826. Yiddish Words used in English (with Sebastian Marx)

Comedian Sebastian Marx returns to the podcast in order to talk about Yiddish words which have found their way into the English language, including common words like bagel, glitch and schmooze and plenty more.
👉 Episode page with links, etc wp.me/p4IuUx-sOX
👉 Listen to the audio version for extra content. Podcast links here plinkhq.com/i/312059190?to=page
👉 Sebastian Marx's website www.sebmarx.com

[@LukesEnglishPodcast]

Hello! Check the full word list here 👉wp.me/p4IuUx-sOX

[@yulyiaeki4337]

Hello, Luke! Greetings from Moldova. Thank you so much for the interesting podcasts you always create for us, learners of English. Your sense of humor and creativity make our days more enjoyable, and the process of learning is much funnier than usual lessons at language school. I came here with a humble request. Could you please record more covers of different songs? 😊 I really enjoy your singing. The other day I listened to your podcast where you performed Wonderwall, and now I cannot find it. Did you delete it? I hope not. 🫣

[@LukesEnglishPodcast]

@@yulyiaeki4337 Hello! I didn’t delete it. You can hear that at the end of the audio version of episode 825 with Alastair. The audio versions usually have more content at the beginning and the end. I haven’t sung many songs recently, mainly because I’m out of practice! But I’d like to do that again. Thanks for the comment.

[@romanvladimirovichpetrikov4947]

Thank you so much for the excellent and fantastic podcast, Teacher Luke ! Keep it Up ❤🇬🇧 🇷🇺 Respect from Russia

[@JoseCosta-sm7zn]

Hi Luke! I'm from Brazil. I love yours videos. I'm study English. I try my best. Thank you so much!!

[@nadinecarolin4556]

very interesting topic 🎉 Lachs, pronounced like u did it is, the german word for salmon. "Schwitzen", a german word means to sweat. and "schmutzig" and adjectiv means dirty...

[@JoseCosta-sm7zn]

Hi Luke! I' m from Brazil. I love yours videos...Very nice. Thank you so much!!!

[@marinakrasova6114]

Thank you Luke Another great video! Another great guest! The same great teacher of English!

[@Medovskymark]

Thank you for this show, as Israeli i was specially thankfully

[@karolinaperoutkova1]

Thanks Luke, it´s another great episode.

[@joachimvolz9997]

