December 2009
11 posts
Naches - נחת
Naches - נחת \NACH-es\ Noun:
Pleasure, satisfaction, delight; proud enjoyment.
Pronunciation: Click here or here to hear a native Yiddish speaker use this word in conversation.
Synonyms: fargenign (פארגעניגן), genus (גענוס), hanoe (הנאה), mechaye (מחיה), tayneg (תענוג).
German equivalents: die Freude, der Genuss, das Pläsier, das Vergnügen.
Etymology: The word derives from Biblical Hebrew...
League for Yiddish
For those interested, the League for Yiddish is an international organization dedicated to promoting the standardization of Modern Yiddish and its use in everyday life. The League publishes a Yiddish-language magazine three times a year called Afn Shvel (“On the Threshold”), which “features articles of Yiddish cultural, literary, linguistic, and communal interest.” It is...
Buch - בוך
Buch - בוך \BUCH\ Noun:
1. A book. 2. (Rare) A quire (25 sheets of paper, or a quarter of a ream). 3. (Even rarer) Bang! (interjection).
Pronunciation: Click here to hear a native Yiddish speaker use this word in conversation.
Synonyms: seyfer (ספר). As I noted in my koyfn (קויפן) e-mail, there is a difference between buch and seyfer. Ruth Wisse writes: ”The word seyfer in the original...
YIVO
For those interested, the Yidisher Visenshaftlecher Institut (YIVO) is an amazing resource for those interested in the study of Eastern European and American Jewish history. Housing a huge archive of books, photographs, music, videos, and more, YIVO, located at the Center for Jewish History in Manhattan, is particularly useful for students of Yiddish language and culture. YIVO’s website has...
Licht - ליכט
Licht - ליכט \LICHT\ Noun:
A light, candle.
Pronunciation: Click here to hear a native Yiddish speaker use this word in conversation.
Synonyms: shayn (שיין); lomp (לאמפ); lamtern (לאמטערן).
German equivalent: das Licht, die Kerze, das Brennen.
Etymology: The word derives from the German “Licht,” which in turn is the source for the English “light” (think of the...
Boyml - בוימל
Boyml - בוימל \BOYM-el\ Noun:
Oil (edible)
Pronunciation: Click here to hear a native Yiddish speaker use this word in conversation.
Synonyms: Boyml has no direct synonyms, though the words eyl (אייל) - non-edible oil - and naft (נאפט) - kerosene or naphtha - come close.
German equivalent: das Tafelöl (table/cooking oil). Oil in general is simply “das Öl.” Etymology: According...
Yiddish Anthology Published
For those interested, Ktav Publishing House has just recently released two Yiddish-related volumes. The first, entitled Yiddish Literature in America: 1870-2000, is a translation into English of about one-fourth of Emanuel Goldsmith’s monumental anthology of modern Yiddish literature, Di Yidishe Literatur in Amerike 1870-2000: Antologye, including material from Sholem Aleichem, Sholem Ash,...
