# German and Yiddish Words



## jjdmk

I just found this list of Yiddish words that are commonly used in English.

Are they used in modern day German as well?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_Yiddish_origin


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## Hutschi

Hi,
the German language has a lot of yiddish words, too. For many of them, only few people know they come from Yiddish. My wife lifed in  Potsdam, there are the words "mischpoke" and "meschugge" in the regional language. "Koscher" is used for moralically faultless work there. From Skat playing, I know "massel". In the standard, we have "Schlamassel".

I will try to give answers for each word, but as I know it. I will not look into dictionaries here, because I will give answeres from daily life, so some of my remarks can be regionally.




jjdmk said:


> I just found this list of Yiddish words that are commonly used in English.
> 
> Are they used in modern day German as well?
> 
> * bagel : a ring-shaped bread roll made by boiling then baking the dough (from בײגל beygl)
> 
> The word came into the language recently together with the bread roll.
> 
> 
> * blintz : a sweet cheese-filled crepe (from Yiddish בלינצע blintse)
> Blinse
> 
> * bris : the circumcision of a male child. (from Hebrew brith 'covenant')
> I do not know it.
> * boychik : boy, young man. (English boy + Yiddish diminutive suffix -tshik)
> I do not know it.
> But we have the words "Zahn" and "Kirsche" for a young wohman in regional slang language
> 
> * bubkes (also spelled "bupkis") : emphatically nothing, as in He isn't worth bubkes (literally 'goat droppings')
> I do not know it from here.
> 
> * chazerai : junk, garbage, junk food (in Yiddish, khazerai 'filth', from khazer 'pig', from Hebrew ḥazzir)
> I do not know.
> 
> * chutzpah : ballsiness, guts, daring, audacity, effrontery (Yiddish חוצפּה khutspe, from Hebrew)
> 
> I know it, but as yiddish word, in yiddish context, especially in films.
> 
> * dybbuk : the malevolent spirit of a dead person which enters and controls a living body until exorcised (from Hebrew דיבוק dibbuk, that which clings)
> 
> I do not know it.
> 
> * dreck : (vulgar) worthless material, especially merchandise; "crap" (cf. German Dreck 'dirt')
> 
> Dreck is a standard word in the Standard language. I did not know the yiddish roots
> 
> * feygele : (pejorative) homosexual (literally 'little bird') (cf. German Vogel 'bird')
> I do not know.
> 
> * fress : to eat, especially with enthusiasm or in large quantities (Yiddish fresn, cf. German fressen, which is usually used only of animals)
> 
> "fressen" is a standard word for animals; and and it is pejorative for eating large quantities.
> 
> * frimmer : (British English slang) a Hasidic Jew (from Yiddish frum 'religious' cf. German fromm)
> I do not know.
> 
> * ganef or gonif : thief, scoundrel, rascal (Yiddish גנבֿ ganef 'thief', from Hebrew gannav).
> 
> I do not know.
> 
> * gelt : money; chocolate coins eaten on Hanukkah (געלט gelt 'money', cf. German Geld)
> 
> Standard language: "Geld"= Money
> 
> * gevalt : interjection of shock, dismay, or alarm (from Yiddish gvald 'emergency', cf. German Gewalt 'force, violence')
> 
> *Standard: Gewalt*
> 
> * glitch : a minor malfunction (possibly from Yiddish glitsh)
> 
> I know: glitschen (slither, slide), glitschig (slimy, slippy). I do not know, whether it is connected.
> 
> * haimish (also heimish) : home-like, friendly, folksy (cf. German heimisch)
> heimisch
> 
> * kibitz : to offer unwanted advice, e.g. to someone playing cards; to converse idly, hence a kibbitzer, gossip (Yiddish קיבעצן kibetsn, related to German Kiebitz 'lapwing')
> 
> kiebitzen - I know it from card playing: to look secretly into other cards, it is also used outside of games
> 
> * klutz : clumsy person (from Yiddish קלאָץ klots 'wooden beam', cf. German Klotz)
> 
> I only know: "wenn du einen Klotz am Bein hast", there is a clumsy person connected to you.
> 
> * kvell : feel delighted and proud (Yiddish קװעלן kveln, from a old Germanic word akin to quellen 'well up')
> 
> 
> * kvetch : to complain habitually, gripe; as a noun, a person who always complains (from Yiddish קװעטשן kvetshn 'press, squeeze', cf. German quetschen)
> 
> I do not know.
> 
> * latke : potato pancake, especially during Hanukkah (from Yiddish, from either Ukrainian or Russian)
> I do not know.
> 
> * l'chaim : "cheers!", used as a toast (from either Yiddish lekhaim, or Hebrew ləḥayyim 'to life!')
> I do not know.
> 
> * Litvak : a Lithuanian Jew
> I do not know.
> 
> * lox : smoked salmon (from Yiddish לאַקס laks 'salmon'; cf. German Lachs 'salmon')
> 
> Lachs is default for living salmon
> 
> * macher : big shot, important person (Yiddish מאַכער makher, literally 'maker' from מאַכן makhn 'make', cf. German Macher)


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## Hutschi

*Macher*
* mamzer : bastard (from Yiddish or Hebrew ממזר)
I do not know.
* maven : expert (from Yiddish מבֿין meyvn, from Hebrew meveen 'one who understands')
I do not know.
* mazel : luck (Yiddish מזל mazl, from Hebrew מזל mazzāl 'luck, planet', cf. German Massel)

It is known, connected to Yiddish

* mensch : an upright man; a decent human being (from Yiddish מענטש mentsh 'person', cf. German Mensch)

Mensch is deafult for human being 
* meshuga, also meshugge, meshugah, meshuggah, : crazy (Yiddish משוגע meshuge, from Hebrew məšugga‘)

It is known as "meschugge" at least in regional slang.

* meshugas : madness, nonsense, irrational idiosyncrasy (Yiddish משוגעת meshugas, from Hebrew məšugga‘ath, a form of the above)

I do not know.
* meshuggener : a crazy person (Yiddish משוגענער meshugener, a derivative of the above משוגע meshuge)

I do not know.
* minyan : the quorum of ten adult (i.e., 13 or older) Jews who are necessary for the holding of a public worship service (Yiddish מנין minyen, from Hebrew מנין minyān)
I do not know.
* mishpocha : extended family (Yiddish משפּחה mishpokhe, from Hebrew משפּחה mišpāḥā)
Known in local slang, my wife knows it from Potsdam. (Mischpoke) only in spoken language

* mohel : a religious circumciser (when pronounced "moyl" in English, Yiddish מוהל moyl, from Hebrew מוהל mōhēl)
I do not know.

