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Duolingo Tips and Notes at Duome - Eu
Duolingo Tips and Notes at Duome - Eu
Duolingo Tips and Notes at Duome - Eu
eu
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Aleph-Bais 1 5 · 2021-04-19
Whether you're learning Yiddish because your family used it as a secret language, or
because you're curious about what the other language Middle High German split off into
looks like, this course will help you get familiar with the Yiddish language.
Because Yiddish uses the Hebrew alphabet, the writing system is written from right to
left!.
Each letter is given with the pronunciation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)
and a close-matching example in English:
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Ending
Name Letter IPA English example
form
Gimel ג /g/ go
Daled ד /d/ dog
Hay ה /h/ hen
Vuv ו
/ʊ~iː~i/ ,
☞
rarely /v/*
boo, in, see, ☞van
Melipm
***ּו /ʊ~iː~i//* boo, in, see
vuv***
Zayin ז /z/ zoo
*Very rarely used, in words of Semitic origin where the "v" sound is the first letter of the
word, like ושּתי, Vashti.
***Only used to disambiguate when located adjacent to other letters with which it could
theoretically combine (but doesn't).
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Aleph-Bais 2 2 · 2021-04-13
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Aleph-Bais 3 2 · 2021-04-13
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Aleph-Bais 4 1 · 2021-03-03
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Hello! 4 · 2021-09-03
In English, for 'negative' sentences you can use (no/not a), but in Yiddish there exists only
one option: קיין. "She is not a boy." = "She is no boy." For both of these you would simply say
" "קייןinstead of " "ַא. One important note for those of you who speak German: ( אײןwhich is
cognate with eine) does not mean "a" - it specifically means "one". So איין קַאץis "one cat",
not "a cat". The indefinite article is ַאor ַאן.
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Home 3 · 2021-09-03
Yiddish, like German, has three grammatical genders, meaning a word can be masculine,
feminine, or neuter. Knowing the gender of the word is important, as it affects the words
around it. It can seem overwhelming trying to remember the gender of each word, but
don't worry! Here are a few tricks to help you out: - If the word ends in a schwa sound, a
vowel, or ונג, then it is most likely feminine. - If a word ends in ער, then it's most likely
masculine. - If the word is in the diminutive case, which indicates a smaller version of
something, then it is always neuter.
Great! Now that you've got those useful tricks, here's one way you'll use them. The definite
articles ("the") are dependent on the noun's gender. They are: דערfor masculine (דער
קָאמּפיוטער, der kompyuter, the computer) דיfor feminine (די סָאפע, di sofe, the sofa) דָאס
for neuter, (דָאס קינד, dus kind, the kid)
In Yiddish, when you say "not a..." the "a" becomes negative as well, and the negative 'a' in
Yiddish is קיין.
דָאס בעט איז נישט קיין הויז. The bed is not a house.
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Food 1 1 · 2021-02-10
In Yiddish, just like in English, there are only two indefinite articles, "a" and "an." They are
used exactly like in English. Before a vowel sound, ַאן/ an is used. Before a consonant
sound, ַא/ a is used.
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You 2 · 2021-09-03
Verb Conjugations
In the skills You and Me, you will learn the first person present and the second person
present conjugation. The first person present is just the base form of the verb (e.g., איך
טרינק, I drink). The second person present conjugation is formed by adding ( ־סטe.g., דו
)טרינקסט.
Introducing Yourself
In Yiddish, (like in French or Spanish), when you want to introduce yourself, you say "I am
called..." The verb for this is הייסן, which means "to be called/named." So, if you want to tell
someone your name, you can say "...( „איך הייסIkh hays..., I am called..., or My name is...)
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Me 2 · 2021-09-03
Verb Conjugations
In the skills You and Me, you will learn the first person present and the second person
present conjugation. The first person present is just the base form of the verb (e.g., איך
טרינק, I drink). The second person present conjugation is formed by adding ( ־סטe.g., דו
)טרינקסט.
The letter ( חkh) is only used in words of Semitic (e.g. Hebrew) origin.
Important vocabulary
אויך: also
ַא סך: a lot/many
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Questions 2 · 2021-04-10
Yiddish has two words for "how"! 1. When you're using "how" together with an adjective or
an adverb - How old? How high? How quickly? - you would use ""( „וויvi"). 2. When you're
using "how" together with a verb - How can I say this? How do you know him? How should
we do this? - you would use ""( „ווי ַאזויvi azoy").
In questions, instead of saying ( דו ביסטyou are), the words are inverted and the דdrops
off.
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More 1 · 2021-02-10
A quick primer on possessives: Singular - מַײןmeans "my" and דַײןmeans "your" Plural - You
add an עto the singular, so the plural possessive pronouns are דַײנע,מַײנע.
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Origin 4 · 2021-10-20
ווַאנען
If you’re asking where someone is from, instead of saying ״פון װּו״, you say “ „פון ווַאנעןor
"( „פון ווַאנעטboth mean the same thing, it's just a dialectal difference).
Living
There are two ways to say "to live." “ ”וווינעןmeans to live, as in "to reside,” while “”לעבן
means to live, as in to be alive.
Coming from
If you’re saying you’re from somewhere, you would use the verb "„שטַאמען, meaning
“originate”. Think of it as saying "stem" ("I stem from Poland" איך שטַאם פון ּפוילן.) So if
you’re asking someone where they’re from, you’d say: “װַאנעט שטַאמסטו/”?פון װַאנען
Countrymen
If you want to describe yourself as being from another country, you wouldn't use the
adjective (e.g., )איך בין פרַאנצייזיש. You would say the equivalent of "I am a Frenchman" (i.e.,
)איך בין ַא פרַאנצויז. In English, those constructions are generally archaic; the more natural
translation is "I am French".
Yiddish actually has different words for "A Jew from xx" and "a person (usually implied non-
Jew) from xx". A Jew from France would be called a ;פרַאנצייזישערsomeone who is not
specifically Jewish would be called a פרַאנצויז. In this course, we teach the generic term.
Remember the genders we learned? Here’s a situation where it’s important: If you’re using
a possessive pronoun on its own (e.g. That book is mine, vs. My book), the ending of the
pronoun changes. If the noun is masculine, you add ־ערto the end - דער קָאמּפיוטער איז
מַײנער, the computer is mine. If the noun is feminine or plural, you add ־עto the end - די
סָאפע איז דַײנע, the sofa is yours. If the possessive pronoun is before the noun, it doesn't
change. דַײן סָאפע,מַײן בעט.
