Dictionary of Terms
From Halachipedia
This dictionary is for commonly used words in a shiur that is mostly in English but includes a handful of Yeshivish, Yiddish, Hebrew, and Aramaic.
Commonly used Yeshivish/Yiddish Words
- avada
- of course
- ayid
- a Jew
- azoy
- really, so-so (sometimes a question)
- bissel
- a little
- eppes
- a little
- farfaln
- hopeless, irretrievable
- farlozich
- rely upon, rely on
- ginoy
- sure (derived from genau, German meaning exactly)
- gishmak
- delicious
- grada
- certainly, as a matter of fact
- grossa
- large
- punkt
- precisely, exactly, so happens to be
- punkt farr kert
- just the opposite
- shprach
- enhancement
- shtoch
- affront (usually used to describe when one opinion proved the other wrong)
- shtup
- stuff in (usually used to describe when an explanation that doesn't fit the words)
- shver
- difficult
- taka
- really, (usually used as a confirmation of fact, but sometimes used in question form)
- teitch
- translate
- vayter
- continue, let's move on
- verlassen sich
- leave one, rely on
- zach
- something (usually used to describe something popular)
- zayn
- to be
- zicher
- for sure
Commonly Used Hebrew Words
- al kol ponim
- either way, from all perspectives
- chashivus
- importance
- kol tov
- all the best
- lehavdil, lehavdil elef alfey havdalot
- to distinguish (usually used to say that this concept is very different)
- lehavdil bein hachayim vehachayim
- to distinguish between the living and those who have passed
- lemaysa
- in reality, practically speaking
- lichoira
- theoretically
- mamesh
- actually, actual, in actuality
- maskim
- agreed
- pashut
- obvious
- peshat
- simple explanation
Commonly Used Aramaic Words
- aderaba
- the opposite is true
- chaval al deovdin
- we are saddened by the loss of a person/work
- chaval al deovdin v'einan mishtakchin
- we are saddened by the loss of a person/work who are never forgotten
- kal vechomer
- fortiori, if the greater nuance is true certainly the lesser one is as well
- kol sheken
- fortiori, if the greater nuance is true certainly the lesser one is as well
- mee heychi teytee
- from where do you know that? (usually used as a negation of a conjecture)
- pshita
- obvious (usually used as a question)