* naches : pride, esp. in the achievements of one's children (Yiddish נחת nakhes, from Hebrew נחת naḥath 'contentment')
I do not know.
* narrischkeit : foolishness, nonsense (Yiddish narishkayt, from nar 'fool', cf. German Narrheit)
"Narrheit" is default, "Närrischkeit" is regional in colloquial language or dialect.

* nebbish : an insignificant, pitiful person; a nonentity (from Yiddish nebekh 'poor thing!' [interjection])

"näbbisch" is a regional slang or dialect word as property of a small beautiful thing
* noodge : to pester, nag, whine; as a noun, a pest or whiner (from Yiddish נודיען nudyen, from Polish or Russian)
I do not know.
* nosh : snack (noun or verb) (Yiddish נאַשן nashn, cf. German naschen)
I do not know. May be, it is a root in the standard word "Naschkatze".
* nosherei : snack food (Yiddish nasheray 'tidbit', from the above nashn, cf. German Nascherei)
Standard: Nascherei, verb: naschen

* nu : multipurpose interjection often analogous to "well?" or "so?" (Yiddish נו nu, perhaps akin to Russian "ну"; according to the OED, probably not related to German nu)

* I know from saxony dialect "Nu!" = "yes" - used almost by default in Dresden. But I heared it came from the Chech language. I do not know whether it is connected.

* nudnik : a pest, "pain in the neck"; a bore (Yiddish נודניק nudnik, from the above נודיען nudyen)
I do not know.
* oy : interjection of surprise, dismay, or grief (Yiddish אױ oy)
I know it from the regional language, I do not know whether it is in the standard.

* oy vey : interjection of grief, pain, or horror (Yiddish אױ װײ oy vey 'oh, pain!' or "oh, woe"), short for oy vey iz mir or oh woe is me (cf. German oh weh)
I do not know.

* pareve : containing neither meat nor dairy products (from Yiddish (פּאַרעװ (ע parev(e))
I do not know.
* pisher : a nobody, an inexperienced person (Yiddish פּישער pisher, from פּישן pishn 'piss', cf. German pissen 'piss')

* Slang: Pisser (coarse) I do not know, whether it is in the standard.

* potch : slap, smack (Yiddish פּאטשן patshn)
I do not know.
* plotz : to burst, as from strong emotion (from Yiddish פּלאַצן platsn 'crack', cf. German platzen)

In idiom: "Du platzt ja fast vor Neugier" You almost burst out of couriosity.

* putz : an idiot, a jerk; a penis (from Yiddish פּאָץ pots)
Die Putze (Slang word for "Putzfrau") I do not know whether this is connected linguistically. 

* schlemiel : an inept clumsy person; a bungler; a dolt (Yiddish shlemil)
In literature "Peter Schlemiel" - I did not know the word.

* schlep : to drag or haul (an object); to make a tedious journey (from Yiddish שלעפּן shlepn; cf. German schleppen)
In standard: "Schlepper", "Schlepperkolonnen" They bring persons (mostly illegally) to another place.

* schlock : something cheap, shoddy, or inferior (perhaps from Yiddish shlak 'a stroke', cf. German Schlag)

I do not know it in this sense. "Schlag", however has two pages of meanings, as you might see in Mark Twain's essay "the awful German Language".

* schlong : (vulgar) penis (from Yiddish שלאַנג shlang 'snake'; cf. German Schlange)

Not in this sense
* schlub: a clumsy, stupid, or unattractive person (Yiddish zhlob 'hick', perhaps from Polish żłób)
I do not know.
* schmaltz : melted chicken fat; excessive sentimentality (from Yiddish שמאַלץ shmalts 'fat'; cf. German Schmalz)
Standard "Schmalz"

* schmeer also schmear : noun or verb: spread (e.g., cream cheese on a bagel); bribe (from Yiddish שמיר shmir 'smear'; cf. German schmieren)
Regionally, may be obsolete: "Schmer" is a kind of fatty cream, standard: "schmieren" (I did not know the yiddish connection)

* schmatte : a rag (from Yiddish שמאַטע shmate, from Polish szmata)
I do not know.
* schmendrik : a foolish or contemptible person (from a character in an operetta by Abraham Goldfaden)
I do not know.
* schmo : a stupid person. (an alteration of schmuck; see below)
I do not know.
* schmooze : to converse informally, make small talk or chat (from Yiddish שמועסן shmuesn 'converse').

standard: "schmusen" - smooch, kiss, neck, cuddle, snuggle together 
* schmuck : a contemptible or foolish person; a jerk; literally means 'penis' (from Yiddish שמאָק shmok 'penis')
I do not know it in this sense. 
* schmutter : clothing; rubbish (from Yiddish Yiddish שמאַטע shmate 'rag', as above)
I do not know.


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## Hutschi

* schmutz - dirt (from Yiddish שמוץ shmuts or German Schmutz 'dirt')
Standard: der Schmutz
* schnook : an easily imposed-upon or cheated person, a pitifully meek person, a particularly gullible person (perhaps from Yiddish שנוק shnuk 'snout')
I do not know.
* schnorrer : beggar (Yiddish שנאָרער shnorer)
Der Schnorrer, schnorren (at least regionally, I did not know the word about 20 years ago. 
* schnoz or schnozz also schnozzle : a nose, especially a large nose (perhaps from Yiddish שנויץ shnoits 'snout', cf. German Schnauze)

schneuzen (new: schnäuzen) =Nase putzen - clean the nose (
Schnauzbart= Bart unter der Nase 

