October 2011
7 posts
Tir - טיר
Tir - טיר \TIR\ Noun \ Feminine \ Pl. Tirn:
1. A door, doorway. 2. A wild animal, particularly a bison. (I will not be dealing with this meaning at all in this e-mail, since it is so rare.) Pronunciation: Click here to hear a native Yiddish speaker use this word in conversation.
German equivalent: die Tür.
Etymology: The word derives from Middle High German “tür,” from Old High...
Balashon
For those interested, Balashon is the English-language site of a wonderful amateur Hebrew linguist living in Israel who regularly (I think at this point more regularly than me [tugging on collar out of embarrassment]) posts mini-articles on the etymology of interesting Modern Hebrew and sometimes Yiddish words. He often goes through the various theories about where the words come from and how they...
September 2011
6 posts
Arbetn - ארבעטן
Arbetn - ארבעטן \Ar-BET-en\ Verb \ Past Participle: Gearbet:
To work, labor. Pronunciation: Click here to hear a native Yiddish speaker use this word in conversation.
Synonyms: horeven (הארעווען), matern zikh (מאטערן זיך), pratseven (פראצעווען).
German equivalents: anschlagen, arbeiten, klappen, schaffen.
Etymology: The word derives from Middle and Old High German “arbeiten.”...
Conversational Yiddish!
For those interested, Conversational Yiddish is a website run by Chaim Werdyger, a frum Jew who grew up speaking Yiddish as his first language. Through his site, he runs a Yiddish tutoring service that allows groups, couples, or individuals to learn conversational Yiddish in ten 90-minute tele-conference sessions. There is currently a 50% discount on the group rate, and a new cycle of...
Anonymous asked: Hello! I was reading a children's book in Yiddish named אברעימל'ס טאג–בוך and I need help understanding the following sentence: איך האב צענליגער אידן וואס דינגען פון מיר יעדן יאר מיינע בנינים, איינער דינגט די ארענדע, איינער די מיהל, די גערטנער, און נאך זאכן, און יעדן יאר האב איך דעם זעלבן פראבלעם מיט זיי, אנפאנג יאר שמועסט מען אפ א פרייז וויפיל די ארענדע גייט קאסטן דעם יאר, אבער...
Anonymous asked: how to say weekday in transliteration yiddish
Anonymous asked: Is there a Yiddish woird that sounds like "eckle" ? It would be used in a sentence ie: You really eckle me "
August 2011
25 posts
Mid - מיד
Mid - מיד \MEED\ Adjective:Tired, weary. Pronunciation: Click here to hear a native Yiddish speaker use this word in conversation.
Synonyms: farmatert (פארמאטערט), oysgematert (אויסגעמאטערט), oysgemutshet (אויסגעמוטשעט).
German equivalents: leer, matt, müde.
Etymology: The word derives from Middle High German “müede,” from Old High German “muodi.” Cognates include ...
Birobidzhan
For those interested, Birobidzhan (between the rivers of Bira and Bidzhan) is a territory in the far eastern reaches of the Former Soviet Union (right near the border with China) which was designated a Yidishe Avtonomne Gegnt (יידישע אווטאנאמנע געגנט) - Jewish Autonomous Region - by the Soviet Union in 1934 and in which Yiddish was spoken as the official language (wouldn’t it be awesome...
Tukh - טוך
Tukh - טוך \TUKH\ Noun \ Neuter \ Pl. Tikher:A cloth. Pronunciation: Click here to hear a native Yiddish speaker use this word in conversation.
Synonyms: gevant (געוואנט), shtof (שטאף), tsayg (צייג), vare (ווארע).
German equivalents: das Ganzleinen, das Gewebe, der Lappen, der Stoff, das Tuch.
Etymology: The word derives from Middle High German “tuoch,” from Old High...
Viklen - וויקלען
Viklen - וויקלען \VIK-len\ Verb \ Past Participle: Geviklt:1. To wrap, swaddle. 2. To wind, spin (with the reflexive particle zikh [זיך]). Pronunciation: Click here to hear a native Yiddish speaker use this word in conversation.
Synonyms: gartlen (גארטלען), hiln (הילן), ringlen (רינגלען), roln (ראלן).
German equivalents: einhüllen, einpacken, umwickeln.
Etymology: The word derives from...
Yiddish Heavy Metal?
For those interested, the Forward recently featured a blog post on the emergence and growing popularity of two Yiddish-language heavy metal - that’s right, Yiddish-language heavy metal - bands, one from Sweden and the other from Israel. The first, Dibbukim (which includes a female vocalist), just released its first album “Az a Foygl un Goylem Tantsn” (When a Bird and Golem...
Tretn - טרעטן
Tretn - טרעטן \TRET-en\ Verb \ Past Participle: Getrotn:
To step, tread, trample.
Pronunciation: Click here to hear a native Yiddish speaker use this word in conversation.
Synonyms: doyres zayn (דורס זיין), toptshen (טאפטשען). German equivalents: schreiten, trampeln, treten.
Etymology: The word derives from Middle High German “treten,” from Old High German “tretan,”...
The Oy Way
For those interested, The Oy Way is a forthcoming book by Harvey Gotliffe which combines some form of physical relaxation therapy with Yiddish vocabulary and phrases. Partly in jest, partly seriously, the author describes movements and exercises that are meant to lead a person down the “path of most resistance.” So if you’re looking for something mildly entertaining,...
