r/Yiddish

translation?

i am struggling to directly translate things i write in Yiddish. i recently wrote a poem, but because it was typed out using the english alphabet, nowhere will translate it, and although i know what it means, i find it hard to translate into english still, and im not sure why, despite english being my first language. whenever i speak another language, i never associate it with english, if that makes any sense

Der himl bloy, der tog azoy klor,

di zun leygt gold af yeder flor.

Der vint geyt zingenedik durkh yedn boym,

un natur shloft nisht, zi troymt nor a roym.

Der taykh geyt shtil vi an alter lid,

un yeder moment vert sheyn un mid.

thats the poem, for reference.

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u/are-you-local — 1 day ago

H-dropping dialects of Yiddish

in the early 20th century there were such dialects. are there any speakers of such dialects now? and/or any recordings of anyone who spoke like that?

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u/PoxonAllHoaxes — 1 day ago

Translation Help

We came across some testimony from Yad Vashem files from my husband's grandfather (attached). Is anyone able to translate this document in Yiddish to English or to Hebrew?

▲ 21 r/Yiddish

Yiddish: The Biography of a Language by Weinstein

I didn’t see this book mentioned in a search so I thought I’d give it a shout out to this sub. It’s a fantastic read.

u/bam1007 — 1 day ago
▲ 52 r/Yiddish+1 crossposts

Very old Yiddish from Ukraine

Hi! I just came across the attached photo of family members my parents don’t recognize. I know this dates back to at least the 1920’s and is written in Hebrew script but is most likely Yiddish. It’s a letter to family I believe. I’d anyone can help translate some or all of the writing, it would be incredible. I know you are all just community and it might not be perfect, but any bits help! ChatGPT created an inverted higher resolution version which I attached as well!

u/Negative_Ticket8392 — 2 days ago

What does this say?

Sorry if this is about Israel and I'm breaking a rule or something. Just wanted to know what this was. It was painted on a fence overnight at a college near me and I haven't seen anyone translate it yet.

EDIT: Sorry I think I messed up attaching the photo. You can see it here.

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u/Wyverncraft — 5 days ago
▲ 17 r/Yiddish

Neighborhoods with the most densely populated Yiddish speakers

Which neighborhoods across the world, including in Israel, the United States, Europe and elsewhere, have the most densely concentrated population of native Yiddish speakers?

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u/Technical_Rich_3080 — 7 days ago

Looking for online speaking groups

My mom is very good at every-day conversations in Yiddish. Are there any groups that have online meetings for people to speak like with zoom or teams?

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u/Wyremills — 5 days ago

Bobbe/Zayde pronounciation

I have always pronounced it Bub-ee and Zay-dee but i have been reading older posts and it seems like some people pronounce them differently ?

My family is from the NJ, and we all descend from people from the Gomel area. Is that prononciation standard (i know there is no standard per se) or is it the least common one ?

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u/Trick-Ad5479 — 7 days ago

The amazing legend of Rabbi Yosef della Reina

Can someone suggest a venue for my English translation of Shloyme Bastomski's Yiddish version of this kabbalistic tale? He wrote it and published it himself a hundred years ago as a reader for his students in the pioneering secular Yiddish-language schools of Vilna, Poland, and Russia, as there were very few Yiddish-language education materials.

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u/Remarkable-Road8643 — 6 days ago

How would I best go about learning to read Yiddish for Minecraft Speedruns?

Odd request, I know.
Minecraft Speedrunners change their in-game languages, because you can search for items to craft faster. This comes at the downside of playing on a language you may not know.
Yiddish is pretty much the best language, but harder to read because it's in a different script, hence not as popular.

I figured it was the best for me and since my native language is German and it would be the same words and phrases all the time the vocabulary shouldn't be my biggest concern.
So, what would be the easiest way for me to learn how to read the language, so that I can remember the words as actual words, instead of learning how to recognize words, by some of the letters in them?

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u/Jannituts — 7 days ago

[Translation Request] 1941~ WWII letter to my grandma's mother

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some help translating a letter from Yiddish to English.

The letter is from around 1941~, during WWII. It was sent by a relative to my grandma's mother. At the time, my grandma and her mom had been evacuated from Ukraine/USSR to somewhere around Kazakhstan to keep them safe from the Nazis. The relative was writing to try and coordinate and keep track of different family members during the war.

On the other side of the letter there is a photograph of grandma's mother.

Both grandma and I would be incredibly thankful if someone could help us translate it! ❤️

If there's any more information that could help please comment - I'll try to get it.

u/100nir100 — 8 days ago

Help identifying a word

Hi!! I grew up saying a word sounding like "Geh-BAH-kick"

Typically my family would say this word in a way that translates to "Awww, look how cute the dog is" accompanied by a point.

It is only used to refer to animals being cute, and usually in a way to not startle or disturb the animal

What is the real word or spelling? And what is the proper pronunciation and translation?

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u/Jenyweny09 — 10 days ago
▲ 16 r/Yiddish

App for Yiddish Learners

I started studying Yiddish about a year ago and noticed there weren't really any apps dedicated to Yiddish learners (aside from Duolingo, which is not my cup of tea). So I decided to make something: an app that let's you work through classic Yiddish stories, sentence by sentence, with the aid of an AI tutor and clickable word lookups. I've included stories from Sholem Aleichem, I.L. Peretz, and R' Nachman (more to come!). Releasing it free to the public. Let me know what you think!
https://der-leyner.com/

u/NoPitch742 — 12 days ago
▲ 10 r/Yiddish+1 crossposts

Request for information about Sholem Aleichem tale

Hello. Yesterday I was watching a video analyzing a politician's statements, and the commentator, to criticize the politician's words, used a work by the author Sholem Aleichem. The video link is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5e1yWQ5WFs.

The video is in Spanish, but I extracted the words and translated them into English from minute 7:29 to minute 8:29.

"There's an old tale by Sholem Aleichem. Sholem Aleichem was a very good humorist from the beginning of the century, and he had a very funny character, the village idiot. He (the village idiot) was tired of people explaining what the village idiot was, so he came up with a kind of jest. He had the idea that in the next town over, they were giving away gold. The word got around, and of course, there was a stampede. The guy (the village idiot) sat at the edge of town, watching everyone run toward the other town. But he saw, from behind, a guy running at full speed from the town behind him. And so, when he passed him, the village idiot asked, "Hey, why are you running?" "I'm going to the other town," the runner replied. "Why?" the village idiot asked. "To get back the gold they're going to give me," the runner replied. Then the fool says, "Could it be true?"

I’ve been looking through some of his works, but I haven’t had any luck and haven’t been able to find it.

I would like to know two things:

  1. Is what the commentator recounts truly a tale by Sholem Aleichem? If not, and it is a mistake by the commentator, who is the author?

  2. What is the name of the tale and the written work (book) that contains or includes this tale?

Looking forward to a prompt reply. Best regards

u/Intrepid_Heron_95 — 11 days ago

Identifying a name in Romanian archives

Hi, you were all so helpful previously about some names written in 19th century Romanian archives. I'd love some help deciphering another one. This is the name of a second witness on a birth record. Once again, I can make out some letters, but just can't figure out the full name. Any ideas? Thank you!

u/Delicious_Basil_7283 — 13 days ago

Having trouble with a couple of words

"פארמאשקענען" און "צעפלאכטענער"

u/Riddick_B_Riddick — 12 days ago