* Shabbos or Shabbes : Shabbat (Yiddish Shabes, from Hebrew Šabbāth)
I do not know.
* shammes : the beadle or sexton of a synagogue (Yiddish shames, from Hebrew שמש šammāš 'attendant'), possibly contributory to the American slang word "shamus," for a policeman, by way of the Irish "Seamus"
I do not know.
* shamus: a detective (possibly from shammes)
I do not know.
* sheitel: a wig worn by strictly Orthodox Jewish women.
I do not know.
* shegetz : (derogratory) a young non-Jewish male (Yiddish שגץ or שײגעץ sheygets, from Hebrew šeqeṣ 'blemish')
I do not know.
* shemozzle (slang) quarrel, brawl (perhaps related to schlimazel, q.v.)
I do not know.
* shicker or shickered : drunk (adjective or noun) (Yiddish shiker 'drunk', from Hebrew šikkōr)
I do not know.
* shiksa : (often derogatory) a young non-Jewish woman (Yiddish שיקסע shikse, a derivative of the above שײגעץ sheygets)
Slang word: Schickse (may be regionally)
* shtetl : a small town with a large Jewish population in pre-Holocaust Eastern Europe (Yiddish שטעטל shtetl 'town', diminutive of שטאָט shtot 'city'; cf. German Städtle, South German colloquial diminutive of Stadt, city)
I know it from yiddish songs from Lin Yaldati

* shtick : comic theme; a defining habit or distinguishing feature (from Yiddish שטיק 'piece'; cf. German Stück)

"Stück" has no connotation to comic themes in the German language.

* shtup: to have sexual intercourse (from Yiddish שתופ "shtup" 'push', cf. German stupfen)
I do not know.
* spiel : a sales pitch or speech intended to persuade (from Yiddish שפּיל shpil 'play' or German Spiel 'play').
I do not know this meaning. In standard "Spiel"=game, play, match, but also theater play.
* tchotchke or tsatske : knickknack, trinket, curio (from Yiddish טשאַטשקע tshatshke)
I do not know.
* tref or trayf or traif : not kosher (Yiddish treyf, from Hebrew ṭərēfā 'carrion')
I do not know.
* tsimmes : a sweet stew of vegetables and fruit; a fuss, a confused affair, a to-do (Yiddish צימעס tsimes)
I do not know.
* tsuris : troubles (from Yiddish צרות tsores)
I do not know.
* tuchus : buttocks, rear end (from Yiddish תּחת tokhes, from Hebrew תחת taḥath 'underneath')
I do not know.
* tummler : an entertainer or master of ceremonies, especially one who encourages audience interaction (from Yiddish tumler, from tumlen 'make a racket'; cf. German reflexive verb (sich) tummeln 'to move around')
I do not know.
* tush : butt, rear end (from tuchus)
I do not know.
* yenta : a talkative woman; a gossip; a scold (from Yiddish יענטע, from a given name)
I do not know.
* Yiddish : the Yiddish language (from Yiddish Yidish 'Jewish'; Cf German adj. jüdisch)
Jiddisch = Yiddish language
* yontef also yom tov : a Jewish holiday on which work is forbidden, eg. Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Pesach (from Yiddish יום- טובֿ yontef 'holiday', from Hebrew יום טוב yōm ṭōv 'good day')
I do not know.
* zaftig : plump, chubby, full-figured, as a woman (from Yiddish zaftik 'juicy'; cf. German saftig)[/quote]

"saftig"=juicy, I do not know the other meaning.


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## Hutschi

"Moos" and "Kies" for money are also yiddish words.

http://www.oppisworld.de/zeit/judentum/jjiddwor.html


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## Kajjo

jjdmk said:


> I just found this list of Yiddish words that are commonly used in English. Are they used in modern day German as well?


Let me start with the observation that the words you listed only occur very rarely in contemporary English literature. I doubt that most words of this list are part of the active, many not even of the passive vocabulary of the average English or American citizen. Maybe our English natives can comment on which words are actually part of everyday's vocabulary, please!

German has not many, but some words with Jiddish or Hebraic roots. Usually the spelling is adapted to German and many German native speakers do not realise the words are of Jiddish origin. Examples are meschugge (verrückt), Schlamassel (Sorgen, Problem), Tacheles reden (kein Blatt vor den Mund nehmen),  Ganove (Verbrecher), Tinnef (nutzloses Zeugs).

Dreck, fressen, Gewalt, quetschen, Mensch, Nascherei, schleppen, Schmalz, Schnorrer, saftig are _German_ words.

bagel: I though it to be American. Only this post let me know it has Jiddish origin. It is not used in German.
chutzpah: Chuzpe is also known in German, but rarely used nowadays.

Kajjo


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## Hutschi

I could buy bagels in Dresden, they where called "Bagel", plural "Bagels". I saw them in other regions, too. At least - they must be regionally in the language.
Like Kajjo, I did not know the yiddish roots.
See also in the German Wikipedia:
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagel


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## Henryk

> * sheitel: a wig worn by strictly Orthodox Jewish women.
> I do not know.



There's the word "Scheitel" in German. It translates more or less "part".


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## Maarten

Kajjo said:


> bagel: I though it to be American. Only this post let me know it has Jiddish origin. It is not used in German.


It's in use over here in Hamburg, too.

I don't know the words Tinnef and Nascherei.


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## beclija

Some of the words that haven't been mentioned by previous posters are commonly used in Austria or at least Vienna, though probably not in Germany. These include: Zores (tsuris), Schnorrer, Masel (mazel). "Chuzpe" also seems to be more common here. But, Kajjo and Hutschi, I find it hard to believe that you don't use "schmieren" in the transferred sense of "to bribe" in Germany.

As for the rest of the list, you should really keep apart Yiddish words with a Germanic origin and such with a Slavic or Hebrew/Aramaic origin. The ones from the first group are nearly always also German words, because German and Yiddish used to be pretty much dialects of each other - though in many cases only the literal meaning is known in German, while the transferred meaning is peculiar to Yiddish. When they do occur in German, it is because of the two languages' common origin and not because they were loaned from Yiddish. Words from the second group are not neccessarily part of German, but quite a few have been adapted (often regionally) just as they have in Englisch (see Kajjo's and Hutschi's posts and my examples above).

The word "boychik" is a special case - it must be of relatively recent origin, a creation by American Jews by applying a Yiddish (originally Slavic) diminutive suffix to an English word. I'm certain it was never used by Central European Jews.


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## beclija

Maarten said:


> I don't know the words Tinnef and Nascherei.


You don't know "naschen", "Naschkatze", "Nascherei"?


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## srt86hil

The only words I would recognise as being part of British English are: bagel, glitch, nosh, schmooze, schnozz and spiel. I know what klutz, schlong and schmuck mean, but would consider them part of American English.

