For autodidact students of Yiddish, the fifth word is "of," and in Yiddish "of" is the preposition פֿון (fun). English has two words where Yiddish has one: "of" and "from." A letter of Mother and a letter from Mother are the same thing in Yiddish, אַ בריוו פֿון דער מאַמע (a briv fun der mame). So פֿון is also the Yiddish for "from" in "I am from Warsaw," איך בין פֿון װאַרשע (ikh bin fun varshe). Dictionaries and grammars agree that it is the most frequent preposition in the language, as "of" is in English and de in French.
The most important thing that פֿון does is show what belongs to what. In Lesson 1 you learned that Yiddish has no separate genitive article, and that possession is shown with פֿון. Here it is: the thing owned comes first, then פֿון, then the owner. The dog of the teacher is דער הונט פֿון דעם לערער (der hunt fun dem lerer); the English "the teacher's dog" turns the order round. For a person there is also a shorter way, with the ending -ס on the owner, בײלעס בריוו (beyles briv), "Beyle's letter," and Section D shows both. For a thing or a place only פֿון will do: דער װעג פֿון דער שטאָט, "the road from the city."
After פֿון the noun is always in the dative, like the nouns after אין and אױף in Lesson 1: פֿון דעם לערער, פֿון דער מאַמע, פֿון די קינדער. The pronoun is dative too: פֿון מיר, "from me," and פֿון אים, "from him." The preposition has a good many other uses, which the examples of this lesson show one by one: where a person or a thing comes from, who sent a letter, what a thing is made of, who wrote a book, one of a group, "than" after a comparative, and "from … on" in time.
The word is a cousin of German von, "of, from," and a learner who knows German will see the likeness at once. The difference is in the use: German keeps a genitive case beside von, and Yiddish has put פֿון in its place, apart from the -ס of persons.
Script note: פֿון has three letters, written from right to left: the פֿ (fey, with a short bar above it), the ו (vov, here the vowel u) and the final ן (nun). The bar is what makes the letter an f. The same letter פ with a dot inside, פּ, is a p, and so פּון would not be this word. The bar is not an optional decoration: פֿאַר (far), "for," and פֿרױ (froy), "woman," have it too. The ו of פֿון is the plain vov, which is u, and not the double letter ױ of הױז. The word has two look-alikes that you know, און (un) and אין (in), and אַן (an) of Lesson 4 makes a family of four short words, פֿון, און, אין, אַן, which a beginner takes for one another until the eye has learned the first letter of each.
Key Takeaways: - פֿון (fun): "of" and also "from," "by," "than," "out of" - Always followed by the dative: פֿון דעם לערער, פֿון דער מאַמע, פֿון די קינדער, פֿון מיר, פֿון אים - Possession: the thing owned, then פֿון, then the owner: דער הונט פֿון דעם לערער - A person can also be the owner with -ס: בײלעס בריוו; a thing or place only with פֿון - Origin and sender: ער איז פֿון װאַרשע; אַ בריוו פֿון דער מאַמע; פֿון װאַנען? "from where?"; פֿון װעמען? "from whom?" - Material: דער טיש איז פֿון האָלץ. Author: אַ בוך פֿון אַ גרױסן שרײַבער - One of a group: אײנער פֿון די קינדער, אײנס פֿון די ביכער - Time: פֿון הײַנט אָן, "from today on." After a comparative: עלטער פֿון מיר, "older than me" - Not used between a unit and its substance (Lesson 4): אַ גלאָז טײ, not \*אַ גלאָז פֿון טײ - Do not confuse פֿון with פּון, which is not a word, nor with פֿאַר, "for"
