16 Yiddish Delights

I confess to a fondness for Yiddish words that confounds me.

Any chance I get, I try to slip a Yiddish word into my sentence.

Here are some of my favorite Yiddish words:

• Kvetch: to complain, whine
  Example: Gopal is forever kvetching about his kids playing loud rap music.
• Chutzpah: audacity, nerve
  Example: Chandra had the chutzpah to stand for election despite her criminal record.
• Mazel tov: congratulations, good luck
  Example: Mazel tov on winning the match.
• Yenta: gossip or busybody
  Example: Urmila and her cousin are the village yentas.
• Klutz (noun): clumsy person, stupid, idiot
  Example: The mechanic was a klutz, always dropping his tools.
• Shlemiel: clumsy or unlucky person who often causes problems
  Example: Don’t be such a shlemiel with the blowtorch.
• Farkakte: ridiculous, messed up, or lousy
  Example: My farkakte motorbike is forever giving me trouble.
• Meshuggeneh: crazy person, sometimes said in an affectionate tone
  Example: My nephew shamir is such a meshuggeneh.
• Mensch: A person of integrity and honor
  Example: Jackson is a real mensch for helping me out when I was stranded.
• Bubbe: grandmother
  Example: My bubbe makes the best Masala Dosa.
• Nudnik: an annoying person
  Example: Nicholas is a nudnik, forever complaining about his mother-in-law.
• Dreck: garbage, trash
  Example: This bhelpuri tastes like dreck.
• Herem: ban, especially in religious or social context
  Example: Spinoza lived under an herem imposed by the community for his writings.
• Glitch: A small malfunction or unexpected problem
  Example: There was a glitch with my lawnmower’s cables.
• Tuchus: slang for backside
  Example: Get off your tuchus and help me with the dinner.
• Schlep: To carry or haul something with effort; also to travel a long, tiring distance.
  Example: I had to schlep all these boxes up the stairs.
• Farshlept krenk: an illness that won’t go away (Source: The Economist, August 23, 2025, p.59)