There are a few other words there that I would recognise, but not as part of the English language.


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## Kajjo

Hutschi said:


> I could buy bagels in Dresden, they where called "Bagel", plural "Bagels". I saw them in other regions, too. At least - they must be regionally in the language.


Sure, American things are flooding Germany, but I suppose not a single German thinks that the word bagel is German. The food and the name are generally considered to be American, aren't they?

Kajjo


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## Kajjo

beclija said:


> I find it hard to believe that you don't use "schmieren" in the transferred sense of "to bribe" in Germany.


You are right. "schmieren" is a normal German word with complex etymological roots.



> As for the rest of the list, you should really keep apart Yiddish words with a Germanic origin and such with a Slavic or Hebrew/Aramaic origin.


Right, I tried to convey this notion by listing the words I checked to be of German origin. See my first post.

Kajjo


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## beclija

Kajjo said:


> You are right. "schmieren" is a normal German word with complex etymological roots.


To be more precise, I think that "schmieren" in the sense of "to spread" and "Schmiere" in related meanings (whether food or lubricant) are derived from a Germanic root, while "Schmiere stehen" is from Yiddish (original Hebrew _shemira_). The use of "schmieren" for "to bribe" might be a metaphorical extension of the first, or a contamination of the two etymologically distinct words.


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## Whodunit

I wouldn't have understood "Mischpoke." I have heard it once or twice, but I think it's regional. The same goes for "Chuzpe."

"Geld" in the sense of "chocolate coins"  is only common when connected with "Schokolade": Schokoladengeld. It exists as taffy, too.

"Glitch" in this spelling exists in computing in German, too.

A "Klotz" is a corpulent or unsympathetic person.

"Naschen" and "Naschkatze" belong to my active vocabulary. "Nascherei" doesn't.

"Oh weh" belongs to my active vocabulary, too.

We use "Schmiergeld" (bribe money) in German, but the verb "schmieren" doesn't exist in this context.

The German way to pronounce "Schabbat" is often "Sabbat." Maybe this was a misreading of the Hebrew letter ש some time ago, because it can be read as "s" [s] and "sch" [∫].

I use "Scheitel" only in connection to hair.

I have never heard of "Schickse." I wouldn't have understood it without any context.

Kajjo, I've never heard of nor used the word "Tinnef." It must be regional.


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## Hutschi

Hi, while "Schmiere" is word with germanic roots, there is another word "Schmiere" in "Schmiere stehen" with yiddish roots. It is not on the list yet. "be on one's guard, guard, watch over, protect" (usual in criminal context.) It comes from the yiddish word with a meaning similar to "to watch".



> Kajjo wrote:
> I use "Scheitel" only in connection to hair.


 
I did not recognize that "Scheitel" and "sheitel" are connected.

I also know it in connection with hair, and additional in the sense 
"Scheitelpunkt" (vertex, highest point) - is there any connection of either "vertex" or "hair" to the yiddish meaning? Or is this just a coincidence?

Take care and avoid the word "Schickse" for women. It is really rude (coarse).


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## driFDer

Kajjo said:


> Let me start with the observation that the words you listed only occur very rarely in contemporary English literature. I doubt that most words of this list are part of the active, many not even of the passive vocabulary of the average English or American citizen. Maybe our English natives can comment on which words are actually part of everyday's vocabulary, please!


 

*bagel* : a ring-shaped bread roll made by boiling then baking the dough (from בײגל _beygl_) (I have one every morning!)
*bubkes* (also spelled "bupkis") : emphatically nothing, as in _He isn't worth bubkes_ (literally 'goat droppings')(Some what common.  It tends to sound a bit outdated.  Most Americans would substitute it for nothing or anything: He doesn't know anything/nothing/crap(harsh)/shit(vulgar)
*glitch* : a minor malfunction (possibly from Yiddish _glitsh_)(Still very commonly used)
*klutz* : clumsy person (from Yiddish קלאָץ _klots_ 'wooden beam', cf. German _Klotz_) (Still very commonly used. I am one! )
*kosher* : conforming to Jewish dietary laws; (slang) appropriate, legitimate (originally from Hebrew כּשר _kašer_)(Used mostly when talking about Jewish food but it can sometimes mean "okay": "Don't worry Tom, everything is kosher!")
*putz* : an idiot, a jerk; a penis (from Yiddish פּאָץ _pots_)(Is only used as a put down of course.  It is seldom heard since English has such a large vocabulary for insults but it would not seem outdated or weird to hear it)
*schlong* : (vulgar) penis (from Yiddish שלאַנג _shlang_ 'snake'; cf. German _Schlange_) (This word though quite vulgar is almost comedic.  There are many other slang words to call ones penis but this one comes off quite funny at times in the right context.)
*schmeer* also *schmear* : noun or verb: spread (e.g., cream cheese on a bagel); bribe (from Yiddish שמיר _shmir_ 'smear'; cf. German _schmieren_)(We say smear without the "sh" sound. This word only seams to be used in a negative or care free context: "They smeared paint all over my car!" or "Just smear the butter on it and don't worry about it getting all messy." Otherwise we use "spread.")
*schmooze* : to converse informally, make small talk or chat (from Yiddish שמועסן _shmuesn_ 'converse'). (This is quite common as well: "I'm going to go schmooze the group over there for a minute)
*schmuck* : a contemptible or foolish person; a jerk; literally means 'penis' (from Yiddish שמאָק _shmok_ 'penis') (Still used at times.  Used as often as "Putz.")
*schnoz* or *schnozz* also *schnozzle* : a nose, especially a large nose (perhaps from Yiddish שנויץ _shnoits_ 'snout', cf. German _Schnauze_) (Only used as an insult when describing someones rather large nose)
*shtick* : comic theme; a defining habit or distinguishing feature (from Yiddish שטיק 'piece'; cf. German _Stück_) (Sounds like a word that would be used in a Mel Brooks film.  Never would it be used in spoken everyday English)
*spiel* : a sales pitch or speech intended to persuade (from Yiddish שפּיל _shpil_ 'play' or German _Spiel_ 'play'). (Just like what the definition states.  It can actually be used to describe a speech in gerneral: " Okay we are going to go over there, let me give my spiel and then we're out of there!")
*tuchus* : buttocks, rear end (from Yiddish תּחת _tokhes_, from Hebrew תחת _taḥath_ 'underneath')(Rather outdated.  Sounds like a word ones grandmother would use.)
*tush* : butt, rear end (from _tuchus_) (Used when one does not want to be vulgar.) See "tuchus."
These are the only ones that I've ever heard.  You could find all of these in spoken English though some would be a bit odd to hear due to the fact that they feel out dated, but it wouldn't confused or put your listener off guard. Obviously, some are use more often than others.