If you start a sentence with צי, it signals that you’re asking a Yes/No question:
If ציis used in the middle of a sentence, it means either/or - הָאסטו ַא קָאמּפיוטער צי ַא
?בעטDo you have a computer or a bed? It must be either one of those, not neither.
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Need 2 · 2021-09-03
זוכן
In English, you'd say you're "looking for" something. In Yiddish, this can be done in one
word: זוכן. You don't say זוכן פַארbecause that is superfluous.
נו/Nu
נוis a popular exclamation. It has many meanings, often depending on the tone of voice.
Yiddish English
נו agree
נו not so bad
!נו come on!
נו נו I've heard worse
!נו stop that right now!
?נו why are you telling me this?
נו נו נו... don't you dare do that...
נו... go on...
נו get on with it
?נווווו well, spill the beans!
נו stop bothering me
נו that's all
In Yiddish, the passive voice is introduced using the pronoun מען/מע/מ׳. Think of it as
saying "one" in English. In English, you might say "What is sold here/What does one sell
here?" to ask about a shop, but in Yiddish, you would say ?ווָאס פַארקויפט מען דָאWhat does
"one" sell here? In Yiddish, this pronoun is used VERY frequently, and sometimes it's used as
the first person plural pronoun even, such as "We're working here!" !מע ַארבעט דָא
Whether you should use מ׳or מעor מעןdepends on where it is in the sentence. If it is…
before a verb starting with a vowel, you should use מ׳, such as מ׳עסטbefore a verb
starting with a consonant, you should use מע, such as מע זוכט, one searches (we search)
After a verb, you should use מען. “How does one eat this/How is this eaten” becomes ווי ַאזוי
?עסט מען דָאס
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Which 2 · 2021-09-03
The word 'which' in Yiddish has to match the gender of the noun that follows. If the
accompanying noun is... Masculine: Use װעלכער. Which computer (m) is װעלכער
קָאמּפיוטער. Feminine: Use װעלכע. Which cat (f) is װעלכע קַאץ. Neuter: Use װעלכעס. Which
house (n) is װעלכעס הויז.
The word וועלכערgets conjugated like an adjective. You'll learn dative in a few lessons; it's
only included here for completeness.
We learned מַײנע, דַײנע, מַײנער,דַײנער, and now we're teaching דַײנס/ מַײנסfor neuter.
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Time 2 · 2021-04-13
If you want to say something will happen in a certain amount of time (e.g. I’m coming in
three minutes), you add the word ַארוםafter the time - איך קום אין דרַײ מינוט ַארום. Note:
even though ַארוםmeans "around", this does not mean "I am coming in around there
minutes".
Even though in English you say “in three minutes”, in Yiddish you just use the singular for
minute, “”אין דרַײ מינוט. Another example is with hours - in seven hours is in the singular,
“”אין זיבן שעה ַארום.
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Trip 2 · 2021-09-03
Going Somewhere?
If you’re talking about going to a certain place, the word you use for “to” depends on where
you’re going. If you’re going to a named geographic location, such as a country, city,
continent, etc, you would say קיין. For example, “”איך פָאר קיין ליטע, I am traveling to
Lithuania. However, if you’re going somewhere else, such as a park, you use אין, as in, “איך
”גיי אין ּפַארק, I’m going to the park.
ֿפָארן
פָארןcan mean to travel in a vehicle, whether it's a train, car, or bus, or whether you’re
driving or just a passenger. There is also a special verb פירןif you want to highlight that
you're driving.
Going home
הייםmeans home, but ַאהייםmeans "homewards/towards home". “I’m going home” is "איך
גיי ַאהיים/"ֿפָאר
In a language
When saying something is in a certain language (e.g. the book is in English), you use אויף
instead of אין. “I’m speaking in Polish” - “”איך רעד אויף ּפויליש. “This book is in Yiddish” -
“”דָאס בוך איז אויף יִידיש.
Until now, we've only learned about two cases: the nominative (for the subject of a
sentence) and the accusative (for the object of a sentence). The third case in Yiddish is
called the dative. In Yiddish, it can be used in several different context, including the
indirect object and following a preposition. In the dative case, the feminine דיbecomes
דער, and the masculine דערand neuter דָאסboth become דעם. For example, די שיףis
feminine. When adding the preposition אויף, it becomes איך בין אויף דער שיף.
ווּוהין
צו פוס
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Siblings 1 · 2021-02-10
When using a direct object in a sentence (e.g. I see the computer), we use what is called
the accusative case. The accusative case is another example of when the definite article
changes, but only for masculine nouns. Even though computer ( )קָאמּפיוטערis masculine,
the proper way to say “I see the computer” is איך זע דעם קָאמּפיוטער. This change only
occurs for masculine nouns (with the definite article )דער. So in the sentence “איך זע די
”קַאץ, the definite article doesn’t change, because it is feminine.
When the possessive pronoun is on its own, the ending can be affected: דָאס איז מַײן
ווּו איז דַײנס, ווּו איז דַײנער דָאס איז מַײן בוך, קָאמּפיוטערIn these examples, the independent
possessive pronoun changes its ending to match the object of the sentence. So with a
masculine object, the possessive pronoun will end in ־ער.
The same is true with direct objects (accusative case), but as explained above, the
masculine ending will change to ־עם, while the feminine and neuter remain the same. איך
ָאבער איך זע נישט דַײנעם, זע מַײן קָאמּפיוטער- Masculine changes ָאבער איך,איך זע מַײן בוך
זע נישט דַײנס- Neuter remains the same
קענעןmeans to be familiar with/to know something, such as a person, place, or thing. איך
קען דעם מענטש, I know this person. איך קען זי, I know her.
Just like in English you would say "I see him and not I see he, in Yiddish you would say איך
זע איםand not איך זע ער. (Put a small chart showing the changes).
ַאהערmeans "here" direction-wise, so "Come here" would be קום ַאהער, and "there" would
be גיי ַאהין, ַאהין, go there.