Hi Luke, here are some annotations from a native German speaker considering some of the words from your list. Those words that I will not mention are not used in the German daily language. Even though surely some of them are used in the German Yiddish community with a slightly different pronunciation. Chutzpah in German "Chuzpe" is not very common, but you can hear it from time to time in the elderly generation. In fact my grandpa used it quite frequently, mostly addressing me. Klutz derives from the German noun "Klotz" which describes a shaped block of wood. German children playing with building blocks use "Bauklötze" and the millstone around your neck in Germany is a "Klotz am Bein" (a large chunk of wood attached to your leg), which is also a nice picture to imagine. Kosher is commonly used in the same sense as you and Sebastian described it in the episode, but, as we Germans do, we added a c between the s and the h so that is it spelled "Koscher" here. Kvetch, funnily enough, to a German sounds a bit like the south German word for plum, which is "Quetsche", but I've never heard kvetch used here. Mensch is actually a proper German word. "Mensch" describes a human being of either sex. Although it has a masculine article ("Der Mensch") it means both men and women / boys and girls. Meshuggeneh is used as "meschugge" (an adjective) in German. To be "meschugge" means being stupid or crazy. Usually used for minor mischief. Example: "Alter, bsit du meschugge? Du kannst hier nicht einfach bei rot gehen. Es ist viel zu viel Verkehr!" (Mate, are you stupid? You cant jaywalk here. It's way too much traffic.) (That's the "Germans are not jaywalking" cliche sneaked in.) Oy vej derives from the German "oh weh", which means something like "oh dear". Here we have two interjections combined ("oh!" and "weh!") "weh" meaning pain or ache. It is commonly used as a suffix to a sore part of the body ("Zahnweh" = toothache or "Bauchweh" = stomach ache) or to express the feeling of longing for something (Heimweh = homesickness or "Fernweh" which translates in English to wanderlust, which is also a German word. Funny, innit?) Schlep in German "schleppen" is a verb meaning to carry or pull something heavy. It's also part of compound nouns such as "Sattelschlepper" = articulated lorry or "Schleppkahn" = tow barge. Schmutz is the German word for dirt. The adjective is "schmutzig" which can also translate to filthy. It's also used figuratively. "Ein schmutziger Witz" is a dirty or filthy joke. "Schmutzige Gedanken" are filthy thoughts usually of a sexual nature. I did not know that shtick derives from "Stück", to be honest. The word obviously has changed in its meaning over the time, for "Stück" means piece ("Ein Stück Kuchen" = one piece of cake) or the amount of something. ("Wieviele Kekse sind noch in der Dose? 10 Stück." = How many cookies are left in the tin? 10. (English speakers would not say "ten cookies", I assume, or would they?) It's also a not very friendly description of a woman. "Miststück" (literally: piece of dung) means bitch. Schmaltz is equivalent to "Schmalz" (without the t) which refers to any kind of melted fat from land animals. "Schweineschmalz" = pork fat, "Gänseschmalz" = goose fat and so on. Fat of sea creatures such as whales is called "Tran" = blubber. Schmooze sounds like the German verb "schmusen" which means to hug and cuddle, usually in a non sexual way. So this word has changed meaning also, but not that much. The physical contact was replaced by talking nicely, which is also pleasant to be involved in. Shtum in German "stumm". It means being mute or deliberately not talking. A silent movie in Germany is called "Stummfilm". Shul or in German "Schule" means school. And the explanation Sebastian gave sounds very logical to me. Jewish kids were taught in the synagogue, so why not call it "shul"? Shvitz from the German verb "schwitzen" which means to sweat. So sorry to hear that Prince Andrew is physically unable to share this experience. Spiel also changed its meaning during the transmission to Yiddish. In German "Spiel" means game or match (Fußballspiel = soccer match, "Brettspiel" = board game - but also "Schauspiel" = stage play and "Schauspieler" = actor. The corresponding verb is "spielen" (to play). This is also used for playing an instrument. "Gitarre spielen" = playing the guitar. Verklempt obviously comes from the German adjective "verklemmt" which has mainly two different meanings. Firstly it describes a very shy, uptight and uncomfortable person. Especially somebody who is easily annoyed with all things of sexual nature. ("DEN Witz kannst du Bob nicht erzählen. Er ist viel zu verklemmt" = You can't tell Bob THAT joke, he is way to ... whatever word you would use in English.) The second meaning of "verklemmt" is stuck or jammed. "Die Tür hat sich verklemmt" = The door got stuck) That was a very interesting episode, Luke. Sebastian is a nice lad and the two of you obviously get on with each other pretty well. So, nice one! Cheers, mate

[@joachimvolz9997]

😢 Luke removed his heart from my comment... 😭 gutted!

[@user-es9dw7ns2r]

Thanks Luke for such interesting videos😊

[@hermenegildogunza]

Hey Luke! What's up? I'm from Angola and I'm a native Portuguese speaker, but I'm improving my English little by little. I know that learn English is so hard, but not is impossible and I hope to learn because this is my desire! Thanks for your nice Podcast. Great job 👏👌😊

[@user-sd7tb8nb8q]

Good morning from Switzerland

[@missdictionary5608]

That was very interesting, thanks! ❤

[@london911]

Good morning l am from algeria its in north africa

[@dudeinthecrowd]

It is good to have those words in the description just for reference and quick learning. ))) Thanks! Or probably someone is generous enough to put them in the comments )

[@LukesEnglishPodcast]

You can find them here wp.me/p4IuUx-sOX (by the way, there's always a link to the "episode page" in the description, and that's where you can usually find notes, transcriptions, word lists and other details.

[@professorluz9346]

From Brazil . Very good.

[@user-qk2oq5jk8u]

I’ve noticed that in russian we have words which sounds akin and have the same meaning. Schnoz for example, we have “ schnobel” or «шнобель»

[@yetty763]

Едешь

[@yetty763]

Шнобиль (

[@user-fp4qw4ek6f]

I'm a listener to the podcast , but sometimes I prefer to watch the video version just to see the body language as well, Thank you so much luke for this awesome podcast

[@dilshodbekkholmirzayev5186]

Very well teacher video

[@MADBOXPRODUCTIONSFILMS]

Hi Luke I am an Algerian girl and I am 12 years I recently reached the C1 level and I started learning English when I was 7years so I wanted to ask if I can also do an interview with you in your chanel 😅it isn't a prank or something 😢 I really want this 😊 to improve my English with you is a dream i will be waiting for your answer 😮 and sorry for asking 😢

[@nederlanditis8154]

Ein Gutmensch (a good man/ person) would be a human doing good things but in an annoying (too public) manner, a blunder or to blunder: ein Patzer, patzen, when you commit the same mistake over and over, when you always get things wrong although they're not that difficult: Ein Patzer, er ist so ein Patzer. Schleppen/ abschleppen: to drag a car/ also a person/ to act hideous and malevolent; eine Frau abschleppen (making out with a woman, she might be inebriated), to act tricky. For comprehending the full meaning of schmalz it might be helpful that it's also the word for lard. Lovely episode. Within the two days after my acquaintance with the channel already one of my (new) favourites.