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## gaer

These are all words I knew before I knew any German words. The underlined ones are the only ones I've ever used:

bris, boychik, bubkes/bupkis, chutzpah, dreck, feygele, ganef/gonif, gelt, _*glitch*_
golem, goy/goyim, _*klutz*_, _*kosher*_, kvetch, latke, l'chaim, lox
mamzer, maven, Mazel tov, megillah, mensch, meshuga, meshuggener, nebbish
noodge, nosh, nudnik, oy, oy vey, putz, schlemiel, schlep, schlimazel
schlock, schlong, schmaltz, schmendrik, schmooze, schmuck, schnook, shamus
shiksa, shtick, shtup, _*spiel*_, tchotchke/tsatske, tuchus, tush, _*yarmulke*_,yenta 
_*Yiddish*_, zaftig

Almost all of these I picked up from Jewish friends, and I had no idea which ones were related to the German language until much later. 

Gaer


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## Maarten

beclija said:


> You don't know "naschen", "Naschkatze", "Nascherei"?


I know the former 2. I just don't know the substantive, I can not even tell whether that's something you eat or the act of "naschen".


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## Spectre scolaire

Kajjo said:
			
		

> Let me start with the observation that the words you listed [*from Wikipedia*] only occur very rarely in contemporary English literature. I doubt that most words of this list are part of the active, many not even of the passive vocabulary of the average English or American citizen. Maybe our English natives can comment on which words are actually part of everyday's vocabulary, please!


If you by “contemporary English literature” also include “American literature”, not to say “American films”, I think the number of Yiddish words is quite considerable.




			
				srt86hil said:
			
		

> The only words I would recognise as being part of British English are: bagel, glitch, nosh, schmooze, schnozz and spiel. I know what klutz, schlong and schmuck mean, but would consider them part of American English.
> 
> There are a few other words there that I would recognise, but not as part of the English language.


Again, what is “the English language”?! Is _American English_ not English?



			
				gaer said:
			
		

> These are all words I knew before I knew any German words. The underlined ones are the only ones I've ever used:
> bris, boychik, bubkes/bupkis, chutzpah, dreck, feygele, ganef/gonif, gelt, *glitch*
> golem, goy/goyim, *klutz*, *kosher*, kvetch, latke, l'chaim, lox,
> mamzer, maven, Mazel tov, megillah, mensch, meshuga, meshuggener, nebbish
> noodge, nosh, nudnik, oy, oy vey, putz, schlemiel, schlep, schlimazel
> schlock, schlong, schmaltz, schmendrik, schmooze, schmuck, schnook, shamus
> shiksa, shtick, shtup, *spiel*, tchotchke/tsatske, tuchus, tush, *yarmulke*,yenta
> *Yiddish*, zaftig


I looked up all these *52* words in the 1983 edition of _Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary_, which is the only dictionary of *English*(!) that I happen to keep next to me for the time being. The result: *31* of them, or 60%, are registered. I excluded the word _Yiddish_ because it is the very name of the language. A couple of words I was surprised not to find in Webster. On the other hand, this dictionary contains many other Yiddish words, and Hebrew religious terms galore.

Something strikes me here: _*Are we being purists?!*_

I have no idea how many Yiddish words I have come across – essentially in American English which is also _English_, I suppose?. There is even a female American writer who really excels in using this vocabulary. Her books are quite enjoyable from this point of view. Today, 20 years later, I can’t even remember her name. All these Yiddish words give a special condiment to English. No doubt, foreign vocabulary can do the same in other languages. I can think of – mutatis mutandis! - the role that Turkish loanwords play in certain very restricted genres of Modern Greek literature and in Greek suburban slang. The interesting parallel between Modern Greek and English in this respect is that Yiddish vocabulary is _primarily_ (but not exclusively) a New York _urban phenomenon_. Greek Orthodox Christians – many of them were bilingual Greek/Turkish - came from Anatolia with the population exchange in the late 1920s. The _rebetika_ underground music and poetry was only recently acknowledged. The Ashkenazi Jews crossed another ocean and arrived in America with a language that was not only colourful in its own right – an author of novels written in Yiddish has even received the Nobel price! - but this linguistic import also made urban American English _much more_ colourful.

The conspicuous impact of Yiddish words in _Webster_ is part of the English vocabulary – but everybody might not yet have discovered this unique source of enrichment. 

Only years later than my reading of novels with a hypertrophic Yiddish vocabulary I came across _The Joys of Yiddish: a relaxed lexicon of Yiddish, Hebrew and Yinglish words often_[sic] _encountered in English_ by Leo Rosten (London 1970), probably the most hilarious dictionary in my bookshelves – if _dictionary_ is indeed the right word. It is a bulky cultural history of Yiddish words in English, and it is quite a read – to the extent that you can _read_ a dictionary... (You can!)
 א​


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## Kajjo

Spectre scolaire said:


> If you by “contemporary English literature” also include “American literature”, not to say “American films”, I think the number of Yiddish words is quite considerable. Again, what is “the English language”?! Is _American English_ not English?



Of course I mean both American and British English. I do not discriminate beween both. 

What I meant originally was: I read quite a lot American and British literature, from thriller to scientific magazines, and I try to look up all words I do not know -- which fortunately become more rarely lately. I only had heard of very few of the Yiddish words mentioned here. That tells me that those words are very rarely used in normal literature. Of course, they are used sometimes, but what I wanted to know in my first post here was: Does the average American or British person fluently understands all these words? I believe Gaer gave a concise and helpful answer, which I figure is also very realistically.

I knew chutzpah, glitch, golem, klutz, kosher, and spiel. I might have understood, and thus not remembered, some of the German-rooted Yiddish words like mensch or meshugge. Certainly, the other mentioned words are mainly used highly infrequently (some exceptions allowed for).

Kajjo


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## gaer

Spectre scolaire said:


> Something strikes me here: _*Are we being purists?!*_


Who is we???

