Yiddish Home

A
•A bisel - A little
•A biseleh - A very little
•A breyre hob ich - I have no alternative
•A breyte deye hob'n - To do all the talking (To have the greatest say or authority)
•A broch! - Oh hell! Damn it!! A curse!!!
•A broch tzu dir! - A curse on you!
•A broch tzu Columbus - A curse on Columbus
•A brocheh - A blessing
•A chazer bleibt a chazer - A pig remains a pig
•A chorbn - Oh, what a disaster (Oh S**T! an expletive)
•A choleryeh ahf dir! - A plague on you! (Lit., wishing someone to get Cholera.)
•A deigeh hob ich - I don't care. I should worry.
•A farshlepteh krenk - A chronic ailment
•A feier zol im trefen - He should burn up! (Lit., A fire should meet him.)
•A finstere cholem auf dein kopf und auf dein hent und fiss - (a horrible wish on someone) A dark dream (nightmare) on your head, hands and feet!
•A foiler tut in tsveyen - A lazy person has to do a task twice
•A gesheft hob nicht - I don't care
•A gezunt ahf dein kop! - Good health to you (lit., Good health on your head)
•A glick ahf dir! - Good luck to you (Sometimes used sarcastically about minor good fortunes) Big thing!
•A glick hot dich getrofen! - Big deal! Sarcastic; lit., A piece of luck happened to you.
•A groyser tzuleyger - A big shot (sarcastically.)
•A grubber yung - A coarse young man
•A kappore - A catastrophe.
•A khasuren die kalleh is tsu shayn - A fault that the bride is too beautiful
•A klog iz mir! - Woe is me!
•A klog tzu meineh sonim! - A curse on my enemies!
•A langer lucksh - A tall person (a long noodle)
•A leben ahf dein kepele - A life on your head (A grandparent might say to a grandchild meaning "you are SO smart!")
•A leben ahf dir! - You should live! And be well!
•A lung un leber oyf der noz - Stop talking yourself into illness! (Lit., Don't imagine a lung and a liver upon the nose)
•A maidel mit a vayndel - A pony-tailed nymphet.
•A maidel mit a klaidel - A cutie-pie showing off her (new) dress.
•A mentsh on glik is a toyter mensh - An unlucky person is a dead person.
•A mentsh tracht und Gott lacht - A person plans and God laughs.
•A metsieh far a ganef - It's a steal (Lit., A bargain for a thief.)
•A nahr bleibt a nahr - A fool remains a fool
•A nechtiker tog! - Forget it! (Lit., "A day that's a night.")
•A nishtikeit! - A nobody!
•A piste kayleh - A shallow person (an empty barrel)
•A ritch in kop - Crazy (in the head.)
•A schwartz yor - Bad luck. (LIT., A black year)
•A schwartzen sof - A bad end.
•A shandeh un a charpeh - A shame and a disgrace
•A shittern mogn - Loose bowel movement
•A shtik naches - A great joy
•A shtyfer mogn - Constipated
•A sof! A sof! - Let's end it ! End it!
•A tuches un a halb - A person with a very large backside. (Lit., A backside and a half.)
•A volf farlirt zayne hor, ober nit zayn natur - A wolf loses his hair but hot his nature. "A leopard cannot change his spots.
•Abi gezunt! - As long as you're healthy!
•Achrahyes - Responsibility
•Afn gonif brennt das hittel - "He thinks everyone knows he committed a crime." (a thief's hat burns)
•Ahf mir gezogt! - I wish it could be said about me!
•Ahf tsores - In trouble
•Ahf zu lochis - Spitefully (Lit: Just to get (someone) angry.)
•Ahntoisht - Disappointed
•Ahzes ponim - Impudent fellow
•Aidel - Cultured or finicky
•Aidel gepotchket - Delicately brought up
•Aidim - Son-in-law
•Ainikle - Grandchild
•Aitzeh - Advice
•Aiver butelt - Absent minded; mixed up
•Alaichem sholom - To you be peace. Used in response to the the greeting Shalom aleichem.
•Alef-bais - Alphabet; the first two letters of the Jewish alphabet
•Alevei! - It should happen to me (to you)!
•Alle ziben glicken - Not what it's cracked up to be (all 7 lucky things)
•Alles in einem is nisht do bei keine - All in one (person) is to be found in no one.
•Alrightnik - One who has succeeded
•Alrightnikeh - Feminine form of "alrightnik."
•Alteh moid - Spinster, old maid
•Alter bocher - Bachelor
•Alter bok - Old goat
•Alter Kocker - An old man or old woman.
•An alteh machashaifeh - An old witch
•An alter bakahnter - An old acquaintance
•An alter trombenick - An old bum
•An emmisse meisse - An (absolutely) true tale
•Apikoros - An unbeliever, a skeptic, an athiest
•Arbit - Work
•Arein - Come in!
