Yiddish-English Glossary

K

• Kaas (in kaas oyf) - Angry (with)

• Kabaret forshtelung - Floorshow

• Kabtzen, kaptsen - Pauper

• Kaddish - A mourner's prayer

• Kaddishel - Baby son; endearing term for a boy or man (Derived from word "kaddish" which is a prayer for the dead that only males recite)

• Kadoches - Fever

• Kadoches mit koshereh fodem! - Absolutely nothing! (Lit., fever with a kosher thread)

• Kaftan - Long coat worn by religious Jews

• Kain ein horeh - No evil eye! Great piece of good fortune.

• Kakapitshi - Conglomeration

• Kalamutneh - Dreary, gloomy, troubled

• Kalleh moid - A girl of marriageable age

• Kallehniu - Little bride

• Kalyekeh - Cripple; misfit; also, anybody not good at their craft or sport

• Kalyeh - Bad, wrong, spoiled , annoying

• Kam derlebt - Narrowly achieved (Lit., hardly lived to see)

• Kam mit tsores! - Barely made it! (Lit., with some troubles) The word "Kam," also is pronounced "Kom" or "Koim" depending on the region people come from.

• Kam vos er kricht - Barely able to creep; Mr. Slowpoke

• Kam vos er lebt - He's hardly (barely) alive.

• Kamtsoness - To be miserly

• Kaneh - An enema

• Kaporeh, (kapores) - Atonement sacrifice; forgiveness; (slang) good for nothing

• Karabelnick - Country peddler

• Karger - Miser, tightwad

• Kasheh - Groats, mush cereal, buckwheat, porridge; a mess, mix-up, confusion

• Kasheh varnishkes - Cooked groats and broad (or bowtie) noodles

• Kashress - Kosher condition; Jewish religious dietary law

• Kasnik, (keisenik) - Angry person; excitable person, hot head

• Kasokeh - Cross-eyed

• Katshkedik (Americanism) - Ducky, swell, pleasant

• Katzisher kop - Forgetful (Lit., Cat head)

• Kazatskeh - Lively Russian dance

• Kemfer - Fighter (usually for a cause)

• Ken zein - Maybe, could be

• (To) Kibbitz - To offer unsolicited advice as a spectator

• Kibbitzer - Meddlesome spectator

• Kiddish (Borai pri hagofen) - Blessing over wine on the eve of Sabbath or Festivals

• Kimpet-tzettel - Childbirth amulet or charm (from the German "kind-bet-tzettel" meaning childbirth label containing Psalm 121, names of angels, patriarchs

• Kimpetoren - Woman in labour or immediately after the delivery

• Kind un kait - Young and old

• Kinderlech - Diminutive, affectionate term for children

• Kishef macher - Magic-worker

• Kishkeh - Stuffed derma (Sausage shaped, stuffed with a mixture of flour, onions, salt, pepper and fat to keep it together, it is boiled, roasted and sliced)

• (A) Kitsel - Tickle

• Klainer gornisht - Little prig (Lit., A little nothing)

• Klemt beim hartz - Clutches at my heartstrings

• Klaperkeh - Talkative woman

• Klipeh - Gabby woman, shrew, a female demon

• Klogmuter - Complainer, chronic complainer

• (A) Klog iz mir! - Woe is me!

• Klop - Bang, a real hard punch or wallop

• Klotz (klutz) - Ungraceful, awkward, clumsy person; bungler

• Klotz kasheh - Foolish question; fruitless question

• Kloymersht - Not in reality, pretended (Lit., as if it were)

• K'nacker - A big shot

• K'naidel (pl., k'naidlech) - Dumplings usually made of matzoh meal, cooked in soup

• K'nippel - Button, knot; hymen, virginity; money tied in a knot in a handkerchief

• K'nish (taboo) - Vagina

• K'nishes - Baked dumplings filled with potato, meat, liver or barley

• Kochalain - Summer boarding house with cooking privileges (Lit., cook by yourself)

• Kochedik - Petulant, excitable

• Kochleffel - One who stirs up trouble; gadabout, busy-body (Lit., a cooking ladle)

• Kolboynik - Rascally know-it-all

• (A) Kop oif di plaitses! - Good, common sense! (Lit., A head on the shoulders!)

• Kopvaitik - Headache

• Kosher - Jewish dietary laws based on "cleanliness." Also referring to the legitimacy of a situation. "This plan doesn't seem kosher."

• Koved - Respect, honour, reverence, esteem

• Krank - Sick

• Krank-heit - Sickness

• Krassavitseh - Beauty, a doll, beautiful woman

• Krechts - Groan, moan, complain 

• Krechtser - Blues singer, a moaner

• Kreplach - Small pockets of dough filled with chopped meat which look like ravioli, or won ton, and are eaten in soup; (slang) nothing, valueless

• Kroivim - Relatives

• Kuck im on (taboo) - Defecate on him! The hell with him!

• Kuck zich oys! (taboo) - Go take a shit for yourself! ..Or explain yourself, get to the point.

• Kugel - Pudding

• Kuk im on! - Look at him!

• Kumen tsu gast - To visit

• Kuntzen - Tricks

• Kunyehlemel - Naive, clumsy, awkward person; nincompoop; Casper Milquetoast

• Kurveh - Whore, prostitute

• Kush in toches arein! (taboo) - Kiss my behind! (said to somebody who is annoying you)

• Kushinyerkeh - Cheapskate; woman who comes to a store and asks for a five cents' worth of vinegar in her own bottle

• K'vatsh - Boneless person, one lacking character; a whiner, weakling

• K'velen - Glow with pride and happiness, beam; be delighted

• K'vetsh - Whine, complain; whiner, a complainer

• K'vitsh - Shriek, scream, screech