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I’ll start:
Cheshbon
As in “Let’s sit down and make a cheshbon”
Huh Ika Anuh: cheshbon in English is accounting.
Shtikel.
I would guess it comes from German Stuck meaning stick or piece. so shtikel means little or small amount, so that’s not a good case.
Don’t know if there are any really. People usually use fargin as The example.
geshmock!
gevaldig!
Kvell.
barrimin
BSD: What does barrimin mean?
How about these words
-Nachas
-Nefesh
m’chatanim
Fargin
BaalHabooze-Read the title:Yiddish words with no English translation
JK
to gloat and hold yourself higher.
takeh, mamesh
Gishik
The snap sound right behind the front teeth made from the tip of the tongue. It does add to and spice up a conversation. I know Swahili has the more pronounced, heavy tongue click.
fan of pd…
I would define Gishik (or geshicht) as handy or dexterous.
principal…
‘takeh’ IS a tough one, but I would define ‘mamesh’ (or mamash) as ‘really’ or ‘truly’.
understand…
“m’chatanim” has no ONE word english translation, you’d have to say the ‘parents of my children-in-law’.
“fargin” is to ‘not begrudge’.
Geshmock=enjoyable
gevaldig=wonderful
kivel=get pleasure
nachas=get pride
nefesh=soul
takkeh=really
mamesh=really
On the ‘favorite yiddish words’ thread I asked for the english translation or equivalent of the word ‘grada’. So far nobody has been able to. Who can surprise me here? (Dont just shout BOO ?).
Shticky- Grada is like saying, “happens to be”.
grada – kind of like takkeh, “happens to be” IS a good explanation
grada – as a matter of fact
How would you translate?
-NU
-ADERABE
ADERABE = the opposite [is true]
moi aussi: NU= come on…
and ADERABLE= just the opposite,
Shticky Guy: NACHAS=get pride
very weak translation but close. It’s a lot more than pride…
NEFESH=soul
nefesh is different than neshamah. There is no REAL translation.
Pinkt farkert = the opposite [is true]
ADERABE = your point is valid, so go for it
NU, how do you translate NU?
Nu – So?
The Hebrew word “ess” does not really have an exact translation. it indicates additional “something” but does not have a literal word meaning in English. When we say “Breishis Bara Elokim ess hashamayim v’ess haaretz” it could just as easily be “Breishis Bara Elokim hashamayim v’haaretz.” The “ess” is grammatically superfluous, though the Meforshim teach us that there is always something to be learned from what believe are extraneous words in the Torah, because every word has a meaning and a purpose.
Simcha
Shticky Guy – Geshmock can also mean delicious (smell/taste)
how do you say kugel in english? supposedly its “pudding” but potato pudding makes me think of liquidy mashed potatoes.
milchig noodle kugel is a dif dish than potato kugel and thats dif than zucchini kugel so in each one it means s/t else.
so how do you translate it?
casserole
How about a shaale and a kashye? what are the exact transalation for those 2 words?
shaale = a question
kashye = a difficulty
Sometimes you could think that they are used interchangeably, but I think a shaale is more basic than a kashye, as if a person has looked into something he had a shaale on and it was difficult for him to understand, so now he has a kashye on it.
Yentingyenta; Maybe, “Potpourri” (Which is not a purely English term, either) would be a good translation for “Kugel”.
In any case “Pudding” is not an accurate translation for “Kugel” of any kind.
aussi- it doesnt mean that at all
Grada- best teich- as an aside. I said that then too.
O herees a good one: Katchannez. Any guesses?
Like yiddish, English has many dialects. There are idioms unique to most that will fit most “untranslatables”
metro and nechomah, thanx. i actually looked on recipe sites and found a recipe for potato pudding. the ingredients were potatoes, onions, salt, pepper, matzo meal, eggs and oil. sounded vaguely familiar… 🙂
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