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5.1a ער he איז is פֿון from װאַרשע Warsaw
5.1b er (er) he iz (iz) be.3SG fun (foon) from varshe (VAR-sheh) Warsaw
5.2a דאָס that איז is פֿון from מיר me
5.2b dos (doss) that iz (iz) be.3SG fun (foon) from mir (meer) me.DAT
5.3a זי she איז is פֿון from װילנע Vilna
5.3b zi (zee) she iz (iz) be.3SG fun (foon) from vilne (VIL-neh) Vilna
5.4a ער he איז is עלטער older פֿון than מיר me
5.4b er (er) he iz (iz) be.3SG elter (EL-ter) older fun (foon) than mir (meer) me.DAT
5.5a דער the בריוו letter איז is פֿון from דער the מאַמע mother
5.5b der (dair) the-M.NOM briv (brif) letter.M iz (iz) be.3SG fun (foon) from der (dair) the-F.DAT mame (MAH-meh) mother.F
5.6a איך I האָב have אַ a בריוו letter פֿון from אַ a גוטן good פֿרײַנד friend
5.6b ikh (ikh) I hob (hob) have.1SG a (ah) a briv (brif) letter.M fun (foon) from a (ah) a gutn (GOOT-n) good-M.DAT fraynd (frighnt) friend.M
5.7a דער the הונט dog פֿון of דעם the לערער teacher איז is גרױס big און and שײן beautiful
5.7b der (dair) the-M.NOM hunt (hoont) dog.M fun (foon) of dem (dem) the-M.DAT lerer (LEH-rer) teacher.M iz (iz) be.3SG groys (groys) big un (oon) and sheyn (shayn) beautiful
5.8a די the טאָכטער daughter פֿון of דעם the דאָקטער doctor איז is אַ a לערערין teacher
5.8b di (dee) the-F.NOM tokhter (TOKH-ter) daughter.F fun (foon) of dem (dem) the-M.DAT doktor (DOK-tor) doctor.M iz (iz) be.3SG a (ah) a lererin (LEH-reh-rin) teacher-F
5.9a אײנער one פֿון of די the קינדער children איז is קראַנק sick
5.9b eyner (AY-ner) one-M fun (foon) of di (dee) the-PL.DAT kinder (KIN-der) children.PL iz (iz) be.3SG krank (krahnk) sick
5.10a דער the װעג road פֿון from דער the שטאָט city צו to דעם the הױז house איז is לאַנג long
5.10b der (dair) the-M.NOM veg (vek) road.M fun (foon) from der (dair) the-F.DAT shtot (shtot) city.F tsu (tsoo) to dem (dem) the-N.DAT hoyz (hoyz) house.N iz (iz) be.3SG lang (lang) long
5.11a איך I בין am פֿון from אַ a קלײנער small שטאָט town אָבער but איך I װױן live אין in אַ a גרױסער big שטאָט city
5.11b ikh (ikh) I bin (bin) be.1SG fun (foon) from a (ah) a kleyner (KLAY-ner) small-F.DAT shtot (shtot) town.F ober (OH-ber) but ikh (ikh) I voyn (voyn) live.1SG in (in) in a (ah) a groyser (GROY-ser) big-F.DAT shtot (shtot) city.F
5.12a דער the טיש table איז is פֿון of האָלץ wood אָבער but דער the לעפֿל spoon איז is פֿון of זילבער silver
5.12b der (dair) the-M.NOM tish (tish) table.M iz (iz) be.3SG fun (foon) of holts (holts) wood ober (OH-ber) but der (dair) the-M.NOM lefl (LEF-l) spoon.M iz (iz) be.3SG fun (foon) of zilber (ZIL-ber) silver
5.13a דאָס the בוך book איז is געשריבן written פֿון by אַ a גרױסן great שרײַבער writer
