ALPHABET MATCHING GAME VOCABULARY FLASHCARDS
Why learn Yiddish?
is a High-German-derived language historically spoken by the Ashkenazi Jews in Central Europe. Prior to the Holocaust, there were 11–13 million speakers of Yiddish among 17 million Jews worldwide. 85% of the approximately 6 million Jews who died in the Holocaust were Yiddish speakers, leading to a massive decline in the use of the language. Assimilation following World War II and aliyah, immigration to Israel, further decreased the use of Yiddish both among survivors and among Yiddish-speakers from other countries (such as in the Americas).You can communicate in Yiddish. Your marketable skills in the global economy are improved when you master Yiddish. Aquiring a second language can improve your skills and grades in math and English. Learning about another culture enables you to gain a more profound understanding of your own culture.
How Long Does it Take to Learn Yiddish?
*** NOTES *** about learning Yiddish
Yiddish Alphabet & Pronunciation
The Yiddish alphabet, a modified version of the Hebrew alphabet used to write Yiddish, is a true alphabet, with all vowels rendered in the spelling, except in the case of inherited Hebrew words, which typically retain their Hebrew spellings. Letters that are silent or represent glottal stops in the Hebrew language are used as vowels in Yiddish.
(shtumer alef)
[silent]
(pasekh alef)
[a]
(komets alef)
[o]
(beys)
[b]
(beys)
[b]
(veys)
[v]
(giml)
[g]
(daled)
[d]
(daled zayen shin)
[dzh]
(hey)
[h]
(vov)
[u]
(melupm vov)
[u]
(khoylem)
[oj]
(tsvey vovn)
[v]
(vov yud)
[oy]
(zayen)
[z]
(khes)
[kh]
(tes)
[t]
(tes)
[tsh]
(yud)
[y]
(khirik yud)
[i]
(tsvey yudn)
[ey]
(pasekh tsvey yudn)
[ay]
(kof)
[k]
(khof)
[kh]
(lange khof)
[kh]
(lamed)
[l]
(mem)
[m]
(shlos mem)
[m]
(nun)
[n]
(lange nun)
[n]
(samekh)
[s]
(ayin)
[e]
(pey)
[p]
(fey)
[f]
(lange fey)
[f]
(tsadek)
[ts]
(lange tsadek)
[ts]
(kuf)
[k]
(reysh)
[r]
(shin)
[sh]
(sin)
[s]
(tof)
[t]
(sof)
[s]
Basic Phrases in Yiddish
Hello | העלא (hela) |
---|---|
Goodbye | זייַ געזונט (zay gezunt) |
Yes | יאָ (yo) |
No | ניט (nit) |
Excuse me | אנטשולדיגט מיר (antshuldigt mir) |
Please | ביטע (bite) |
Thank you | אדאנק (adank) |
You are welcome | יישר (eyshr) |
Do you speak english | דו רעדסט ענגליש? (du redst english?) |
Do you understand | צי איר פֿאַרשטיין? (tsi ir farshteyn?) |
I understand | איך פֿאַרשטיין (ikh farshteyn) |
I do not understand | איך טאָן ניט פֿאַרשטיין (ikh ton nit farshteyn) |
How are you | וואס מאכסטו? (vas makhstu?) |
Fine thanks | גוט א דאנק! (gut a dank!) |
What is your name | וואָס איז דיין נאָמען? (vos iz deyn nomen?) |
My name is | מיין נאמען איז (meyn namen iz) |
Pleased to meet you | אנגענעם אייך צו באגעגענען (angenem eykh tsu bagegenen) |
Yiddish Grammar
Yiddish Nouns
Yiddish nouns have three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. Plural nouns are created by adding 'ס' (pronounced 's') to the end of words ending in a vowel sound and 'ן' (pronounced 'n') to the end of words ending with a consonant. There are also irregular nouns with endings like -es or -er and nouns that do not change between singluar and plural (like fish - 'פֿיש')
Man | מענטש (mentsh) |
---|---|
Woman | פרוי (froy) |
Boy | יינגל (eyngl) |
Girl | א מיידל (a meydl) |
Cat | קאַץ (kats) |
Dog | הונט (hunt) |
Fish | Intlanzi (fish) |
Water | וואַסער (vaser) |
Milk | מילך (milkh) |
Egg | יי (ey) |
House | הויז (hoyz) |
Flower | בלום (blum) |
Tree | בוים (boym) |
Shirt | העמד (hemd) |
Pants | הויזן (huyzn) |
Yiddish Adjectives
Colors in Yiddish
Black | שוואַרץ (shvarts) |
