My zayde was a mensch, while bubbe spent her time kibitzing with her friends, kvelling over her grandkids, or kvetching about something. Yiddish slang has worked its way into the English language, often popping up where we don’t even recognize it.
A once-popular amongst Ashkenazi Jews, the Yiddish language is still spoken in a few pockets of the world by an estimated 200,000 people, mostly in the US, Israel, and Russia. It’s a German derived language with a mix of root words from Hebrew and other modern languages.
Here is some fun Yiddish slang still used today, at least in our neighborhood. Have a look, you might be surprised how many words you know from your home. Or, perhaps you discovered a few words on late-night Laverne and Shirley reruns.
Yiddish slang
alterkaker
An old fart (not a nice name to call someone).
bubbe
Pronounced “buh-bee,” by now, we all know this refers to our grandmother. It’s used when we talk about our bubbe, or when we address her.
Photo credit: Pranav Kumar Jain on Unsplash
bupkis
Literally, bubkis means ‘beans,’ but in Yiddish slang, it refers to nothing. Actually nothing. “How much do you have?” “I’ve got bubkis.”
chutzpah
Extreme self-confidence, a lot of nerve to the point of arrogance. In Yiddish slang, chutzpah is not a compliment.
goy
Someone who is not Jewish. Multiple goy are goyim. A non-Jewish woman is a shikse while a male is a shagetz. Interestingly, the term shikse generally implies an attractive woman, while shagetz is an unruly boy.
keppie
The forehead, the spot where bubbe gives you a kiss at bedtime. This is different from punim, which is a face or “sheyna punim” (beautiful face), which is what your zayde says as he pinches your cheek.
klutz
Similar to a schlemiel, a klutz is a clumsy person.
kvell
A nice word describing and sharing that feeling of pride for someone else’s accomplishments.
kvetch
To complain or whine too much. You know it’s the right term when you are thinking, ‘Stop kvetching already.’
mensch
A genuinely good person, a decent person be it man, woman, or child. This is a compliment. It is good to be a mensch.
More Yiddish slang
mishegas
Crazy or silly behaviour, the noun being Meshuggeneh, refers to a crazy person; not clinically insane, but rather one who has crazy ideas or ambitions.
oy vey
Stronger than oh my, it’s an expression of exasperation, dismay, even grief. When it includes an element of fear, the expression is more often oy gevalt.
plotz
An exaggerated reaction, often implying collapsing from exhaustion or laughter.
shlep
To carry, drag, or, when referring to oneself, to move slowly.
shlemiel and shlimazel
A shlemiel is a clumsy, inept person, while a schlimazl is one who has bad luck. A shlemiel spills their drink; it lands on the shlimazel. The terms might sound familiar from the Yiddish-American hopscotch game played by Laverne and Shirley during the opening of the old sitcom of the same name.
Photo credit: Photo: Royal KMM,Yiddish by smallcurio under Creative Commons 2.0
schmutz
Dust or dirt, the stuff inside of your vacuum cleaner, or the mustard wiped off of your face by your mom or your bubbe with the thumb she has just licked to get it wet.
schlock
Cheap, tacky, or substandard.
schvitz
To sweat.
shmooze
To make small talk, to network, or to try and impress with friendly conversation.
schmuck
Not a nice word with more than one meaning. It’s both an insult for a fool and a part of the male anatomy. (Check out this page if you want more Yiddish words for that same male body part.)
spiel
A long-winded speech or story about something, often a salesperson’s new product.
yente
A female busybody or gossip but not a matchmaker. The confusion comes from the matchmaker in the movie Fiddler on the Roof, who is named Yente.
zayde
Grandfather.
More Yiddish fun
If you want more Yiddish fun, grab a copy of Born To Kvetch: Yiddish Language and Culture in All Its Moods by Michael Wex. Or, check out our review of the silly book Yiddish with Dick and Jane.
But, if you are looking for an interesting story, don’t miss Lost Jewish Belief in the Healing Power of Crystals and Gemstones.
Click here for an on-line dictionary of Yiddish.
And for more on languages, don’t miss our review of Pimsleur – where you can learn any of 50 languages including Hebrew.
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How many of the Yiddish slang words did you know?
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Yiddish was not only the language of the household, but our dog was bi lingual too!
Great essay! I don’t mean to kvetch, but I didn’t see maven on your list!
Does anyone know the Yiddish slang for ‘craving’, as in a ‘craving for chocolate’?
I seem to think it’s something like ‘gallishing’ (no idea how to spell it!)… any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
Google translates it to ‘bagern’. Hope this helps.
I grew up in NYC. I don’t know if that makes a diference, but I actually have used these some of these words as though they were part of the English language and I was really surprised to see klutz on the list. Are you sure this word is Yiddish lol!!
I took a double-take klutz as well, but I looked it up (googled “klutz, origin) and sure enough, it is Yiddish.
This is Actually a new information for me. Thank you for the same
I’ve actually heard some of these phrases from my friend who speaks yiddish. So handy to know!
I have always LOVED learning yiddish slang. My friend has tried teaching me!
Thank you so much for sharing this. Atleast I ahve learned something new today while reading this. So interesting.
just a trivia: There are some Yiddish words used in English language context. An English sentence that uses these words sometimes is said to be in Yinglish!
Thanks for sharing the slang information. It is so very interesting to see the Yiddish words that have become apart of everyday English. Linguistic trends is an interesting subject.
The only word I know here is klutz haha. I always like learning new words and language, so thanks for this!
Growing up in the Philadelphia area, I was exposed to many of these, but I’m bookmarking it as a refresher and for fun!
I think this post is super helpful for someone who started learning the language! Thanks for helping people out!
This is awesome and fun as well, just seeing most of the words for the very first time.
HAHAHA….it was quite fun while reading this…i haven’t ever heard any of these…😂👌
This is so fun and relaxing 🙂
It is brilliant too. Great to learn something I have never heard of before. Thanks.
I have actually heard of a lot of these! And some of them are used in our everyday language. This was a fun list.
I’ve heard a few of these just from TV shows, this was a fun read. Thanks!
Haha. Great post! I love learning all about slang from different cultures.
It was such a fun post! I never heard of the majority of them.