To get the most out of this, you should already have looked at the Yiddish Reading Basics Page before you take a look at this, or already have some familiarity with Alef-Beyz.
What better way to learn to read Yiddish than with words you already know? According to Wikipedia, most of the Yiddish words below have made it into the Meriam-Webster, Oxford English, or American Heritage dictionaries. They are commonly used Yiddish words, and you might know them: from your bubby (grandmother), if you’re well read, or you’ve been watching any sit-coms over the past forty years.
This is the only part of our course where we won't give you the audio for a word right away. You’re supposed to practice! Click on the show button for the transliteration, English spelling, and definition. And you can click on the transliteration to hear Leanord Nemoy pronounce the Yiddish word. No, it’s just me. The words are sorted according to vowels, which appear larger than the other text. There are four words per vowel, and some words for the difficult consonants at the end. If you can get this down, you'll be telling the truth when you say you can speak Yiddish!
You’ll notice that in some of these words I don’t pronounce the vowel as a hard “ee”. Most words will keep that sound, but in some dialects some words tend to soften the vowel.
(Eng: shtick) Literally, “a piece.” A comedy routine. Or, a person’s particular habit or distinguishing feature. Like Clint Eastwood used to say, “Make my day.” Or Jerry Lewis used to say, “Froynlaven!” (Or maybe he didn’t. But I know he said Yiddish things.)
(Eng: sheygetz) Derogatory name for a young hoodlum. Ok, it’s also sometimes used to mean any non-Jew, but I’m trying to be politically correct. Anyway, you probably all have heard this one, and it’s good reading practice.
(Eng: bagel) Mmmmm. You take the dough, form a circle with a hole, boil it a few minutes, and then bake. A little bit crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside. You have your bagel with cream cheese and lox. And red onion and lettuce… But I digress.
(Eng: maven) From the Hebrew “one who understands.” An expert in any field. See: www.mavenmall.com. (That's really just a shameless plug for my wife's Jewish women's clothing site.)
… (English: none) Used in intellectual debate as an expression of concession. Ay… It’s true that Shmelke’s has better knishes, but what about the lox at Yanki’s!!
(Eng: tzimmes) Sweet vegetable and fruit dish, usually made with carrots and raisins. A fuss, a to-do. A confused affair. “What’s the big tzimmes!” “What a tzimmes that was!”
