December 2010
15 posts
Shlofn - שלאפן
Shlofn - שלאפן \SHLOF-en\ Verb:
To sleep.
Pronunciation: Click here to hear a native Yiddish speaker use this word in conversation.
Synonyms: pofn (פאפן), ruen (רוען) [although pofn has the connotation of oversleeping, while ruen tends to refer to napping].
German equivalent: schlafen.
Etymology: The word derives from Middle High German “slafen,” from Old High German...
YiddishAcademy.com
For those interested, YiddishAcademy.com, created by two entrepreneurial Yiddish enthusiasts living in Israel, provides online courses in Beginner’s Yiddish for a small monthly fee. Those who sign up can access all 21 hours of Yiddish learning materials and lessons and will soon be able to read, write, and speak in (basic) Yiddish. You can even try some lessons out for free on the...
Batln - בטלן
Batln - בטלן \BATL-en\ Verb:
To cancel, waste.
Pronunciation: Click here to hear a native Yiddish speaker use this word in conversation.
Synonyms: anulirn (אנולירן), fartakhleven (פארתכלעווען), oprufn (אפרופן), patern (פטרן), tseraybn (צערייבן), tsetrenslen (צעטרענסלען).
Etymology: The word derives from the Biblical Hebrew root b.t.l. (בטל), which appears once at Kohelet 12:3. It is related...
Grisn - גריסן
Grisn - גריסן \GRIS-en\Verb:
To greet, send regards to.
Pronunciation: Click here to hear a native Yiddish speaker use this word in conversation.
German equivalents: empfangen, grüßen.
Etymology: The word derives from Middle High German “grüezen,” from Old High German “gruozzan,” originally from West Proto-Germanic *grōtja. Cognates include Dutch...
Nitl?
For those interested in learning a little bit about historical Jewish attitudes towards Christmas and the various Yiddish names given to the holiday, see the YIVO Encyclopedia article on “Christmas” (which notes that the most common name for Christmas in Yiddish is nitl, based on the Latin “natalis” [birth]), the Jewish Encyclopedia article on “Nittel” (which...
Shenken - שענקען
Shenken - שענקען \SHENK-en\ Verb:
To gift, give, grant, present, donate; pardon, forgive. Note on usage: Shenken is usually used in the sense of giving someone a handout; if one wants to say “to give a gift,” one should probably use the verb gebn (געבן).
Pronunciation: Click here and here to hear a native Yiddish speaker use this word in conversation.
Synonyms: matone...
YiddishWit.com
For those interested, YiddishWit.com, a project of Johanna Kovitz, features a number of famous Yiddish expressions, written in Hebrew and Latin characters, translated into English, and accompanied by an illustration. It provides a fun way to learn new Yiddish expressions (some of which have not yet, I’m afraid, appeared in the YWOTW). In addition, the site lists several collections of...
Dreyen - דרייען
Dreyen - דרייען \DREY-en\ Verb:
To turn, twist, twirl, rotate; dial (a number); cheat.
To whirl, spin, wriggle, wind, twist (with reflexive zikh [זיך]).
Pronunciation: Click here to hear a native Yiddish speaker use this word in conversation.
Synonyms: kern (קערן), rukn (רוקן), vendn (ווענדן).
German equivalents: biegen, drechseln, drehen.
Etymology: The word derives from Middle...
Yiddish Khanike Songs
For those interested, I have appended below two Yiddish Khanike songs: “Ikh Bin a Kleyner Dreydl,” the Yiddish equivalent of “I Have a Little Dreydl,” and “Khanike, Oy Khanike,” the Yiddish equivalent of “Chanukkah, oh Chanukkah” (which I actually sent out last Khanike as well). They are accompanied by transliteration and translation.
In...
“Ikh Bin a Kleyner Dreydl” - “איך בין א קליינער דריידל” Ikh bin a kleyner dreydl, Gemakht bin ikh fun klay, To lomir ale shpiln, In dreydl eyns, tsvey, dray. Oy, dreydl, dreydl, dreydl, Oy, drey zikh, dreydl, drey, To lomir ale shpiln, In dreydl eyns un tsvey. Un ikh hob lib tsu tantsn, Zikh dreyen in a rod, To lomir ale tantsn, A dreydl-karahod. Oy, dreydl,...