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Family 1 · 2021-02-10
ליב הָאבןis a verb with two parts. You would conjugate the verb הָאבן, and put ליבat the
end, unchanged. So, איך הָאב עס ליב, I like it. (Lit: I have it like). Another example would be
איך הָאב דיך ליב, I love you (lit: I have you like/love).
A select amount of nouns also end in ן- in the dative case (indirect object): >זיידן--זיידע
>בָאבען-->מַאמען בָאבע-- מַאמע,>רבין-->הַארצן רבי-->טַאטן הַארץ--טַאטע
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Hobbies 2 · 2021-09-03
פונעם,אינעם, etc
When you use a preposition with a neuter or masculine noun, for example "In + the house"
then you would combine the preposition with the definite article to create the equivalent
of "inthe". So אין דעם הויזbecomes אינעם הויז. This isn't a must, like de+el in Spanish-->del,
but it is recommended to write like this.
>אינעם--אין דעם
>פונעם--פון דעם
>צום--צו דעם
>פַארן--פַאר דעם
>אויפן--אויף דעם
For masculine nouns, you generally don't need to add a definite article after " „איןand
sometimes even for "„פון.
These are all correct and mean the same thing; however, if you want to emphasize that you
are going to this museum, then you should use דעם.
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Suffix 1 · 2021-02-10
שויןcan mean two things: 1. Already, איך בין שוין דָא, I am already here 2. Right now/This
instant, !קום שוין ַאהערCome here right now/this instant!
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Complain 2 · 2021-09-03
In Yiddish, we don't say "I am cold" you would say "Me (dative) is cold" ()מיר איז קַאלט, or
"It's cold for me" ()ס׳איז מיר קַאלט. The same goes for several other senses, such as "hot",
"nauseous", "uncomfortable".
Adjective conjugations
Adjectives are conjugated the same way definite articles are: for case and gender. The
neuter case also has two special subcategories: when the noun is preceded by ( דָאסe.g.,
)דָאס קינדand when it is not (e.g., ַא קינד,)מַײן קינד.
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Food 2 1 · 2021-02-10
וועלןmeans to want to, not to be confused with the English "will". איך וויל עסן, I want to eat.
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They both mean the exact same thing ("than"). The only difference is that after וויyou must
use the nominative case and after פוןyou must use the dative case.
פון+ dative
ווי+ nominative
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Mealtime 1 · 2021-02-10
The plural and singular for male vegetarians are the same: , איין וועגעטַאריער.וועגעטַאריער
צװיי וועגעטַאריער.
In Jewish culture, ּכשר/kosher means food that follows the strict dietary standards of
traditional Jewish law, such as not mixing meat with dairy. טרייףmeans anything that isn't
ּכשר.
נָארcan mean "only/just", and also "but/rather" in the sense of " נָאר,איך עס נישט קיין טרייף
„ּכשרI am not eating treif, but kosher."
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Restaurant 2 · 2021-09-03
When saying "there isn't any" or "there is no" in Yiddish, you'd say עס איז נישטָא, or ס׳איז
נישטָא. For example:
סּתם
סּתםmeans "just" in the sense of "just like that", "just because" or "for no reason."
שבת
שבתis one of the most important days of the week for Jews. It is the day of rest, when one
cannot work or many do not use any technology. There is a skill coming up teaching
important vocabulary pertaining to Shabbos.
Idiom
איך מַאך נישט קיין חשבונותis an idiom meaning literally "I do not make any calculations".
Figuratively, it means I don't poke into someone else's business. A good example of this
can be when donating money, your friend might say "Don't donate to him/her, he/she uses
the money to buy bad things!" then you might answer " ;„איך מַאך נישט קיין חשבונותI just
give him/her money, and let God figure out the rest. I am not here to judge/calculate their
life.
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Classroom 3 · 2021-10-20
Grades
איינסvs ?איין
איינסis the noun; e.g., when counting, דרַײ, צוויי,איינס, or when saying "I want one" with no
noun following it.
For comparison:
vs.
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Breakfast 2 · 2021-09-03
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Friends 2 · 2021-09-03
Some names (usually, Jewish ones), when in the dative case (indirect object), get an )ע)ן, so
איך רעד מיט מענדלעןand not איך רעד מיט מענדל.
מוטער/ פָאטערvs מַאמע/ ?טַאטעThey mean the same thing, but פָאטערand מוטערare
much more formal. Kind of like father/dad, but טַאטעis not necessarily as informal as "dad".
ווַײלvs ?וועגן
איך בין פריילעך ווַײל ער העלפט מיר. = I am happy because he is helping me.
איך בין פריילעך וועגן זַײן הילף. = I am happy because of his help.
בַײ
Some of you may be familiar with this due to Jewish American English syntax (I ate by her
house yesterday).
נָאך
נָאך, with the vowel "oo" (as in book), means "after", as in:
נָאך, with the vowel sound "o" (as in enough), means "more", as in:
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Shop 1 · 2021-02-10
Good news! There is only one past tense. The same way English uses the verb "to have",
Yiddish uses הָאבן, so "I have eaten" = איך הָאב געגעסןThis means both, I have eaten, and I
ate.
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Vacation 1 · 2021-02-10
When using cardinal directions (e.g. North, West) in a sentence, you usually say the word
אויףbefore. Here are some cases and examples: 1. Traveling in a direction. For example, “I
am traveling westward/to the west” is “2 ”איך פָאר אויף מערב. Comparing one area to
another. For example, “Is France to the west of Spain?” is “איז פרַאנקרַײך אויף מערב פון
”?שּפַאניע
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Languages 2 · 2021-09-03
סַײ ווי סַײmeans anyway, and it's also often shortened to just סַײ ווי.
You may notice that some verbs have prefixes. In Yiddish grammar, this is called a converb.
( פָארשטעלןto introduce) is an example of this. When conjugating these types of words, the
parts separate. Here’s an example in the present tense: She introduces me - זי שטעלט מיך
פָארThe main (second) part of the verb is conjugated on its own and comes right after the
subject, while the prefix gets pushed to the end. In the past tense: She introduced me - זי
הָאט מיך ֿפָארגעשטעלטBecause it’s past tense, the verb הָאבןis conjugated first as usual.
The whole verb פָארשטעלןis pushed to the end, and the “ ”געcomes right before the main
part of the verb, while the prefix stays at the beginning.
