Glossary

aa—also, too

an—on

Arewet—word

bin—am

bin kumme—have come

bis—until

bischt—are

Bobbeli—baby

Bsuch—visit

bsuche—to visit

da—the

Daadi Haus—grandfather’s house. Generally this refers to a house that is attached to or is near the main house and belongs to a grandparent. Many times the main house belonged to the grandparents when they were raising their family. The main house is usually passed down to a son, who takes over the responsibilities his parents once had. The grandparents then move into the smaller place and usually have fewer responsibilities.

Daed—dad or father

dei—your

denk—think

denki—thank you

die—the

do—here

do yetz—recently

draus—out

drei—three

du—you [singular]

eens—one

Englischer—a non-Amish person. Mennonite sects whose women wear the prayer Kapps are not considered Englischers and are often referred to as Plain Mennonites.

es—it

ganz—quite

genunk—enough

glei—soon

Grossmammi—grandmother

gut—good

hab—have

hatt—difficult or hard

Hatzer—hearts

helfe—help

ich—I

in—in

iss—is

kann—can

Kapp—a prayer covering or cap

kumm—come

letz—wrong

Liewer—dear (used when addressing males past preschool age)

Liewi—dear (used when addressing females and young children)

loss uns blaudere—let’s talk

Mamm—mom or mother

Mammi—shortened term of endearment for grandmother

mei—my

mitgebrocht—brought

net—not

nix—nothing

Pennsylvania Dutch—Pennsylvania German. The word Dutch in this phrase has nothing to do with the Netherlands. The original word was Deutsch, which means “German.” The Amish speak some High German (used in church services) and Pennsylvania German (Pennsylvania Dutch), and after a certain age, they are taught English.

raus—out

rumschpringe—running around

saag—tell

uns—us

unsrer—our

verbinne—unite

viel—much

was—what

wege—about

Welt—world

wunderbaar—wonderful

ya—yes (pronounced jah)

zu—too

zwee—two

* Glossary taken from Eugene S. Stine, Pennsylvania German Dictionary (Birdsboro, PA: Pennsylvania German Society, 1996), and the usage confirmed by an instructor of the Pennsylvania Dutch language.