[@nilsbore1611]

Thank you ,very-very interesting…👌😘

[@joannawojciechowska2678]

There are some of these words in Polish language as well. Some of them are just recognizable as Jewish (like goy, koscher, oy vay) but many are spoken in natural, perhaps slightly colloquial and old fashion language. E.g. putz became pacan /putzan/ and the meaning is a bit softer; chutzpa referes more to the situation than a trait; kvech (kwękać) and schmaltz (smalec) are considered perfectly normal Polish words with the same meaning. I was surprised to learn that Schmuzk derived from Polish smok (dragon)😂. But Poland is in Eastern Europe, so no wonder there was an influence on some extent. Anyway, it was a great pleasure to listen to you! And congratulations on your test result, Luke!

[@lsmart]

During the thousands of years Jews have lived in exile among many countries, they have never discriminated against any language. Whatever country they lived in, they happily adopted some practical native words and added them to Yiddish. Some Polish words were only used by Polish Jews, and some were eventually used by all Yiddish-speaking Jews. Actually, kvetch and shmaltz are original Yiddish words, because that is how you say it in German, but there are direct Polish words like smetene (sour cream), shpilke (pin), pelerina (cape), pantofel (slipper), and kartofel (potato).

[@muslimahdawam1683]

Good afternoon, from Indonesia

[@ekselenUi]

Thank you! 😊

[@ughani83ghani25]

Hi Luke, I'm a great fan of yours ❤

[@zhvanrekani1408]

Very useful interview

[@jihankharchouch0577]

I like your conversation, it's really interesting

[@public_sensei]

in Odesa, we say "поц" (potz) 😁

[@user-pu1th4qs4t]

A fun fact about Yiddish, Kafka loved theatrical works written by Yiddish. His novel illustrated his chutzpah towards his oppressive father, which was lurking under his meekly face. Bagel was made by immigrants from the Polish region. Lox is a filling of bagel. About the lox, I've no experience of eating it. On information from KZbin footage I'm saying this.

[@twojzdrowykregoslup_online]

❤ thank You ❤

[@andreaalves6797]

Very Interesting!!!

[@chrisealawi]

Couscous habibi it's my favorite Moroccan dish ❤

[@user-zx4cp6kz4b]

incidentally, klutz is derived from German klotz > dolt. thanks for sharing. good value stuff, as per usual.

[@IndikaAnurudda-yf6nu]

Good morning from sri lanka

[@chimak8332]

Nice to see you and see you nice

[@sienzo3293]

This episode is hilarious🤣🤣🤣

[@inganagifka]

Very nice, interesting, funny episode, watched it with great pleasure. Sebastian 👍 Luke 👍 First time heard about Yiddish Oy vey- taken for use 😂

[@linhnguyen1558]

Thanks from Việt Nam

[@bing_qi_ling]

Thanks

[@aruneeheron3317]

Ah, I am 17 minutes late for this LEP! I haven't heard much of these Yiddish words but I find it interesting. I'm not schmoozing, aren't I ?

[@ekaterinasergeeva5045]

Шлемазл, шланг, шлёпать, шлак - we also have these words in Russian language

[@golddustmommy4772]

My mom used to say meshuggeneh, and we aren’t Jewish. She used a LOT of Yiddish words for not being Jewish lol we lived in the northeast of the US (not NY)

[@mdatikullah5321]

❤❤❤❤❤

[@davbah3969]

❤

[@adamgeorge4148]

🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@essentia9]

oy vey this video is such a treat!

[@akashislam5561]

Alhamdulillah

[@ughani83ghani25]

From Pakistan

[@bernhardschmidt5773]

No kuddelmuddel in the lukation.

[@Esther88881]

fancy schmancy:)

[@mollietai8946]

Spread Yiddish/Jewish words with LEP.