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Leisure 1 · 2021-02-10
We saw the first example of a separable verb in the previous module. There are a few more
examples in this one: ָאנקוקן,אויפשטיין. Remember, you conjugate the second part of the
verb, and in some case the prefix appears separate from the main part of the verb.
טעלעוויזָארmeans the actual tangible TV, while טעלעװיזיעis the content you watch. This
difference exists in English too, but more subtly: "I'm watching TV" versus "I'm looking at
the TV".
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Caring 1 · 2021-02-10
שטערןvs ַארן- Both mean “bother”, but in different contexts. שטערןis used in the context
of bothering someone/something, such as when I hug my cat, it bothers her, or when I
bother my brother and don't let him do his homework. ַארןis more like to care about
something, such as “It doesn't bother me that my cat sleeps all day,” or “It doesn't bother
my mother when I call her 500 times a day.” ָאנגייןis similar to ַארן, except it's a separable
verb.
There are several ways to say you like something/someone: געפעלן, ליב הָאבן,שמעקן
שמעקןis used in the context of food. דָאס עסן שמעקט מיר נישט- I do not like this food.
(literally, the food doesn’t smell to me)
געפעלןmeans “it pleases me” or “it’s attractive to me”. It introduces the dative case. It’s
similar to relevant words in other languages, like the Spanish 'me gusta.' דָאס בענקל
געפעלט מיר- This chair pleases me, or I like this chair.
ליב הָאבןcan mean to love or to like and can be used in most cases, about people or
things. איך הָאב אים ליב- I love him.
Similar to ליב הָאבן, the verb for hate is פַײנט הָאבן, and it works the same as איך.ליב הָאבן
הָאב אים פַײנטI hate him.
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School 1 · 2021-02-10
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Furniture 1 · 2021-02-10
פַארhas three meanings: before, for, and in front of. איך עס ַאן עּפל פַאר מיטָאג- I eat an
apple before lunch. איך הָאב ַאן עּפל פַאר דיר- I have an apple for you. איך בין פַאר ַאן עּפל-
I am in front of an apple.
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Shabbos 1 · 2021-02-10
Many people try to make the day special, either by preparing lavish meals or wearing nice
clothes to honor the day. A common saying is לכבוד שבת קודש, meaning “in honor of the
holy Shabbos”.
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Party 1 · 2021-02-10
Most verb in Yiddish use הָאבןin the past tense form (i.e. as an auxiliary verb). However, a
few verbs use זַײןinstead. These verbs tend to have to do with motion or lack thereof. Some
examples: I went - איך בין געגַאנגעןThey slept - זיי זַײנען געשלָאפןWe sat - מיר זַײנען געזעסן
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Requests 1 · 2021-02-10
The imperative (commands) case in Yiddish is very simple. To command a single person,
you conjugate the verb the same as the standard first person singular. איך גיי ַאהיים, I go
home -> !גיי ַאהייםGo home! איך עס בַאבקע. I eat babka -> !עס בַאבקעEat babka!
To command multiple people, it's even simpler. All you have to do is remove the pronoun,
so for example איר עסט ברויטYou (all) eat bread !עסט ברויטEat bread! (all of you/formal)!
איר לויפט דָאYou run here !לויפט דָאRun here!
נָאך ַא מָאלis a set phrase which means “again” (literally, once more).
בעטןvs פרעגן. פרעגןis used for asking questions, while בעטןis used for asking for
something (i.e. request). Just like you don’t “request for” things in English, you also wouldn’t
say that in Yiddish. For example, איך בעט געלט- I request money.
Use of מיך/זיך: In Yiddish, like Spanish, French, and German, there are reflexive verbs. These
verbs often refer to actions performed on oneself, but this is not always the case. In this
course, מיךis used for the first person singular while זיךis used everywhere else*. Some
verbs exist as both standard verbs and reflexive verbs, and in these situations it’s extra
important to know which you’re using. For example: קענסטו זיך זעצן- can you take a seat?
קענסטו זעצן- can you punch/strike? Alone, זעצןmeans to hit, but as a reflexive verb, it
means to sit.
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Numbers 2 · 2021-09-03
When using ordinal numbers, the endings must match the related noun. For example: איך
בין דער ערשטער- I am the first one (masculine) versus ( איך בין די ערשטעfeminine)
In the above example, the noun is the speaker. However, this is not always the case. For
example: איך בין דער ערשטער קַא ּפיטַאן- I am the first captain Note that ערשטערwill
always appear masculine in this sentence even if used by a female speaker, because the
related noun (captain) is masculine. This can get even trickier when the noun is implied
but not verbalized (e.g. in a discussion about captains, someone can just say “איך בין דער
)”ערשטער.
Ordinal numbers (usually used with the proper endings): ערשט- first צווייט- second דריט-
third פערט- fourth פיפט/ פינפט- fifth זעקסט- sixth זיבעט- seventh ַאכט- eighth נַײנט-
ninth צענט- tenth
The format for dates in Yiddish is adding ־ערafter the cardinal number. For example: הַײנט
איז דער צענטער יוליAn exception is when the cardinal number ends in a ק, then ־סטערis
added: צווָאנציקסטער דרַײסיקסטער
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Clothes 1 · 2021-02-10
Vocab
The plural of קליידis ( קליידערdresses). Note though, that קליידערalso just means
clothing! Another synonym for clothing to avoid confusion is קליידונג, although it is
less widely used.
( הויזןpants) doesn’t have a singular form. You might think it’s הויז, but that actually
means “house”!
Grammar
In Yiddish, you don't use the possessive as much as in English when talking about
body parts; meaning, you wouldn't say "I put on my jacket" but rather "I put on the
jacket." unless you want to specify that it is your jacket that you're putting on, and
not someone else's.
זיך ָאנטָאן, to get dressed, is a separable verb. You conjugate the טָאןpart, but not ָאן.