This is the list I gave of words I recognized, and I underlined the ones I have used:


> Originally Posted by *gaer*
> These are all words I knew before I knew any German words. The underlined ones are the only ones I've ever used:
> bris, boychik, bubkes/bupkis, chutzpah, dreck, feygele, ganef/gonif, gelt, *glitch*
> golem, goy/goyim, *klutz*, *kosher*, kvetch, latke, l'chaim, lox,
> mamzer, maven, Mazel tov, megillah, mensch, meshuga, meshuggener, nebbish
> noodge, nosh, nudnik, oy, oy vey, putz, schlemiel, schlep, schlimazel
> schlock, schlong, schmaltz, schmendrik, schmooze, schmuck, schnook, shamus
> shiksa, shtick, shtup, *spiel*, tchotchke/tsatske, tuchus, tush, *yarmulke*, yenta
> *Yiddish*, zaftig


That's a very large part of the list we began with, and I've clearly indicated that these words are part of my passive vocabulary. 

I only use German passively. This is hardly an indication of what I think about the language. 

Gaer


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## beclija

It may in part depend on the genre and setting. I guess that many of the words have an urban (some maybe specifically New York) local coloring, so while they may be relatively frequent if the setting is NYC and the theme more or less real-life situations and especially, maybe, in satirical texts, they would be absent from the precise language of scientific exposition, from the epic language of science fiction, and obviously from any novel with a more rural setting.


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## Kajjo

beclija said:


> It may in part depend on the genre and setting. I guess that many of the words have an urban (some maybe specifically New York) local coloring, so while they may be relatively frequent if the setting is NYC and the theme more or less real-life situations and especially, maybe, in satirical texts, they would be absent from the precise language of scientific exposition, from the epic language of science fiction, and obviously from any novel with a more rural setting.


Yes, you may be right. Again, I am still interested whether Americans with non-NYC background would understand these words. 

Let me phrase my point of interest in a different way: Obviously in German we have only very few Yiddish words that are of common and regular use, e.g. Schlamassel, Tacheles, Ganove. Many other Yiddish words were unknown to some native members here, despite their specific interest in the German language. Those words which are commonly known are mainly not recognised as being Yiddish (e.g. Ganove, Schmiere stehen).

How many of the listed Yiddish words does the average American with high-school education know? How many of these words are considered to be just English words? I believe, the list is not much longer than the German list we gave above.

Kajjo


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## gaer

Kajjo said:


> Again, I am still interested whether Americans with non-NYC background would understand these words.


I would say the main consideration is not NYC but rather any place that has a rather large Jewish population.

I had no Jewish friends when I was young and knew almost none of the mentioned words. Later, when I met my Jewish friends (may of whom were from NYC), I added many yiddish words to my passive vocabulary. 

Gaer


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## Spectre scolaire

Kajjo said:
			
		

> Let me rephrase my point of interest in a different way: Obviously in German we have only very few Yiddish words that are of in common and regular use, e.g. Schlamassel, Tacheles, Ganove. Many other Yiddish words were unknown to some native members here, despite their specific interest in the German language. Those words which are commonly known are mainly not recognized as being Yiddish (e.g. Ganove, Schmiere stehen).





			
				Kajjo said:
			
		

> How many of the listed Yiddish words does the average American with high-school education know? How many of these words are considered to be just English words? I believe, the list is not much longer than the German list we gave above.


I can’t claim to be an expert on Yiddish words in English (primarily because I don’t know Hebrew!), but for many years I have taken some interest in this vocabulary layer. I’d like to emphasize one thing though:

Yiddish words in German and Yiddish words in English are two very different things. Yiddish is basically a German dialect with a separate development for hundreds of years in a non-German environment. To the extent that Yiddish words reappeared in its old language environment, they would often blend with German. Those who would stand apart, would mainly be words of Hebrew or Slavic origin. On the other side, Yiddish words adapted to American English never blended with local words – German origin or Hebrew, it was all Yiddish. This fundamental difference should be kept in mind. 

Another element of confusion – or let’s rather say “lack of precision” is underlined by _gaer_:




			
				gaer said:
			
		

> I had no Jewish friends when I was young and knew almost none of the mentioned words. Later, when I met my Jewish friends (may of whom were from NYC), I added many yiddish words to my passive vocabulary.


Together with some colleagues at an American university I once performed a vocabulary test on 6 university students (22-23 years of age), non-native speakers of English and with a non-Germanic and non-Romance language as their mother tongue, but who claimed they were fluent in English – they were indeed, for all intents and purposes. The test consisted of defining 26 isolated words of Latin/Greek origin excerpted from one single copy of _National Geographic_. They failed miserably. The test group was American students, same age. I wouldn’t say they “failed miserably”, but the result was surprisingly mediocre. An interesting comment from all the participants of the latter group was: “If I only had a context!”

This is what _passive vocabulary_ is all about. The discrepancy between active and passive vocabulary is usually much greater than most of us have any reason to imagine. For languages like Chinese – _written_ Chinese! - it can be quite considerable. A native speaker of any language may need a dictionary all through his life – even if he is an avid reader. (Most people are not dictionary freaks, however...) 

The precise meaning of Yiddish elements in AmEnglish may often elude native speakers because Yiddishisms predominantly belong to oral language and to special environments. My little enquiry into the word list provided by _gaer_ just wanted to emphasize the fact that there is no anathema whatsoever on Yiddish words in English. English is _par excellence_ a non-puristic language, and it is fascinating to follow the “intrusion” and subsequent adaptation of these particular words. 

As for ‘Yiddish words in German’, I even doubt whether this could be defined as a potential field of lexical research. One would probably rather go for _Hebraismen_. 
​


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## Hutschi

Spectre scolaire said:


> As for ‘Yiddish words in German’, I even doubt whether this could be defined as a potential field of lexical research. One would probably rather go for _Hebraismen_.
> 
> ​


 
Hi, 
this is an interesting topic.
There are different kinds of Yiddish words in in German. Some came from Germanic roots and later back to the German language, as stated above in some entries, but many are Hebraisms. 

Is the Yiddish language considered as a Germanic language? Or is ist a Hebraic language? Or is there no such classification at all?

