not?; as you wish; sure; whatever you want
מחילה – mekhile
rear end (euphemism)
e.g., feyk nuz midie kusht obames mekhile nayn yor((https://twitter.com/hasidic1/status/941747597034819591))
מידה כנגד מידה – mide keneged mide
karma; what goes around comes around
מישקעבאבעל – mishkebabel
confusing mess, unordered mixture, chaos
[Yeshivish? Possibly etymological combination of German “mischen” (mix) and Hebrew “babel” (confusion)]
נאַכט
נעכטן נאַכט – nekhtn nakht
last night
נויטבאדערפנדע – noytbaderfende
those in need; needy (noun)
נעקסט – nekst
next
נעקסטע מאָל – nekste mol = next time
נערװן־קריכער – nervn-krikher
annoying person; pest; annoyance
עט – et
and (obsolete)
עלעקטריזירענד – elektrizirend
electrifying((https://twitter.com/hasidic1/status/943624030237679623))
פּאַטשקע – patshke
(noun) hassle; mess
פּאָלעטאָ – poleto
overcoat ((15.25.J-Gp2.81))
Confirmation: eydes.de
פּאַשקעװיל – pashkevil
a public announcement in the form of a broadside or poster
פּוצן – putsn
שנײ פּוצן – shnee putsn
to clear snow, snow removal((https://twitter.com/YiddisherVinkel/status/949039368458653696))
פּײגערן, געפּײגערט – peygern, hot gepeygert
see פּגרן, to die, dead
פּײפּערל – peyperl
paper, paper for rolling cigarettes
Confirmation: eydes.de
פֿאַנג־הײשעריק / פֿאַנג-הײשרעק – fang-heysherik, fang-heyshrek
praying mantis, grasshopper, general category of locust-like insects
פֿאַקסן – faksn
faces
e.g. faksn makhn – to make faces, be silly((https://twitter.com/shtickydude/status/950933669631397888))
פֿאַרױסריקן – faroysrikn
to move on/forward, to further
e.g., tsu faroysrikn karieres (to further careers)((http://www.yiddish.news/2018/01/blog-post_63.html))
פֿאָרשיפּל – forshpil
celebration in the Chassidic rebbe’s court the Saturday evening before a wedding
פֿיפֿיק – fifik
clever
פֿלעגן – flegn
would (in the habitual past)
e.g., “…a taykh, vu men flegt zumer geyen bodn.” (…a river, where people would go [used to go] swimming in the summer.)
Confirmation: eydes.de
פֿעסטשטעלער – festshteler
caps lock key (on typewriter/computer keyboard)
קאַפּשטאָט – kapshtot
Cape Town ((15.25.J-Gl1.39))
קאַרטע – karte
postcard; picture (postcard)
e.g., “azoy vi ikh shik yedern eyn karte fun mir, azoy shik ikh dir oykh eyn.” (“Just like I send everyone a picture of me, I am sending you one too.((15.8.8)))
Confirmation: eydes.de
קאַשע־װאַרנישקעס – kashe-varnishkes
see קאַשע־װאַרניטשקעס
bowtie pasta with buckwheat
Confirmation: eydes.de
קבלה – kabole
resolution (New Year’s); something you take upon yourself to do; vow
e.g., “אלול איז אַן הכנה צום גאנצן קומענדיגן יאר, איצט איז די צייט זיך פאָרצונעמען און איינשטעלן א קבלה טובה, מחזק זיין אין ענינים וואס ברויכן חיזוק א.א.וו.” ((https://yiddishevinkel.com/archives/823))
קלאָץ – klots
sexually frigid person((https://twitter.com/YosefRapaport/status/951529671367319552))
קראַצמעך – kratsmekh
קראַץ־מיך – kratz-mikh
Christmas (lit., “scratch me,” pun on the English word Christmas)
קרישקע – krishke
tidbit
e.g., “lengere artikl mit interesante krishkelekh” ((https://twitter.com/YiddisherVinkel/status/941474765600038912))
רײַסער – rayser
wannabe; poser; a wannabe person of influence
רײַסעריש – rayserish
cool, loud, ostentatious in a material way
ריקשטעלער – rikshteler
backspace key (on typewriter/computer keyboard)
רעביש – rebish
ostentatious, rich, decadent, pimp (Yeshivish?)
שׂכל
לײגן זיך אױפֿן שׂכל – leygn zikh afn seykhl
to make sense
שײנע יִידן – sheyne yidn
German Jews (hum., pej., euph., literally “fine Jews”)
New Yiddish Abbreviations
‘ג – g’ – got
God (equivalent to writing G-d)
גצ”ד – gts”d – got tzu danken
thank God
צב”ש – tsb”sh – tsum bayshpil
for example
צ”ג – ts”g – tsu gesund
bye
ק”ק – k”k
postcard, often a picture postcard ((15.25.J-Gl1.17))
פ”ק – p”k
postcard ((15.25-J-Gp1.2))
ט”ה – t”h – theure
dear ((15.25-J-Gp1.2))
‘ל – l’
dear ((15.25.J-Gl1.36))
ז”װ – z”v – so wie (Judeo-German)
as well as ((15.25.J-Gp1.6))
Hebrew Abbreviations
This section is for additional abbreviations that I’ve seen in handwritten Yiddish letters but which are Hebrew abbreviations. These are also not listed in the dictionary.
חו”ש – khv”sh – khas v’shalom
God forbid
למ”ה – lm”h – lma’an hashem
For the sake of heaven – context: “you should, lm”h, follow the …”((Kaplan will2))
מיה”ש – mih”sh
God willing? ((15.25.J-Gl1.54))
ו – v’
dear, lovely
גח”ט – gch”t – gmar chasima tova
to be sealed in the book of life
דע”י, הע”י – de”y – he”y
Hashem alehem yichyu – God be with them, they should live long.
נ”י – n”y
may his/her light shine ((15.25.J-Gl1.36))
ה – h’ – hayakar
dear ((15.25.J-Gl1.36))
אי”ה – ay”h – im yirtseh hashem
with God’s help ((15.25.J-Gl1.37))
א”נ – a”n – agmas nefesh
anguish((15.25.J-Gp1.3))
מחו – mkhu’
my child’s in-laws ((15.25.J-Gl1.39))
מז”ט – mz”t – mazel tov
good luck ((15.25-Gp1.14))
כוח”ט – kvkh”t
signed and sealed in the book of life ((15.25.J-Gl1.39))
וד”ל – vd”l – vadai l’maven
as is well known; as you know; if you know what I mean
אחי”ה – achi”h – achi hayakar
my dear brother((15.25.J-Gl1.57))
כ”ט – k”t – kol tuv
all the best ((15.25.J-Gl1.57))
וב”ב – ub”b – ubnei beyso
and his children
ע”ה – e”h – erhalten
received ((23.2))
עמועש”א – emvesh”a – ad meah v’esrim shana amen
to 120 years old. Amen. ((15.25.J-Gp2.15))
Resources:
Wikipedia: Yiddish abbreviations
Wikipedia: Hebrew abbreviations
Originally posted May 2016
Let me know your thoughts using the comment feature below! What words haven’t you been able to find? Can you correct something I wrote?