Example:
If you're putting on an article of clothing then you use the accusative (direct object)
for the article of clothing along with the reflexive pronoun. As a reminder, with the
accusative case, the definite article often changes. Example:
Note: The מיךin this sentence is indicating the reflexive nature of the verb. In this usage,
מיךis the first-person form of זיך. For all other pronouns, you would just use זיך. Example:
Examples:
ער טוט זיך אויס- He is getting undressed ער טוט זיך אויס דעם מַאנטל- He takes
off the coat
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University 1 · 2021-02-10
Vocab
וויvs ?פון
Both words are used to compare and have the same meaning. Example:
= איך בין עלטער ווי איר = איך בין עלטער פון אַײךI am older than you
(plural)
The only difference, as you can see, is that the word פוןis a preposition in Yiddish, so it
introduces the dative case, and thus it's אַײךand not איר. However, וויon the other hand, is
an adverb in this case, thus after it comes the nominative case and NOT the dative case.
Grammar
Like the word ליב הָאבן, there are hundreds of Yiddish verbs that are compound
verbs (not the same as separable verbs). Many of these compoud verbs consist of one
word or Hebrew origin and one Yiddish word (usually ווערן, זַײן,הָאבן, or )טָאן.
An example of this is מסביר זַײן. On its own, מסבירdoes not mean anything in Yiddish, but
combined with the verb "„זַײן, it means "to explain." When using this compound verb, the זַײן
is the part that’s conjugated. Example:
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Hanukkah 1 · 2021-02-10
Hanukkah
The Jewish festival of Hanukkah ( )חנוּכהis a celebration of a miracle that took place during
the second century B.C.E. The miracle was two-fold: The Jews were successful in their
revolt of their Greek-Syrian oppressors (led by King Antiochus IV) and after their Second
Temple was looted, the only oil that was left burned for eight days (though it was only
enough for one), allowing them time to prepare more oil. Hanukkah is celebrated in many
ways: lighting the menorah, eating fried foods (e.g. latkes and doughnuts), and playing
dreydl (a four-sided spinning top) are a few examples.
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Pets 1 · 2021-02-10
Vocab
חיהvs בהמה
Both mean “animal”. A חיהis any animal, while a בהמהusually refers to bigger animals or
cattle that are found on farms, such as cows, sheep, goats, and even camels. בהמהdoes not
include animals such as snakes.
פרעסןvs עסן
Both mean “to eat”. עסןis the general term. פרעסןis used specifically to indicate gorging
on food. Humans and animals alike can פרעסor עסtheir food, depending on how
quickly/in what manner they are eating.
ָאן
ָאןcan mean without, but it can also mean "onward" in the sense of "From now on..." or
"Starting from now" or “from here and onward”. Example:
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Zoo 1 · 2021-02-10
ַאנדערvs ַאנדערש
Examples:
Declensions of ַאנדער:
Examples:
?פַארווָאס שווימסטו ַאנדערש ווי זיי- Why do you swim differently than them?
טו עס ַאנדערש- Do it differently
ַאן ַאנדער
After the word ַאן, you say ַאנדער, and you do not decline it (i.e. the ending doesn’t
change).
Examples:
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?ווילסטו דעם דעסערט ָאדער ַאן ַאנדערן- Do you want this dessert or a different
one?
נעם דעם מַארַאנץ ווַײל ער איז ַאן ַאנדערער- Take this orange because it’s a
different one.
ַאנדערע
נָאר איך, ַאנדערע עסן דָאס נישט- Other people don't eat it, just I (do).
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Park 1 · 2021-02-10
Vocab
נעכטןvs אייערנעכטן
נעכטן- yesterday
דורךvs ַאדורךThese are usually used interchangeably to mean “through”. For this course,
however, we added a distinction:
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Travel 1 · 2021-02-10
ער הָאט זיך פַארבלָאנדזשעט אין ַא נַײער שטָאט- He got lost in a new city
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Job 1 · 2021-02-10
ַאזַאvs ַאזעלכע
איך הָאב ליב ַאזַא קַאץ- I like a cat like that/such a cat.
איך הָאב ליב ַאזעלכע קעץ- I like cats like that/such cats.
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Living 1 · 2021-02-10
דער שטָאק
דער גָארן
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Whose 2 · 2021-03-03
Grammar
Possessive
In Yiddish, just like in English, the genitive (possessive) case is simply done by adding סto
the end of the word. Note that unlike in English, there is no apostrophe before the ס.
Examples:
When using the possessive for nouns, such as "The dog's bed", you would introduce the
dative case, so it would be דעם הונטס בעט. Examples:
זייער
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Does! 1 · 2021-02-10
Emphasis
In order to enforce positive emphasis that you do do something, you would say יָא.
Example:
דו קענסט נישט קָאכן- You can’t cook. ----> איך קען יָא קָאכן- Yes, I can cook
איך קען גוט טַאנצן- I can dance well ----> דו טַאנצט נישט גוט, ניין- No, you do
not dance well
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Learning 2 · 2021-03-03
ָא ּפלָאזןvs לָאזן
דערציילןvs חזרן
איז דַארף חזרן אויף מַײן עקזַאמען- I need to study/review for my exam
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Purim 1 · 2021-02-10
Unlike the solar Gregorian calendar, the Jewish calendar, known in Yiddish as the לוח, is
lunisolar (months are dependent on the moon, years are based on the sun). The לוחalso
has twelve months, but with distinct names. For example, the month during which we
celebrate the festival of Purim, is called ( אדרusually around February/March). A unique
feature of the לוחis that a leap month is added every few years.
Purim is a celebration of when the Jewish people were saved from Haman, an official in
the Persian Empire, who was planning on killing them. Two important individuals who led
to the positive outcome are Queen Esther and her uncle Mordechai. The story and events
are recounted in the Book of Esther. Purim is a one-day celebration, during which children
dress up in costume, the Book of Esther is read, gifts of food are exchanged, and charity is
given.
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Water 1 · 2021-02-10
Vocab
Heavy rain
There are several ways to say it’s pouring or it’s raining cats and dogs:
ס׳מבולט
A מבולis a very heavy downpour, most famously the one from Noah's Ark.
Just like in English, you can also say: ס׳גיסט/ סע גיסט- literally, it's pouring,
when referring to heavy rain.
Laundry
וועש- laundry
װען װעסטו װַאשן די װעש? איך הָאב צו פיל שמוציקע װעש- When will you do (wash) the
laundry? I have too much dirty laundry
Although „ „איבערגייןhas " „איבערin it, you still use the accusative for the direct object.