Best regards
Bernd


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## gaer

Spectre scolaire said:


> This is what _passive vocabulary_ is all about. The discrepancy between active and passive vocabulary is usually much greater than most of us have any reason to imagine. For languages like Chinese – _written_ Chinese! - it can be quite considerable. A native speaker of any language may need a dictionary all through his life – even if he is an avid reader. (Most people are not dictionary freaks, however...)


I use online English dictionaries daily. 

To some extent (there are many other factors, of course) I believe that a very large passive vocabulary makes it easy to move words (language) over to the "active area" more quickly. In other words, there may be a huge gap between the two, but it can be narrowed considerably if emphasis is switched to active vocabulary.

Gaer


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## Hutschi

What is the difference between active and passive vocabularity?
I thought: active vocabularity is the vocabularity I use speaking and writing, passive vocabularity is the vocabularity, I understand.

But here it seems to be another difference: Active: I understand. Passive: I understand only with context. Is this right?

(Or are "aktiv" and "active" in this context false friends?)


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## gaer

Hutschi said:


> What is the difference between active and passive vocabularity?
> I thought: active vocabularity is the vocabularity I use speaking and writing, passive vocabularity is the vocabularity, I understand.
> 
> But here it seems to be another difference: Active: I understand. Passive: I understand only with context. Is this right?
> 
> (Or are "aktiv" and "active" in this context false friends?)


Bernd, I almost never write German, and I speak it even less.

This is why I describe my use of German as merely "passive".

This does not mean that I am unable to understand anything in German that is not in context. 

Gaer


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## übermönch

Actually the High Frankon dialect of Southern Hesse (also the one spoken by the Amish in Pennsylvania) is extraordinary similar to the Yiddish language; the bulk of Aramaic and Hebrew vocabulary is also present, however to a lesser extent. The Ashkenazic population originally settled in the West bank of the Rhine during the late antiquity, hence it mostly influenced and got influence by the Swabian and Frankon dialects. The yiddish grammar, however, partially differs remarkably strong from modern German dialects questioning it's qualification as such.


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## Bonjules

Hutschi said:


> Take care and avoid the word "Schickse" for women. It is really rude (coarse).


 
I'm not sure this has been stated, but 'shikse' refers specifically to 
'gentile' (non-jewish) young women; it is as such derogatory and discriminatory. I have rarely or never heard it used in this 'serious' way in everyday language; I would rather doubt it is much used nowadays, at least tin the US.
When my (jewish) in-laws used it in my presence, it was always with a laugh or a big smile, as if to indicate they were just kidding...or making fun of it, in front of a 'goy (goi?)' at least...


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## Spectre scolaire

Hutschi said:
			
		

> Is the Yiddish language considered as a Germanic language? Or is ist a Hebraic language? Or is there no such classification at all?


Yiddish is a _Germanic language_ like English, German, Lëtzebuergesch and Faeroese – just to mention a few. Loanwords are of no importance for the classification of a language. And yet, this is often what many people believe to be a criterion. 

The following www.bergen.org/AAST/Projects/Yiddish/English/ – click further through “What is Yiddish” and “The Language” – a site which provides a short description of Yiddish, is typically written by a person who wants to enhance its special qualities. Take this, f.ex.:




> Yiddish is a highly plastic and assimilative language, rich in idioms, and possessing remarkable freshness, pithiness, and pungency. Since it was spoken by ordinary people rather than by scholars, its vocabulary is weak in abstractions. By the same token *it has few items descriptive of nature, with which the Jews of eastern Europe had relatively little contact*, and a wealth of words and expressions descriptive of character and of relations among people. It makes liberal use of diminutives and terms of endearment and exhibits a variety of expletives. The use of proverbs and proverbial expressions is considerable. These qualities and usages give Yiddish a uniquely warm and personal flavor.


Much of the same eulogy can be said about other languages, and _is_ often being said about languages that are not (normally) written – like _f.ex._ Maghrebine Arabic of Algeria and the Siculo-Italian “dialect”. What appeals to me as relevant beyond a purely parochial view, I have coloured in blue. What is in green I don’t really understand. There are Yiddish speakers in this forum; it would be interesting to get them on to this thread.

 If we don’t stick to the question of ‘Yiddish and its vocabulary’ (which I understand this thread is about), we’ll soon have an intervention from the moderator. My point with the question of _active_ versus _passive_ vocabulary has a bearing on what we are discussing:

To speak a “dialect” in addition to your own “standard language” – for obvious reasons I put both in inverted commas – is a rarity. To go from _periphery_ to the _centre_ is very common, but you’ll always “speak with an accent”. To go from _centre_ to _periphery_, nobody really does – except linguists and comedians... Perfectly bilingual speakers of two “dialects” of one “language” is most uncommon. Applied to Yiddish, this means that if you speak _Hochdeutsch_, you’ll understand a lot of Yiddish. Obviously, as _übermönch_ says, if you speak f.ex. _Schwäbisch_ or _Unterfrä__nkisch_, you’ll understand a lot more. _But this doesn’t mean that you can *speak Yiddish*!_. Such a claim would be as pretentious as a Swiss from Zurich pretending to speak the dialect of Schaffhausen because he works there, as ludicrous as a Swede from Stockholm pretending to be able to speak the dialect of Gotland (Gutnish) because he spends all his summer vacations there, or to believe that Prince Charles speaks the Cambrian English dialect of Aberystwyth because he is Prince of Wales. Yiddish may be perceived as a “dialect” by many Germans, but whatever you call it, this is a language in its own right, with its own structure (cf. _übermönch_: “[it] partly differs remarkably strong from Modern German dialects”), with its highly mixed vocabulary, and written with Hebrew letters. Yiddish is rarely learned by “outsiders” – except by some linguists. That’s their _shtick_ in any case...




			
				Hitschi said:
			
		

> * shtick : comic theme; a defining habit or distinguishing feature (from Yiddish שטיק 'piece'; cf. German Stück)
> 
> "Stück" has no connotation to comic themes in the German language.


*! !*Yiddish shtick (or shtik) also means (more precisely) “one’s special trait, interest, activity” (Webster)*! !*




			
				übermönch said:
			
		

> The Ashkenazic population originally settled in the West bank of the Rhine during the late antiquity, hence it mostly influenced and got influence by the Swabian and Frankon dialects.


