Exclamations are words or phrases used to succinctly express a reaction or emotion. In this lesson, Nomi uses a number of idiomatic exclamations while she interacts with the mischievous monkey. Along with other exclamations we've heard in YiddishPOP, we list and explain these phrases here. You will see that exclamations can be used to express a wide range of emotions and attitudes.
אױ, ס׳איז שלעכט!
The following expressions are used in various unfortunate circumstances.
(אױ) געװאַלד!
When the monkey grabs Nomi's notebook, she cries out !געװאַלד to express her feeling of surprise, confusion, and helplessness. This phrase is used to attract the attention of others, particularly when one is in need of aid in a moment of distress or danger. For example, if a fire breaks out, one can alert others with the words:
„געװאַלד! עס ברענט!“
Lit. “Help, it’s burning!”
װײ איז מיר! אָך און װײ!
When the monkey takes her notebook, Nomi reacts to the unexpected and unwelcome situation with the words:
„װיי איז מיר, מײַן היימאַרבעט איז אין דער העפֿט — איך דאַרף זי!“
Lit. “Woe is me, my homework is in that notebook – I need it!”
The exclamation װײ איז מיר gives expression to feelings such as annoyance, regret, anguish, or the fear that bad will lead to worse. Thus, the mother of a sick child might say:
„װײ איז מיר, דאָס קינד האָט היץ!“
“Woe is me, the child has a fever!”
Similarly but perhaps not as forcefully, one can react with a simple אױ־װײ or a mere אױ. A few examples from YiddishPOP:
- Lesson 1.2 when Nomi gets covered in ice cream:
„אױ, דער שוך, דער שוך אױך! דאָס פּנים און די האַנט און דער שוך זײַנען שמוציק! אױ־װײ!“
"Uh-oh, my shoe, my shoe too! My face and my hand and my shoe are dirty! Oh no!
- Lesson 3.3 when Nomi wants to cook something:
„אױ, מיר האָבן נישט קײן קאַרטאָפֿל.“
"Oh dear, we don’t have any potatoes.”
The expression אָך און װײ conveys that something is no good. The specific thing being reacted to can follow the words איז צו. We hear this in the current lesson when the monkey grabs Nomi's notebook, and Moby laughs. Nomi chides him, saying:
„דו לאַכסט? אַז אָך און װיי איז צו דײַן לאַכן! ס׳איז נישט קאָמיש."
"You’re laughing? Phooey to your laughter! It’s not funny.”
מילא
The exclamation מילא indicates accepting a disappointment or an unfortunate situation, and not getting worked up about it. When Yankl knocks over his glass of milk in the 3.2 vocabulary movie, Nomi uses the word מילא to convey that she is not angry, that it’s not so bad and she can fix the situation:
„מילא, איך קען עס װאַשן“.
“Oh well, I can wash it.”
מילא is often paired with the word נו. Here are a few examples from YiddishPOP:
- In lesson 3.2, Yankl needs to go to sleep but does not want to put on his pajamas. Nomi reacts:
„נו מילא, װילסט נישט די פּיזשאַמע? דאַרפֿסטו נישט די פּיזשאַמע.“
"Well alright, you don’t want the pajamas? You don’t need the pajamas.”
- In lesson 3.3, after it becomes clear that Nomi and Moby won’t be able to bake a kugel, Nomi indicates that it’s time to move on and come up with a new plan:
„נו מילא, לאָמיר טראַכטן…“
"Oh well, let’s think…”
- In lesson 4.3 Nomi’s telephone conversation with her cousins is interrupted when the signal fails. She reacts with the words נו מילא, indicating that despite her frustration, she dismisses this development as a temporary setback.
אױ, ס׳איז גוט!
The following exclamations are used in a variety of positive situations. Note that אױ can be employed to express not only difficulties, as in the previous examples, but also to reinforce a positive statement. One can say:
אױ, ס׳איז גוט!
just as well as
אױ, ס׳איז נישט גוט!
The word אױ serves to emphasize the whole phrase.