---|---|
White | ווייַס (vays) |
Red | רויט (royt) |
Orange | מאַראַנץ (marants) |
Yellow | געל (gel) |
Green | גרין (grin) |
Blue | בלוי (bloy) |
Purple | לילאַ (lila) |
Pink | ראָזעווע (rozeve) |
Gray | גרוי (groy) |
Brown | ברוין (broyn) |
Numbers in Yiddish
Zero | נול (nul) |
---|---|
One | איינס (eyns) |
Two | צוויי (tsvey) |
Three | דריי (drey) |
Four | פיר (fir) |
Five | פינף (finf) |
Six | זעקס (zex) |
Seven | זיבן (zibn) |
Eight | אַכט (akht) |
Nine | נייַן (nayn) |
Ten | צען (tsen) |
Eleven | עלף (elf) |
Twelve | צוועלף (tsvelf) |
Twenty | צוואַנציק (tsvantsik) |
Thirty | דרייַסיק (draysik) |
Forty | פערציק (fertsik) |
Fifty | פופציק (fuftsik) |
Sixty | זעכציק (zekhtsik) |
Seventy | זיבעציק (zibetsik) |
Eighty | אַכציק (akhtsik) |
Ninety | נייַנציק (nayntsik) |
Hundred | הונדערט (hundert) |
Thousand | טויזנט (toyznt) |
Yiddish Verbs
To be | צו זיין (tsu zeyn) |
---|---|
To have | צו האבן (tsu habn) |
To want | צו וועלן (tsu veln) |
To need | צו דאַרפֿן (tsu darfn) |
To help | צו העלפן (tsu helfn) |
To go | צו גיין (tsu geyn) |
To come | צו קומען (tsu kumen) |
To eat | צו עסן (tsu esn) |
To drink | צו טרינקן (tsu trinkn) |
To speak | צו רעדן (tsu redn) |
Building Simple Sentences
Like most Germanic languages, Yiddish generally follows the V2 word order: the second constituent of any clause is a finite verb, regardless of whether the first constituent is the subject, an adverb, or another topicalized element. The V2 grammar of Yiddish differs from that of German and other closely related languages, however: Yiddish uses V2 word order in subordinate clauses as well as main clauses, while in German only main clauses exhibit V2. However, verb-initial word order may be used to indicate a causal or other close contextual relationship between consecutive sentences, with a meaning similar to English so. It is customary to use freer word order in Yiddish poetry.
More Complex Yiddish Sentences
And | און (aun) |
---|---|
Or | אָדער (oder) |
But | אָבער (ober) |
Because | ווייַל (vayl) |
With | מיט (mit) |
Also | אויך (aoykh) |
However | אָבער (ober) |
Neither | ניט (nit) |
Nor | אדער (ader) |
If | אויב (aoyb) |
Then | דעמאָלט (demolt) |
Useful Yiddish Vocabulary
Yiddish Questions
Who | ווער (ver) |
---|---|
What | וואס (vas) |
When | ווען (ven) |
Where | וואו (vau) |
Why | פארוואס (farvas) |
How | ווי אַזוי (vi azoy) |
How many | ווי פילע (vi file) |
How much | ווי פיל (vi fil) |
Days of the Week in Yiddish
Monday | מאנטאג (mantag) |
---|---|
Tuesday | דינסטאג (dinstag) |
Wednesday | מיטוואך (mitvakh) |
Thursday | דאָנערשטיק (donershtik) |
Friday | פרייטיק (freytik) |
Saturday | שבת (shbs) |
Sunday | זונטיק (zuntik) |
Yesterday | נעכטן (nekhtn) |
Today | הייַנט (haynt) |
Tomorrow | מאָרגן (morgn) |
Months in Yiddish
January | יאנואר (yanuar) |
---|---|
February | פעברואר (februar) |
March | מאַרץ (marts) |
April | אפריל (afril) |
May | מאי (mi) |
June | יוני (iuni) |
July | יולי (iuli) |
August | אויגוסט (aoygust) |
September | סעפטעמבער (seftember) |
October | אקטאבער (aktaber) |
November | נאוועמבער (navember) |
December | דעצעמבער (detsember) |
Seasons in Yiddish
Winter | ווינטער (vinter) |
---|---|
Spring | פרילינג (friling) |
Summer | זומער (zumer) |
Autumn | האַרבסט (harbst) |
Telling Time in Yiddish
What time is it | וואס איז דער צייט? (vas iz der tseyt?) |
---|---|
Hours | שעה (sheh) |
Minutes | מינוט (minut) |
Seconds | סעקונדעס (sekundes) |
O clock | אַקל (akl) |
Half | האַלב (halb) |
Quarter past | פערטל פאַרגאַנגענהייט (fertl fargangenheyt) |
Before | פריער (fryer) |
After | נאָך (nokh) |