6
Yiddish Curses—Short and Sweet
You probably find you get a lot ugly looks if you walk around telling anyone who angers you to “Go fuck yourself”; “Shove it up your ass”; or “Go to hell.” You may even get a fist in your mouth. Or get fired from a job.
Don’t despair. If you do get that frustrated sometimes, learn a few of these short and sweet Yiddish curses. You can probably even vent your frustration and no one will even know you’re cursing.
For example, you can say Put your buttocks on the table (Toches ahfen tish) and mean: Put up or shut up (Too-ches Ah-fin Tish)!
Or maybe you prefer, I have him in the bath house (Ich hob im in bod) and mean: To hell with him (Ich hob im in bod)!
Or maybe you’d like, Don’t bang on the teakettle (Hak mir nit kain cheinik) and mean: Don’t bother me (Hak meer nit kayn chy-nik)!
Yes, there are some roundabout ways to say something in Yiddish, while meaning something very different. You’ll also see below that some Yiddish phrases are much more direct for venting your anger.
Do be careful, though. If you’re in a Jewish neighborhood, you never know who around you might know Yiddish.
Say the f word in Yiddish ...
Don’t fuck with me! – Bareh nit! (Bar-eh nit)!
Also translates to: Don’t fornicate around, or but more mildly can mean don’t fool around, or don’t annoy or don’t bother someone.
Finished fucking? – Shoyn opgetrent (Shoin op-geh-trent)?
Also translates to: Are you finished screwing around? Or, Have you finished the dirty work? Literally means: Have you finished fornicating?
Go fuck yourself! – Gai tren zich (Gay tren zich)!
Who are you kidding, who do you think you are screwing around with? –
Vemen barestu (Vay-men bar-es-tu)?
Literally means: Who are you screwing?
Use Yiddish to tell someone to go take a sh ...
Go take a shit! – Cock zich oys (Cock zich oys)!
Also means: Go take a shit for yourself
Go shit on the ocean! – Gai cocken ahfen yam (Gay cock-en ah-fin yam)!
Also can be used to mean: Don’t bother me. Or, Get lost
I shit on him. – Ich cock ahf im (Ich cock ahf im).
Shit on a stick – Drek oif a shpendel (Drek oyf a shpen-del).
Also means: As unimportant as dung on a piece of wood.
Get creative using Yiddish to say “kiss my ass”
Kiss my ass! – Kush mich in toches (Kush mich in too-ches)!
Kiss my ass! – Kush in toches arayn (Kush in too-ches a-rhine )!
Ass kisser – Toches lecher (Too-ches lech-er).
I’ve got him by the ass – Ich hob im in toches (Ich hob im in too-ches).
Also can mean: I have him in my ass.
You ass! – Chamoyer du einer (cha-moy-er du eye-ner)!
Also can mean: You dope, you idiot!
You should shove it up your ass – Zolst es shtupin in toches arayn (Zolst es shtoop-en in too-ches ar-ayn).
Shove it up your ass! – Shtup es in toches (Shtoop es in too-ches)!
Yiddish uses a more friendly sounding way to say “go to hell”
To hell with it – Zol es brennen (Zol es bren-in).
Oh hell! or Damn it! – A broch (Ah brooch)!
Go to hell! – Gai kab enyeh mattereh (Gay kab en-yeh ma-ter -eh)!
Go to hell! – Gai in drerd arayn (Gay in draird a-rhine)!
Literally means: Go down into the earthly grave.
Go to hell! – Ich hob dich in drerd (Ich hob dich in draird)!
He should go to hell – A gehenem oif im (A geh-hen-em oyf im).
He should go to hell – Er zol einemen a meeseh meshuneh (Er zol ein-eh-men a meese-eh meh-shun-eh).
The hell with him! – Ich hob im in bod (Ich hob im in bod)!
Also can be used to say: Forget him! Literally means: I have him in the bath house.
Someone bothering you? Yiddish can help you vent that
Big deal, so what? – Groisser gehilleh (Groys-eh geh-hill-eh)?
Don’t aggravate me! – Tsap mir nit dos blut (Tsap meer nit dos blut)!
Literally means: Don’t bleed me!