Just a detail: I don’t think the Jews who settled on the West bank of the Rhine during late antiquity were called (of called themselves) *Ashkenazim* before they left this area. _Ashkenaz_ is a Hebrew name (and a rather “poetic” one at that) for “Germany”. In the same line of thought, why would Jews from Spain be called (or call themselves) *Sefardim* before they were expulsed from _Sfarad_, “Spain”?
 ​


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## Forero

Is the phrase "the whole shmeer" Yiddish?  Not sure of the spelling.


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## Hutschi

Spectre scolaire said:


> *! !*Yiddish shtick (or shtik) also means (more precisely) “one’s special trait, interest, activity” (Webster)*! !*
> ​




Hi, what I meant, a "Stück" in German is just a theatre play, it might be a comic one or not - this is no difference in classifying it as a "Stück". Whether it is comically or not is not essentially for being a "Stück" or "Theaterstück". A "Schwank" however is comically, or should be - at least. Is "Schwank" (farce, satirical comedy ) also in the Yiddish language in any form? A Schwank is a Stück, of course. (Stück has a lot of other meanings, additionally.)

I understand Itzgründisch - a Mainfrankish or high Frankish dialekt, but I learned it when I was very young and cannot speak it actively anymore. (My parents can. They didn't want me to speak "wrong" language. But it is my native dialect. Had we not moved to Dresden, nobody could have blocked it.)

I found, that I can understand a lot of texts in other Germanic languages or dialects. I read poetry in Yiddish or listen to Yiddish songs - and understand a lot. The same with Dutch, but it is easier for me to read than to understand it in spoken language.


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## sound shift

Forero said:


> Is the phrase "the whole shmeer" Yiddish?  Not sure of the spelling.


I've had eleven years to think about this, but nevertheless I can only answer: "Apparently".


> WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2018
> schmear  _(shmēr),USA pronunciation_ [Slang.]n.
> 
> Slang Terms a number of related things, ideas, etc., resulting in a unified appearance, attitude, plan, or the like (usually used in the phrase _the whole schmear_).
> 
> [1960–65;
> appar. Yiddish _shmirn_ to smear, grease;
> cf. MHG _smirwen_ (G _schmieren_);
> see smear]


(I've never heard "the whole schmear" here in the UK.)


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## Kajjo

It was really interesting to read this old thread again. I am still in sync with my old comments.


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## anahiseri

Kajjo said:


> . . . . . .
> 
> German has not many, but some words with Jiddish or Hebraic roots. Usually the spelling is adapted to German and many German native speakers do not realise the words are of Jiddish origin. Examples are meschugge (verrückt), Schlamassel (Sorgen, Problem), Tacheles reden (kein Blatt vor den Mund nehmen),  Ganove (Verbrecher), Tinnef (nutzloses Zeugs).
> . . . . .
> 
> Kajjo


I was familiar with these words listed by Kajjo, which makes me think they are quite widespread, because I have had no relation whatsoever with anything Jewish while living in Germany (spent my childhood and adolescence in Moers, NRW).


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## anahiseri

Maarten said:


> It's in use over here in Hamburg, too.
> 
> I don't know the words Tinnef and Nascherei.


I thought *Nascherei  /naschen* was 100% German


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## anahiseri

Whodunit said:


> We use "Schmiergeld" (bribe money) in German, but the verb "schmieren" doesn't exist in this context.



I think it does, but it's slang, or at least very informal


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## Kajjo

anahiseri said:


> which makes me think they are quite widespread, because I have had no relation whatsoever with anything Jewish


I agree, same for me. The words listed by me in 2007 (#6) most Germans should perceive as normal, common German words.



anahiseri said:


> I thought *Nascherei /naschen* was 100% German


So do I.

Both duden.de and wiktionary give an old and middle German root and do not refer to Yiddish. I am doubtful whether "naschen" is really Yiddish. Already in 2007 I listed these words as _German_ not as _Yiddish_:_ 
_


Kajjo said:


> Dreck, fressen, Gewalt, quetschen, Mensch, Nascherei, schleppen, Schmalz, Schnorrer, saftig are German words.


Just a guess: Maybe these are German loanwords into Yiddish and only felt as Yiddish in non-German languages?



Whodunit said:


> We use "Schmiergeld" (bribe money) in German, but the verb "schmieren" doesn't exist in this context.


I agree with @anahiseri that "schmieren" in the sense of "to bribe someone" is common colloquial German. I am surprised Whodunit didn't know it.
_
Der ist doch wohl geschmiert worden!
Vielleicht müssen wir den schmieren?_


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## berndf

Kajjo said:


> Both duden.de and wiktionary give an old and middle German root and do not refer to Yiddish. I am doubtful whether "naschen" is really Yiddish. Already in 2007 I listed these words as _German_ not as _Yiddish_:


They are German and Yiddish. As Yiddish is an offspring of German it inherited, by definition, all the German words in existence at the time.


----------



## Kajjo

berndf said:


> They are German and Yiddish. As Yiddish is an offspring of German it inherited, by definition, all the German words in existence at the time.


Well, that makes it a German word then, doesn't it? It has nothing to do in a list of "Yiddish words in German"... because all German words are German anyway. 

Those words may seem like Yiddish words in English, if people do not know that they originate from German. However, even from an English perspective we should distinguish German words from Yiddish words, even if the German words have been imported into English via Yiddish.

Naturally, from a German perspective ("Yiddish words occuring in contemporary German") we need to distinguish words that came "Yiddish > German" and those that are German by itself and also used in Yiddish. Maybe there are some words that made a "German > Yiddish > German" turn and were not used in German in between. I don't know whether such words occur, though.



Kajjo said:


> Just a guess: Maybe these are German loanwords into Yiddish and only felt as Yiddish in non-German languages?


So my guess might have been correct after all.


----------



## berndf

Kajjo said:


> Well, that makes it a German word then, doesn't it?


It makes it an "Erbwort" in both languages and the question "who got it from whom" doesn't really make sense. That was my point.


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## Kajjo

berndf said:


> It makes it an "Erbwort" in both languages and the question "who got it from whom" doesn't really make sense. That was my point.


If both modern German and Yiddish got a word from old or middle German roots, you cannot call a German word to be Yiddish -- you could only tell that it is both German and Yiddish. Bot it does not make any sense to call a German word a Yiddish loanword, just because it occurs in both languages. That was my point.

The title question focuses on Yiddish words in English or German. German words from old German roots are not Yiddish words in German by any logic.


----------

