Zoog mir in Yiddish

The Yiddish corner

By Sol Awend, GenShoah SWFL

There are two things that are important to us Yeeden.

One is food. What to eat, where to eat, when to eat, what not to eat and combinations thereof.

The other thing vital to the Jewish experience is clothing. It’s important to know how to dress and what to wear as well as what not to wear. Whether you decide to dress on an empty stomach is optional. Just make sure that what you’re wearing matches where you’re going.

The terms and definitions listed below are based on sex as it’s known in the Old Testament. There was man and there was woman; clothing was optional.

I trust you had a good time with last month’s submission about words you never heard before. If you care to drop a line, please email me at sdevoyle@gmail.com.

Until next time … thanks for your interest and zoog mir eppes in Yiddish! (Tell me something in Yiddish!)

Yiddish words dealing with clothing

1. Hemp’t (shirt) Tee oop ah rein hemp’t!

(Put on a clean shirt!)

2. Hoyzen (pants)

Dee hoyzen zenen fah fleck’t! (The pants are soiled!)

3. ZAW-ken, ZAWK (socks, sock) Ich hob ah pooweh zawken, no ein zawk iz blu, deh andereh iz shvaretz. (I have a pair of socks, but one of them is blue and the other one is black.)

4. SHEE-ec’h (shoes) Broneh shee-ec’h paas’t nisht mit ah shvartzeh tawxeedeh! (Brown shoes aren’t proper to wear with a black tuxedo!)

5. Kleit (dress)

Dah kleit iz shein! (Your dress is pretty!)

6. SPOOD-nitch-keh (skirt)

Dah spood-nitch-keh paast zayeh fein. (Your skirt fits very nice.)

7. Ah Chooc’h (An old article of clothing)

Vee ost dee geh finen daim chooc’h?! (Where did you find that old leftover relic?!)

8. MAAN-tel (coat) Tee oop ah maan-tel, siz kaal’t in drossen. (Put on a coat, it’s cold outside.)

9. GAAT-kess (long johns) Fah gess nisht dee gaat-kess t’zeh brengen! (Don’t forget to bring the long johns!)

10. KAW-shool-keh (undershirt, T-shirt) Dee kaw-shool-keh ott ah loc’h. (The T-shirt has a hole.)