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Forest 1 · 2021-02-10
Vocab
Scare
דערשרעקן- to scare
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Passover 1 · 2021-02-10
ּפסח
The Story
ּפסח סדר
The iconic part of the Passover celebration is the סדר, a multi-part ritual feast that
includes the retelling of the story of the Exodus from Egypt, guided by the text of the
הגדה.
Throughout the סדר, we drink four cups of wine. We also leave a cup for אליהו הנביא
in the hope that he will come to announce the arrival of ( משיחMessiah).
The leader of the סדרhides part of the main מצה, called the אפיקומן. Traditionally,
the children search for it, and once it’s found, it’s eaten as the “dessert” - the final
food of the סדר.
חול המועד
The סדרhappens on the first night of Passover (and on the second night, outside of Israel).
The beginning and end of Passover are celebrated similar to Shabbos, in that no work is
allowed. The middle days, called חול המועד, have looser restrictions - some people have
traditions to do less work, but others treat it like a standard day (minus the eating of )חמץ.
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Future 1 · 2021-02-10
Grammar
Future
In Yiddish, the future tense is formed with the verb ( וועלןnot to be confused with the
infinitive for the verb “to want”=)וועלן.
Examples:
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Sick 1 · 2021-02-10
Vocab
It hurts
When referring to a body part that hurts, you say "the X hurt me" instead of "my X hurts me."
Examples:
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Used to 1 · 2021-02-10
Vocab
פלעגן
פלעגןis an auxiliary verb meaning "used to," that must be conjugated. Example:
זיך צוגעווויינען
Example:
דו דַארפסט זיך צוגעװוינען צו מַײן קַאץ- You need to get used to my cat
ַארַײןvs אין
אין- in
ַארַײן- into
Examples:
Everyone
Examples:
ַאיעדערand יעדער איינערare synonymous, and the same is true for ַאיעדןand יעדן איינעם.
Another way to say “everyone” is ַאלע, all. Like in English, all words meaning “everyone” are
considered third person singular, so it conjugates the same as "he/she".
געשעטvs געשען
Examples:
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Body 1 · 2021-02-10
Vocab
שטערן
( שטערןverb) - to annoy/bother
( שטערןnoun) - star/stars
( שטערןnoun) - forehead
קישקע
הָאר
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Bedroom 1 · 2021-02-10
Vocab
קָאלדרעvs קָאץ
Both words mean blanket. A קָאץis usually a thinner blanket, but in some dialects, the two
words are completely interchangeable.
You know the set of dishes your parents proudly display but never end up using? There’s an
expression in Yiddish that describes items that are just for show, or just used as a
decoration:
" „סּתם פַאר שיינקייטor "( „נָאר פַאר שיינקייטlit. just for beauty)
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Diminutive 1 · 2021-02-10
טַאטי מַאמי זיידיand בָאביare all used when talking to ones own parents, like
mommy/mom/mama, daddy/dad/papa, grandpa/pawpaw, grandma/nana/mawmaw etc
Most diminutives are formed by adding לto the end of the word. There are some vowel
changes when forming the diminutive case. This isn't always true though.
https://prnt.sc/u17hpc Essentially all words in the diminutive case are neuter, and the
plural is usually -לעך. example: ( די חזירלעך, דָאס חזירל, די חזירים,) דער חזיר. When talking
about children's body parts usually the diminutive case is used. It not only shows more
affection but can also make the object sound smaller and daintier, like ביכלsounds like
booklet rather than a book, or שיפלis like a boat rather than a ship, שיף.
Many names can also be made diminutive by adding >דודל-- דוד.ל, David.
Some exceptions to this include קינדער, which is plural and can get the diminutive ending
קינדערלעךmeaning kids, but nobody would say קינדלfor a small child. יונגערמַאנטשיק
means a small child, it's an endearing term, kind of like saying "Squirt" in English.
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Passive 1 · 2021-02-10
You've previously learned that the passive can be formed using the pronoun מע קען דָא,מע
קויפן ווַײן-wine can be bought here However, not always can מעןbe used, for example when
using a pronoun: זי ווערט שענער און שענער. She becomes more and more beautiful. ער
ווערט מָארגן געבוירן-he will be born tomorrow.
דָאס ווערט געטוישט יעדן טָאג-this gets changed every day. מע טוישט דָאס יעדן טָאג- This
gets changed every day the difference here is that when using מעin this case, it gives it a
'human' sense, so, when saying דָאס ווערט געטוישטit means it gets changed, whether on
its own, or through human help, but when saying מע טוישט דָאס יעדן טָאג, it means that
there is a person, or many people changing the thing every day.
Prepositions can sometimes be combined with the definite pronoun: >דערמיט צו--מיט דעם
-->דעריבער וועגן דעם-->דערווַײל איבער דעם-->דערפַאר ווַײל דעם-->דערצו פַאר דעם--דעם
>דערנָאך-- >דערוועגן נָאך דעםSome get a new meaning, while others mean the exact same
thing. דערפַארcan mean "therefore", or "for it". דערווַײלmeans "in the meantime" דעריבער
can mean over it, such as I am stepping over it, or "consequently/hence". הַאלטןcan mean
"Observe" as in "observe a holiday" or to physically hold. הַאלטן וועגןmeans to have an
opinion about, ווָאס הַאלטסטו וועגן אים-what do you think of him/What is your opinion on
him?
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געבן ַאmeans to do an action but in a momental aspect, such as in the English "have a
look" or "give a kiss" rather than "kiss" or "look". גיב ַא קוק-have a look גיב ַא שרַײב-write
quickly, and shortly. !גיב ַא זוך שנעלgo search quickly/shortly.
ערגעץvs ערגעץ ווּו ערגעץmeans someplace, but with knowledge where the place is. ערגעץ
ווּוis somewhere, but without the knowledge where.
ַאביmeans at least, ַאבי ביסט געקומעןat least you came ַאבי געזונטat least health (at least
you're healthy), but, this is used rather sarcastically meaning to do something without any
desire/will and do it sloppily. !ער טוט דעם ּפרָאיעקט ַאבי געזונטHe is doing the project
sloppily/just to get it over with/without any care and dedication. ַאביcan also mean just
about in the sense of He isn't just about anyone! He is the president! !ער איז נישט ַאבי ווער
!ער איז דער ּפרעזידענט
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Reflexive 1 · 2021-02-10
זָאלןis an auxiliary verb meaning ought to, should, or shall, it needs to be conjugated. ער
זָאל ַאהיים קומען-he should/shall come home.