[@lsmart]

Since Sebastian's knowledge of Yiddish is somewhat limited, allow me to explain some things he left out, and correct some things he was incorrect about, with respect to Yiddish words: 1) GLITCH: In Yiddish it means "slip" or "slide" (as a person sliding on snow) - hence, it came to connote anything suddenly veering off course, or a bump in the road, or a bug in a computer. 2) GOY has nothing to do with a "guy." It is Hebrew for "nation." Hence, one is either a Jew, or he is someone from any other nation. 3) KLUTZ: Its origin has no relation to "clumsy." Its original meaning is a "block," but in the wonderfully descriptive uses of adjectives in Yiddish, it came to describe a clumsy, slow, or inept person - or as we'd say in English, a "blockhead." 4) ISH: The "ish" suffix actually comes from Yiddish (or German) as well, where it means anything of this type. For example, in Yiddish, if something is Chinese, French, Japanese, or Hungarian, we say it is, Chineizish, Frantzeizish, Yapaneizish, or Hungarish. 5) KVETCH does not mean to simply "complain." Its literal meaning is to "press" or "squeeze"; Hence, one who whines and complains when there's really nothing to complain about, is a "kvetch" (and the verb is "to kvetch"), since he is making forced complaints. 6) KOSHER: Literally, "satisfactory, valid, legal." Primarily used to mean something that satisfies the Jewish dietary laws, but also used to mean ethically ok. Thus, if something seems ethically dubious, we say "it does not smell kosher." 7) MENSCH: Literally, a person or man. Its origin is from the Hebrew Bible, where David tells Solomon on his deathbed, "And you shall be strong and be a man," which means be "a person of integrity and leadership who earns the people's respect." 8) MESHUGGENER: If someone is MESHUGA (Hebrew for "crazy"), he is a "MESHUGGENER" (Yiddish for "crazy person"). 9) SHLEMIEL: There's a famous Jewish saying about the difference between a "shlemiel" and a "shlimazel": A shlemiel is the one who always spills his bowl of soup on someone's lap, whereas a shlimazel is the one on whose lap the soup is always spilled. 10) SHLEP literally means "drag" in Yiddish. Hence, its use for all uncomfortable, annoying, difficult journeys or transfer of goods. 11) SCHMALTZ is chicken fat. Consequently, just as the fat is to the actual chicken meat, so is schmaltz the fatty sentimentality of a movie that overly fattens the pure quality of the movie. 12) SHVITZ is a sauna, and since all you do there is sweat, it eventually came to mean sweat as well. It also means to "show off," presumably because they produce a lot of hot air. Likewise, the noun "shvitzer" is "a showoffy person." 13) TUCHUS is actually not German; it's the Hebrew word for "bottom." 14) YENTA: If I'm not mistaken, the word obtained its meaning because of Yentel, the gossipy matchmaker in Fiddler on the Roof.

[@yetty763]

Edesh it's Russian word едешь, i am driving a car

[@vafa_guliyeva]

did't get the point of Yiddish presentation on an English podcast.👎

[@LukesEnglishPodcast]

The vast majority of these words are used in English, can be found in the dictionary, and it’s interesting to see that English is a language of diverse origins and influences.

[@LukesEnglishPodcast]

Maybe I should also remove all French, Latin and Germanic words from my podcast episodes too, and all the words we have from Greek, Arabic, Dutch or Hindi. What do you think?

[@vafa_guliyeva]

@@LukesEnglishPodcast You say that these words are used in English. Then I wonder why you hear them for the first time from Max? 🤣

[@vafa_guliyeva]

⁠@@LukesEnglishPodcast no, don't bother to remove. 🤣 People have already learned Latin and other complementary words. 😅 Just add these Yiddish words to your own vocabulary 😆

[@LukesEnglishPodcast]

Maybe you missed my point.

[@williamhogge5549]

You forgot the biggest one... Pretzl. Its special in that the letters of the word can be shown using the Pretzl shape. Schlemiel causes problems... a Sclemazel has problems foisted onto them. (See, Laverne and Shirley intro) Bagel, Schmear Meshuggah is common Moxie is like Chutzpah, not sure its Yiddish. Goy, Goyim, Shiksa Kibbitz= advice Putz, Petzlivich, Schmuck, Schnook, Schmeckle, Schlong Schlock Schmooze... not his Schtick. Lol Schmutz Schmaltzy Schvitz Spiel =game in german (die glasperlenspiel/ the glass bead game) Tush, Tuchus Scnoz Verklempt Yenta Schtuppah lol Tv and movies for references: Seinfeld The Frisco Kid Barney Miller The Nanny The Chosen (movie) Crossing Delancy There are 2 books, one of which is called Born to Kvetch, about Yiddish loanwords. Im 50 and I've used most of these words in everyday conversation. Most people under 50 won't know them. I've been saying for a while that the falling into disuse of Yiddish and French loanwords is a sign of the dumbing down of America.

[@jonathanbarone4708]

❤