גוט
When used as an exclamation, גוט conveys that something has been done well, or that the situation is favorable. For example:
- When Perl throws the ball through the hoop (lesson 1.1), Nomi calls out !גוט
- After Moby affixes a mezuzah to the door of Nomi’s stick house (lesson 2.5), Nomi expresses her satisfaction with the word גוט as she claps her hands.
- When Nomi and Moby want to cook something (lesson 3.3), Nomi expresses her satisfaction that they have already gathered many of the ingredients in the soup recipe:
„גוט, מיר האָבן שױן אַ טאָפּ, לאָקשן, ציבעלעס, בױמל, װאַסער, זאַלץ און פֿעפֿער!“
The word גוט can also be used to request or to indicate agreement. For example:
- When Nomi wants to persuade Moby to play basketball on Thursday (lesson 2.4), she asks:
„נו, לאָמיר שפּילן אין קױשבאָל דאָנערשטיק, גוט?“
"Well, let’s play basketball on Thursday, okay?”
- When Nomi realizes that the esreg is missing (lesson 5.2), she gets upset. Moby comfortingly suggests that she think about where the esreg could be. She agrees:
„גוט, לאָמיר טראַכטן…“
"Okay, let’s think…”
שײן
When used as an exclamation, שײן expresses the feeling that something is beautiful, pleasant or appealing. It can be emphasized with the word אַזױ or װי. For example:
- When Nomi catches sight of the peacock at the end of the movie in lesson 4.2, she exclaims:
„אַזוי שײן! אַ פּאַװע!!“
"How beautiful! A peacock!”
- If a grandmother tells a grandfather that the grandchildren are coming to visit, he may respond:
„װי שײן!“
"How nice!”
אױסגעצײכנט
אױסגעצײכנט is an adjective that means “excellent” or “outstanding”. It can also be used as an exclamation to react to a particular situation or achievement. In this lesson, for example, Nomi reacts with the word אױסגעצײכנט when Moby finds a banana in his backpack:
„אַ, אַ באַנאַנע, אויסגעצייכנט! מאַלפּעס האָבן זייער ליב באַנאַנעס“.
“Ah, a banana, excellent! Monkeys really like bananas.”
When Meyerke clears the hurdles (lesson 2.1), Nomi exclaims: !אױסגעצײכנט.
אוּװאַ
אוּװאַ is an expression of wonder or admiration. It’s used when something is very beautiful or an achievement is extraordinary. Nomi uses this exclamation in this lesson when she wants to point out the beauty of the flower she is showing the monkey:
„אָדער אפֿשר װילסטו בעסער די בלום — זי איז בלאָ, אוּװאַ.“
“Or do you prefer this flower – it’s blue, wow!”
If Nomi reacted to Meyerke’s clearing the hurdles with אוװאַ, she would be expressing that she is very impressed by his athletic abilities.
הוראַ
הוראַ expresses the feeling of joy at hearing good news, or of experiencing success. When the monkey finally throws down Nomi’s notebook and Moby’s hat, Nomi exclaims:
„הוראַ! אָט האָבן מיר צוריק אונדזערע זאַכן!“
"Hooray! We have our things back!”
We have heard הוראַ a few times in YiddishPOP:
- In lesson 2.4, when Moby arrives and Nomi does not have to wait any longer to play basketball, she says:
„אָ, מאָבי, דו ביסט דאָ! הוראַ!“
- In lesson 3.4, Nomi expresses her delight that Mendl is coming to visit:
„װען, הײַנט?! הוראַ!“
- In lesson 2.5, Nomi is pleased with her stick house:
„הוראַ! איצט האָט מײַן הױז פֿיר װענט, אַ דאַך, צװײ פֿענצטער, אַ טיר, און אַ מזוזה!“
נו, ס׳איז טאַקע אַזױ?
We have already discussed several exclamations that express a positive or negative attitude to various situations. Of course, there are also Yiddish exclamations that express all kinds of other attitudes such as impatience, approval, agreement, and doubt. Below we discuss several of these which we have encountered in YiddishPOP.
דאָס הײסט…? דאָס הײסט…!
דאָס הײסט as a question calls something into question; דאָס הײסט as an exclamation confirms the exemplary nature of something. For example:
- Nomi asks Moby to pour “אַ ביסל” milk into their drink (lesson 1.3). When he pours in a lot, she notes that he has not followed her instruction by asking:
„דאָס הײסט אַ ביסל?“
"You call that a little?”