( זיך נעמען (ווערבmeans to start (verb) rather suddenly and quickly. ער נעמט זיך שרַײבן. He
is starting to write (present progressive, not habitually). ווען כ׳הָאב אים דָאס געזָאגט הָאט
ער זיך גענומען וויינען, when I told him that, he started to cry.
זיך פילןis not exactly the same as in English. It specifically is talking about emotionally or
healthwise, and not to feel something physically with your bodyparts/hand.
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Cute! 1 · 2021-02-10
You've learned the diminutive, now imagine a way to make words even smaller and
possibly more affectionate sounding. Well, Yiddish has what is called a second-degree of
diminutive, or the iminutive case. This case works very similarly to the diminutive case a
few lessons back. In order to make something in the iminutive case, there usually is the
same vowel changes as seen in the diminutive cases, such as >דָאס הַײזל--דָאס הויז, or דער
>דָאס פישל--פיש
In order to form the iminutive case, you must add an עbefore and after the ל. For example,
>דָאס קעּפעלע-->דָאס קעּפל-- דער קָא ּפ.>דָאס פישעלע-->דָאס פישל--דער פיש. This is usually
used to describe things that belong to babies, whether it's their foot ( )פיסעלעor their
shoes ()שיכעלע.
מַאand טַאare like ma and pa in English when referring to your parents. מַאמעלעand
טַאטעלע, although they sound like little tiny cute fathers and mothers, it really is not used
in that context. When calling a little kid טַאטעלעor מַאמעלע, depending on his or her
gender, it's kind of like saying sweetie or darling.
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Religion 1 · 2021-02-10
בטחוןdoes not mean faith as in religion or belief. It just means faith in the context of
having faith in someone or something. צדיקand צדיקתare basically very holy, spiritual
people, like a Rabbi, but more righteous and holy. They are very important figures in
Judaism. Not to be confused with צדקהwhich just means charity. Where Jews live, it is
common to find Jews knocking on people's door to collect money for charity for an
organization, school, etc.
While צניותmeans modest in terms of clothing, it's mostly referring to the rules of dressing
for females, such as wearing clothing that covers the collar bone, knees, and elbows. If
something aligns by these rules, then the woman is צניות. The article of clothing is
צניותדיק.
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Phrases 1 · 2021-02-10
שעּפן נחתmeans to get second-hand pleasure from someone you love. For example if your
son receives an award, you will get pleasure or feel pride from him getting the award
because he is your son and all. שעּפןmeans to scoop and נחתis the second-hand pleasure
itself.
A משוגעתmeans a craze someone has or does, kind of like a weird quirk or weird
shenanigan they like to do. For example, a משוגעתcan be that when someone eats, they
need to listen to music. Another משוגעתcan be that when they sleep, they like sleeping
with 2 blankets. Or when getting your nails painted, you ask the nail technician if they
speak another language and if they don't you recommend duolingo to them.
While חלשןmeans to faint, it's kind of used in the same way "to die" in English is used. Like
"I am dying to see him!" !איך חלש אים צו זען
יענטעis a (usually) old lady who loves to talk gossip and knows everything about everyone.
זיצפלייש, or "sit-meat" means your perseverance in staying still. When you have ADHD you
have no זיצפלייש.
ממשis used nearly in the same way as "literally" is, but not the literal definition of
"literally". I am literally not going! !איך ממש גיי נישטIt also means "really" or
"exactly/specifically". !ס׳איז געווען ממש דער אויטָאIt was exactly/precisely this car!
בַאשערטif something is supposed to happen it will happen because it is בַאשערט, it's
meant to be/happen. ס׳איז בַאשערט ַאז כ׳הָאב אים נישט געזען. It is meant to be that I did
not see him.
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Would 1 · 2021-02-10
When using the verb ווָאלט, the past tense follows (in some dialects the infinitive follows)
אויב זי ווָאלט מיך געקענט...if she knew me... =איך ווָאלט געגַאנגעןI would go.
Sometimes the words ווען, ַאז, אויבand ציwork in the same way to mean "if" when giving a
hypothetical situation. ווען איך ווָאלט געווען רַײך...If I were rich...
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Present 1 · 2021-02-10
כַא ּפןmeans both to catch and to understand. ?כַא ּפסטו ווָאס איך זָאגDo you understand
what I am saying? !כַא ּפ דעם בַאלעםcatch the ball!
הַאלטןmeans to have an opinion about something, איך הַאלט ַאז ער איז נישט ַא גוטער מַאן- I
think that he is not a good guy,
הַאלטן אין איין.. means to keep on... זיי הַאלטן אין איין טעלעפָאנירן-they keep on calling
מעגסטused in an imperative way can be like !מעגסט זיך שעמעןMay you be ashamed of
yourself!
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Sayings 2 · 2021-10-20
געזונטערהייטmeans 'healthily'', but it can be used in a way meaning "by all means" or "go
ahead" and "be my guest". טשיק טשַאקis a sound meaning 'chop-chop,' like rushing
someone. You already leaned חוצּפהnow you learn the person who is doing the חוצּפהis a
מחוצף, or an insolent, disrespectful person
A נעבעךis an unfortunate, sad person. It can also just be used for an unfortunate or sad
situation, such as זַײנע שיך זענען צעריסן,נעבעך. Poor guy, his shoes are ripped.
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Abbreviation 1 · 2021-02-10
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Yiddish has inherited many words from ancient Hebrew, these are collectively called
"lushn-koydesh" or "loshn koydesh" words (lushn-koydesh meaning "the holy tongue").
Spelling
These words are traditionally written the way they are in Hebrew, which doesn't follow
Yiddish spelling rules.
3. the vowel וcan represent either an U_, or an _OY (OY in closed lushn-koydesh
syllables usually becomes _O_, so while a merchant is a soykher, the plural form is
sokhrim).
Verb conjugation
The way verbs of lushn-koydesh-origin are formed can be a bit confusing at first, but once
you get the hang of it it's really very simple.
Very few verbs blended completely into Yiddish and conjugate the way Yiddish verbs do.
Examples are הרגענען,גנבענען.
Most verbs however, are just said in their infinitive form along with an auxiliary verb which
conjugates for past present future, first second or third person. This auxiliary is in addition
to the auxiliary used to form the past tense.
