Oy gevalt, stop kvetching and take a look at this hilarious and adorable book!Yiddish for Babies: A Language Primer for Your Little Pitsel by Janet Perr arrived at my house last week and let me tell you, my kinder don't care so much (ima is meshugga) but I think it's awesome.
It's got photos of really cute babies illustrating various words in Yiddish. Then the words are used in sentences. (and it's a little bit of an alphabet book, too.)
Example:
KVELLING: proud, bursting with joy. Baby made in the potty and mommy is kvelling.
SHMUTZ: dirt. Oy, fill up the tub. Baby has shmutz on his foot.
(and there's a picture of a cute baby with a dirty foot)
I think my favorite:TRAIF: non-kosher food. Baby, why are you carrying around that traif?
(and there's a picture of a baby carrying a LOBSTER!)
Huh-la-ree-us!!!!!
It's a book for the whole mishpocha to enjoy, but I think the imas and abbas will get the most out of it.
For a real Yiddish dictionary online, try this one.
And, Simon and Schuster was kind enough to give me one of these books to give away to one of you, my lucky and wonderful readers!
Leave me a comment telling me YOUR favorite Yiddish word or expression. I'll choose one lucky reader to win their very own copy of Yiddish for Babies.
Extra entry for tweeting, but you MUST come back here and leave me a separate comment or it doesn't count.
Ends Thursday, December 24th....
(And throw me a little Facebook love, would ya?)
P.S. Don't forget that I'm also giving away Julie Silver's new CD, Reunion. Ends Tuesday!
Total disclosure: Simon and Schuster sent me TWO copies, one to keep and one to give. While I might give the second one away to a friend, I might also keep it! I was not obligated to do anything...
Before I enter, I've got to ask, how did you get a copy of this to review? This sounds too funny, but this is the first I've heard of it. How did you get to be the lucky first one? :-)
ReplyDeleteNow that my question is out of the way, here's my entry. I use, "Oy vey," A LOT. I have kids, of course I do. And yes, my kids use it too and they use it correctly. :-)
ReplyDeleteI also love "Farbisina (sp?) Punim" and use it quite a bit with my son when he's being contrary.
YiddishBitterRose at gmail dot com
See, this book is meant for me. I have "Yiddish" right there in my e-mail address. Heck, my NAME is Yiddish (hence the e-mail address).
tweet: http://twitter.com/ReizaM/status/6851709708
ReplyDeleteYiddishBitterRose at gmail dot com
OMG -- I MUST have this.
ReplyDeleteI don't know where to start. Eppes is good. Farblundget is also good. I can't even think of all my favourites. Emes!
A bissel
ReplyDeleteHock mir nisht en chinik
Next can you do favorite Ladino expressions? Or maybe I should do that one... afraid no one would respond...
OK -- I tweeted too.
ReplyDeleteMy 2 yo's fav is "drey" as in "I'm dreying, I'm dreying" as he spins himself dizzy.
I love putz, mainly because people that are not Jewish have NO clue what they are really calling people.
ReplyDeleteThis book look fabulous. May have to get one for my new nephew coming in February.
farshtinkiner. definitely farshtinkiner.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, my favorite Yiddish phrases tend to be curses. I can't help it. I don't curse at all in English (no F-words or such coming out of my mouth), but Yiddish has such "interesting" curses.
ReplyDeleteChoosing a family friendly favorite, though, I'd say "Oy vey!"
So many good ones...since I have a beautiful 8 month old daughter, I will "a shayna maidel" and " a shayna punim" for her.
ReplyDeleteI also love "a bissel meshugah" and "shicker". Really hope I win, but if not, I am definitely buying this on my own.
Ok, I tweeted it, hopefully you got it imabima.
ReplyDeletechallahs (the Yiddish plural of challah) :) but seriously it could be schmutz or it could be fershimmled, but a Yiddish/English combo created by my childhood friend in the days when I wanted to be a race car driver has to win on sentimentality alone..."oy vey get out of the way!" (to be shouted out of the window at the cars in my path.)
ReplyDeleteOh! Can't believe I missed this.
ReplyDeleteWe've been using "Schpilkes" a lot lately - as in, "Rami has schpilkes in his pockets again." :)
In our house, favorites include tuchas, shvitz, schmeck, gonif, fresser, punim, schpilkies, bubkes, farkockt, shrei, feh, dreck, and kadoches…to name a few! :)
ReplyDeleteLooks like a great book – thanks for sharing!
Kvetch is my favorite Yiddish wort.
ReplyDeleteI taught my son (now 17) the word "gatkes," which is Yiddish for underpants, so I could yell it across the room and he would know he was sagging too much and should pull his pants up!
ReplyDelete