- When Nomi looks at Moby’s shalakh-mones for Meyerke and sees that it is full of delightful treats, including ice cream, she exclaims:
„אָט דאָס הײסט אַ שלח־מנות!“
“Now that’s what you call shalekh-mones!”
טאַקע
In lesson 4.5 we learned the adverb טאַקע, which confirms the truth of something. In that lesson, Nomi shows Moby the theater and responds to Moby’s gesture asserting that he really likes it:
„יאָ, אונדזער טעאַטער איז טאַקע זייער שיין!“
"Yes, our theater is indeed very nice.”
With a questioning intonation, טאַקע can be used to ask for confirmation or to call something into question. For example:
– הײַנט קום איך!
– טאַקע? נעכטן האָסטו געזאָגט אַז דו װעסט הײַנט נישט קומען!
– I’m coming today!
– Really? Yesterday you said that you weren’t coming today.
– איך האָב שױן געטאָן די הײמאַרבעט.
– טאַקע?! אָבער דו האָסט נישט געענטפֿערט אױף אַלע פֿראַגעס!
– I’ve already done my homework.
– Really?! Look – you haven’t answered all the questions!
נו
The word נו in an exclamation or a question expresses impatience that can vary in degree, sometimes more, sometimes less. The impatience can be a feeling of annoyance (why am I still waiting?) or a feeling of enthusiasm (being excited about something or wanting to do something). Of course, there are many shades of meaning between the two.
We learned the word נו in lesson 1.4. Here are a few situations where נו appears in YiddishPOP, first exclamations and then questions.
- Lesson 2.3, Nomi tries to drag Moby away from the klezmorim in order to go hear the concert in the park:
„נו, לאָמיר גײן!“
- In lesson 4.2, Nomi tells Moby that they are going to keep looking for birds:
„נו, װײַטער!“
With the word נו, and with her smile, Nomi conveys that she is both frustrated that they haven’t yet found any birds, and happy to keep looking.
- In lesson 1.4, Nomi wants to know what Moby has brought to eat in the park:
„נו, װאָס האָסטו?“
- In lesson 3.1 Nomi wants to know what Pintl can do:
„נו, מאָבי, װאָס קען דײַן הינטל טאָן?“
- In lesson 3.2 Nomi wants to know what Yankl would like to do next:
„נו, יאַנקל, װאָס װילסטו איצט טאָן?“ (Lesson 3.2)
- In lesson 4.4, Nomi, in her costume, wants Moby to guess who she is:
„נו, ווער בין איך?“
- In lesson 4.5, Nomi wants to know how Moby likes the theater:
„נו, װי געפֿעלט דיר אונדזער טעאַטער?“
The word נו on its own as a question – ?נו – is also very common as an expression of impatience, as if asking: “So what are you waiting for?”
נו גוט
The phrase נו גוט expresses agreement together with impatience, or agreement that is tempered by hesitation. Nomi feels such reservations when Moby passes her a spoon and suggests that they eat the ice cream in the shalakh-mones (lesson 4.4), and Nomi, still uncertain, acquiesces with the words:
„נו גוט, לאָמיר אים עסן איצט.“
"Well alright, let’s eat it now.”
נו־נו
The double נו־נו is an expression of comfort. Moby is upset when Nomi tells him the sad story of The Dybbuk; Nomi comforts him with the words:
„נו־נו, ס׳איז נאָר אַ מעשֹה!“
“There, there, it’s only a story!”
שױן
The adverb שױן can be used as an exclamation that conveys that one is ready or finished. If Nomi is doing her homework and Moby is waiting with the ball to play basketball with her, she can put down her pen with the word !שױן, a sign that she has finished and is ready to play.
נו שױן
The combination נו שױן conveys that it’s time to stop (speaking, thinking, crying etc.), it’s already enough. At the end of the movie in lesson 3.3, for example, when Nomi and Moby can’t think of a food to prepare at home, Nomi could say:
„נו שױן, לאָמיר באַשטעלן אַ פּיצע!“
“Okay, enough, let’s order a pizza!”