So as an example we have the verb "to succeed". The infinitive ( מצליחmatzliyekh) is used
along with the auxiliary זַײן. So "I succeeded" - ""איך הָאב מצליח געווען, "I will succeed" - "איך
"וועל מצליח זַײן.
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Yiddish has inherited many words from ancient Hebrew, these are collectively called
"lushn-koydesh" or "loshn koydesh" words (lushn-koydesh meaning "the holy tongue").
Spelling
These words are traditionally written the way they are in Hebrew, which doesn't follow
Yiddish spelling rules.
3. the vowel וcan represent either an U_, or an _OY (OY in closed lushn-koydesh
syllables usually becomes _O_, so while a merchant is a soykher, the plural form is
sokhrim).
Verb conjugation
The way verbs of lushn-koydesh-origin are formed can be a bit confusing at first, but once
you get the hang of it it's really very simple.
Very few verbs blended completely into Yiddish and conjugate the way Yiddish verbs do.
Examples are הרגענען,גנבענען.
Most verbs however, are just said in their infinitive form along with an auxiliary verb which
conjugates for past present future, first second or third person. This auxiliary is in addition
to the auxiliary used to form the past tense.
So as an example we have the verb "to succeed". The infinitive ( מצליחmatzliyekh) is used
along with the auxiliary זַײן. So "I succeeded" - ""איך הָאב מצליח געווען, "I will succeed" - "איך
"וועל מצליח זַײן.
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Work 1 · 2021-02-10
ּפָאליצייis the police in general, as a police force. ּפָאליציסטor ּפָאליציַאנטmeans the police
officer
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Wedding 1 · 2021-02-10
In Yiddish, there are many in-law terminologies. שוויגער- mother-in-law שווער- father-in-
law שוועגערין- sister in law שווָאגער- brother-in-law שנור- daughter-in-law איידעם- son-
in-law מחוּתן- the son or daughter's father-in-law. מחוּתנתטע- the son or daughter's
mother-in-law. מחוּתנים- the son or daughter's parents-in-law.
שדכןis the person who finds you a match; a matchmaker In Jewish weddings, the bride
and groom officially get married under a canopy called a חוּפה, or a Chuppah. The marriage
contract is called a ּכתובה.
שבע־ברכותis seven days after the wedding where people invite the newly married couple
to eat by them and people celebrate it.*double check this
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Fantasy 1 · 2021-02-10
In Yiddish, to say "Once upon a time" we say " ַא מָאל...„ so "Once upon a time, there was a
princess who...„ „ַא מָאל איז געווען ַא ּפרינצעסין ווָאס..."
A remnant of archaic grammar remains in the phrase " „אין דער לופטןmeaning "in the air"
and not "in the airs."
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Verbs like מסביר זַײן, מחליט זַײן,מצליח זַײן, הנאה הָאבןare called periphrastic verbs in
Yiddish. The auxiliary verbs הָאבןand זַײןare conjugated just as they would be with regular
verbs; however, whether they take זַײןor הָאבןin the present/future, they all take הָאבןin
the past tense. For example: איך הָאב הנאה געהַאט. איך הָאב הנאה.איך וועל הנאה הָאבן.
איך הָאב מסביר געווען. איך בין מסביר.איך וועל מסביר זַײן.
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Chassidish 1 · 2021-02-10
The dialect spoken by Chassidim is the most spoken dialect in today's day. The dialect is
heavily based on that of Central Yiddish (or Polish-Hungarian Yiddish).
Spelling
Although not taught in the course, Chassidish spelling is varied. Since Chassidim tend to be
unaware of the standardization of Yiddish spelling, they spell words however they sound to
them; this means you might see דוspelled as די, or אוןas אין.
As seen in the Litvish skill, the silent alef in the middle of the word is usually used to avoid
confusion. "Thus ווּוwill be spelled וואו, and רוִיקwill be spelled רואיק, etc".
Vocabulary
Many Chassidim use English words for technical terms, such as medical terminology. In this
course, however, we tried to remain true to the Yiddish language, so we did not teach any
anglicized vocabulary. There are major differences between YIVO and Chassidish Yiddish.
Here are some of them:
1. The use of an additional pronoun for the familiar second-person plural, or "you
all/you guys" in English.
( עטסnominative)
( ענקaccusative/dative)
( ענקערpossessive)
2. The lack of genders. די/דָאס/ דערformed into just די. Some gender of words did,
however, stay in set phrases, such as " „ַא גוטן טָאגand "„גוטע נַאכט.
3. Although all definite pronouns changed from די/דָאס/ דערto just די, two new definite
pronouns appeared: דעיע,דעיס.
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Litvish 1 · 2021-02-10
Congratulations! You have almost reached the end of the course. Now it's time to dive into
some dialectal variety.
The Litvish (Lithuanian) dialect was never spoken by the majority of Yiddish speakers, but
it always had a special prestige and influence.
Once spoken throughout Lithuania and Belarus, it survives today as the vernacular of
Chabad Jews.
In this skill, we will be focusing mostly on the Litvish pronunciation, and less on the
peculiarities of the Litvish grammar and vocabulary.
Pronunciation
In the Litvish dialect, most vowel marks represent one sound only. There are no long
vowels in Litvish. So:
1. the vowel ָאis always pronounced _O_ (American English hut, British English hot);
6. vowels ַאand יare pronounced like in all other dialects, but they are always short.
The only exception is the vowel וי, which is sometimes pronounced EY and sometimes UY.
Spelling
As the Litvish dialect is mostly consistent with its pronunciation, the spelling is largely the
same as the standard language.
One important difference of spelling, which is used in other dialects as well, is the use of
the silent alef in the middle of the word to avoid confusion. Thus ווּוwill be spelled וואו,
and רוִיקwill be spelled רואיק, etc.
Vocabulary
For the most part, we haven't added much Litvish specific vocabulary, but there are a few
words that are written/said differently:
One thing that characterizes the Belarusian subdialect of Litvish, is the large number of
Russian borrowings. We have added some of those in the final lesson of this skill.
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Synonyms 1 · 2021-02-10
This skill is meant to teach you how to say the same word in more than one way. Some of
them are used more in certain dialects vs other ones, and some might just be a big
spelling change.
0.017
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