Don’t bother me! – Drai mir nit kain kop (Dray meer nit kayn kop)!
Literally means: Don’t twist my head!
Don’t bother me! – Hak mir nit kain cheinik (Hak meer nit kayn chy-nik)!
Literally means: Don’t bang on the teakettle!
Don’t bother me! – Chepeh zich nit tsu mir (Chep-eh zich nit tsu meer)!
Literally means: Don’t attach yourself to me!
Don’t bother me! – Chepeh zich op fun mir (Chep-eh zich op fun meer)!
Don’t butt in. Keep your nose out of it. – Mish zich nisht arayn (Mish zich nisht a-rhine).
Don’t threaten me! - Strasheh mich nit (Stra-sheh mich nit)!
Get lost! – Ver farblondjet (Vair far-blond-jet)!
Go jump in a lake! – Nem zich a vaneh (Nem zich a van-eh)!
Literally means: Go take a bath!
Go bother the bedbugs! – Gai bareh di vantsen (Gay bar-eh di vant-sen)!
Leave me alone! – Loz mich tzu ru (Loz mich tzu ru)!
Literally means: Let me be in peace!
Leave me alone! - Chepeh zich op fun mir (Chep-eh zich op fun meer)!
Also means: Get away from me!
So what do you think you can do to me? Nothing. – Ti mir eppes (Tee mir ep-is).
You don’t scare me – Gai strasheh di gens (Gay stra -sheh di gens).
Literally means: Go scare the geese.
I don’t give a damn – Es hart mich vi di vant (Es hart mich vee dee vant).
Literally means: It bothers me like a wall.
You’re pissing in the wind – Gai feifen ahfen yam (Gay fife-en ah-fin yam).
Literally means: Go whistle on the wind.
Shut someone up using Yiddish
Put up or shut up! – Toches ahfen tish (Too-ches ah-fin tish)!
Also can be used to mean: Let’s conclude this! Or, Come clean, buddy! Literally means: Buttocks on the table.
Shut your mouth! – Farmach dos moyl (Far-mach dos moyl)!
Call them fools, morons and idiots in Yiddish
You moron! – Chamoyer du ainer (Cha-moy-er du ain-er)!
Don’t be an idiot! – Zei nit kain vyzoso (Zye nit kane vi-zo-so)!
Also can mean: Don’t be a damn fool! or Don’t be a penis!
Don’t be a fool! – Zeit nit kain nar (Zye nit kane nar)!
Don’t be a fool! Zeit nit kain goylem (Zye nit kane go-lem)!
Also can mean: Don’t be a robot!
Throwing in a few Yiddish body parts
I need it like a hole in the head – Ich darf es vi a loch in kop (Ich darf es vee a loch in kop).
Hole in the head – Loch in kop (Loch in kop).
I need it like a wart on my nose – Ich darf es vi a lung un leber oif der noz (Ich darf es vee lung un leb-er der noz).
Go screw up your head! – Fardrai zich dem kop (Far-dray zich dem kop)!
You should explode! – Gai plotz (Gay plotz)!
Also can mean: Go split your guts!
Choke on it! – Ver dershtikt (Vair der-shtikt)!
A few other yiddish shorts for wishing the worst
A horrible end should befall you - A finsteren sof (A finster-en sof).
Also can mean: May there be a dark ending for you.
A plague on you! – A finsteren yor (A fin-ster-en yor)!
Literally means: A darkness on you.
A plague on you! - A choleryeh ahf dir (A chol-er-yeh ayf deer)!
Go drown! – Ich hob dich in bod (Ich hob dich in bod)!
Literally means: I have you in the bath.
Drive yourself crazy! – Gai fardrai zich dein aigenem kop (Gay far-dray zich dine eye-gen-en kop)!
I despise you! - Ich fief oyf dir (Ich fife oyf deer)!
Literally means: I whistle on you!
An ugly ending to you – Miesseh meshuneh (Meese-eh ma-shee -neh).
Also means: To wish lots of trouble on someone. Literally means: A strange death or a tragic end.
He should have lots of trouble – Aleh tsores oif zein kop (Al-eh tsor-es oyf zine kop).
A black year! – A shvartz yor (A shvartz yor)!