•Aroisgevorfen - Thrown out, wasted, (wasted opportunities)
•Aroisgevorfene gelt - Thrown out money (Wasted money)
•Arumgeflickt! - Plucked! Milked!
•Arumloifer - Street urchin; person who runs around
•Aydem - Son-in-law
•Ayn klaynigkeit - Ya, sure!! (very derogatory)
•Az a yor ahf mir. - I should have such good luck.
•Az di bobe volt gehat beytsim volt zi geven mayn zeyde! - If my grandmother had testicles she would be my grandfather.
•Az mir vill schlugen a hunt, gifintmin a schtecken - If one wants to beat a dog, one finds a stick.
•Az och un vai! - Tough luck! Too bad! Misfortune!
•Azoy? - Really?
•Azoy gait es! - That's how it goes!
•Azoy gich? - So soon?
•Azoy vert dos kichel tzekrochen! - That's how the cookie crumbles!
B
•Babka - Coffee cake style pastry
•Badchan - Jester, merry maker or master of ceremonies at a wedding; at the end of the meal he announces the presents, lifting them up and praising the giver and the gift in a humorous manner
•Bagroben - To bury
•Baitsim - Testicles
•Balebatim - Persons of high standing
•Balbatish - Quiet, respectable, well mannered
•Balebatisheh yiden - Respectable Jews, people of substance and good standing in the community
•Baleboosteh - Mistress of the house. A compliment to someone who is a terrific housekeeper. "She is some baleboosteh!"
•Balegoola - Truckdriver or sloppy person of low standing.
•Balmalocha - An expert (sometimes used sarcastically- Oy, is he an expert!)
•Balnes - Miracle-worker
•Bal Toyreh - Learned man, scholar
•Bareden yenem - To gossip
•Baren (taboo) - Fornicate: bother, annoy
•Barimer - Braggart, show-off
•Bashert - Fated or predestined
•Bas-yekhide - A female only child
•Bashert zein - To be destined
•Batampte - Tasty , delicious
•Batlan - Someone without a trade or a regular means of livelihood
•Baysn zikh di finger vos - Regret strongly that........
•Becher - Wine goblet
•Behaimeh - Animal, cow (when referring to a human being, means dull-witted)
•Bei mir hust du gepoylt - You've gotten your way with me.
•Ben-yokhid - A male only child
•Benken - "To yearn for" or "to long for."
•Benkshaft - Homesickness, nostalgia
•Bentsh - To bless, to recite a blessing
•Bentshen lecht - Recite prayer over lit candles on Sabbath eve or Holy Day candles
•Beryeh - Efficient, competent housewife
•Bes medresh - Synagogue
•Bialy - Named for the Polish city of Bialystock, the bialy is of Jewish origin. A Bialy is a fairly large (about 6 inches) chewy round yeast roll. Somewhat similar to a bagel, it has a depression rather than a hole in the centre, and is sprinkled with chopped sauteed onion before baking.
•Bikur cholem - Visiting the sick
•Billik - Cheap, inexpensive
•Bist meshugeh? - Are you crazy?
•Biteh - Please
•Blondjen - To wander, be lost
•Boarderkeh - A female boarder
•Boch - A punch
•Bohmer - Bum (masc.)
•Bohmerkeh - Bum (fem.)
•Boorvisser fiss - Barefoot
•Boreke borsht - Beet borsht which the wealthy could afford.
•Borekes - Pastries with cheese inside
•Borsht - Beet soup
•Borsht circuit - Hotels in the Catskill Mountains of New York State, with an almost entirely Jewish clientele, who are fond of borsht; term is used by entertainers
•Borviss - Barefoot
•Botvenye borsht - Borsht made from beet leaves for the poor.
•Boychik - Young boy (term of endearment)
•Boykhvehtig - Stomachache
•Breeye - Creature, animal
•Breire - choice
•Bris - Circumcision
•Bristen - Breasts
•Broitgeber - Head of family (Lit., Bread giver)
•Bronfen - Whiskey
•Broygis - Not on speaking terms
•B'suleh - Virgin
•Bubbeh - Grandmother
•Bubbe maisse - Grandmother's tale.
•Bubbee - Friendly term for anybody you like
•Bubeleh - Endearing term for anyone you like regardless of age
•Bulvan - Man built like an ox; boorish, coarse, rude person
•Bupkis - Nothing. Something totally worthless (Lit., Beans)
•Butchke - chat, tete-a-tete, telling tales
C
•Chai - Hebrew word for LIFE, comprised of the two Hebrew letters, Chet and Yod. There is a sect of Jewish mysticism that assigns a numeric value to each letter in the Hebrew alphabet and is devoted to finding hidden meanings in the numeric values of words. The letter "Chet" has the numeric value of 8, and the letter "Yod", has the value of 10, for a total of 18.
•Chaider - Religious School
•Chaim Yonkel - any Tom, Dick or Harry
•Chaimyankel kooternooz - The perennial cuckold
•Chaleria - Evil woman. Probably derived from cholera.
•Chaleshen - Faint