5.13b dos (doss) the-N.NOM bukh (bookh) book.N iz (iz) be.3SG geshribn (geh-SHRIB-n) written fun (foon) by a (ah) a groysn (GROY-sn) great-M.DAT shrayber (SHRIGH-ber) writer.M
5.14a פֿון from הײַנט today אָן on איז is ער he מײַן my פֿרײַנד friend
5.14b fun (foon) from haynt (hight) today on (awn) on iz (iz) be.3SG er (er) he mayn (mine) my fraynd (frighnt) friend.M
5.15a דער the זיידע grandfather פֿון of דעם the לערער teacher איז is אַן an אַלטער old מאַן man פֿון of אַכציק eighty יאָר years
5.15b der (dair) the-M.NOM zeyde (ZAY-deh) grandfather.M fun (foon) of dem (dem) the-M.DAT lerer (LEH-rer) teacher.M iz (iz) be.3SG an (ahn) an alter (AL-ter) old-M.NOM man (mahn) man.M fun (foon) of akhtsik (AKH-tsik) eighty yor (yor) years
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5.1 ער איז פֿון װאַרשע. (er iz fun varshe) "He is from Warsaw." 5.2 דאָס איז פֿון מיר. (dos iz fun mir) "That is from me." 5.3 זי איז פֿון װילנע. (zi iz fun vilne) "She is from Vilna." 5.4 ער איז עלטער פֿון מיר. (er iz elter fun mir) "He is older than me." 5.5 דער בריוו איז פֿון דער מאַמע. (der briv iz fun der mame) "The letter is from Mother." 5.6 איך האָב אַ בריוו פֿון אַ גוטן פֿרײַנד. (ikh hob a briv fun a gutn fraynd) "I have a letter from a good friend." 5.7 דער הונט פֿון דעם לערער איז גרױס און שײן. (der hunt fun dem lerer iz groys un sheyn) "The teacher's dog is big and beautiful." 5.8 די טאָכטער פֿון דעם דאָקטער איז אַ לערערין. (di tokhter fun dem doktor iz a lererin) "The doctor's daughter is a teacher." 5.9 אײנער פֿון די קינדער איז קראַנק. (eyner fun di kinder iz krank) "One of the children is sick." 5.10 דער װעג פֿון דער שטאָט צו דעם הױז איז לאַנג. (der veg fun der shtot tsu dem hoyz iz lang) "The road from the city to the house is long." 5.11 איך בין פֿון אַ קלײנער שטאָט, אָבער איך װױן אין אַ גרױסער שטאָט. (ikh bin fun a kleyner shtot, ober ikh voyn in a groyser shtot) "I am from a small town, but I live in a big city." 5.12 דער טיש איז פֿון האָלץ, אָבער דער לעפֿל איז פֿון זילבער. (der tish iz fun holts, ober der lefl iz fun zilber) "The table is of wood, but the spoon is of silver." 5.13 דאָס בוך איז געשריבן פֿון אַ גרױסן שרײַבער. (dos bukh iz geshribn fun a groysn shrayber) "The book was written by a great writer." 5.14 פֿון הײַנט אָן איז ער מײַן פֿרײַנד. (fun haynt on iz er mayn fraynd) "From today on he is my friend." 5.15 דער זיידע פֿון דעם לערער איז אַן אַלטער מאַן פֿון אַכציק יאָר. (der zeyde fun dem lerer iz an alter man fun akhtsik yor) "The teacher's grandfather is an old man of eighty years."
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5.1 ער איז פֿון װאַרשע. 5.2 דאָס איז פֿון מיר. 5.3 זי איז פֿון װילנע. 5.4 ער איז עלטער פֿון מיר. 5.5 דער בריוו איז פֿון דער מאַמע. 5.6 איך האָב אַ בריוו פֿון אַ גוטן פֿרײַנד. 5.7 דער הונט פֿון דעם לערער איז גרױס און שײן. 5.8 די טאָכטער פֿון דעם דאָקטער איז אַ לערערין. 5.9 אײנער פֿון די קינדער איז קראַנק. 5.10 דער װעג פֿון דער שטאָט צו דעם הױז איז לאַנג. 5.11 איך בין פֿון אַ קלײנער שטאָט, אָבער איך װױן אין אַ גרױסער שטאָט. 5.12 דער טיש איז פֿון האָלץ, אָבער דער לעפֿל איז פֿון זילבער. 5.13 דאָס בוך איז געשריבן פֿון אַ גרױסן שרײַבער. 5.14 פֿון הײַנט אָן איז ער מײַן פֿרײַנד. 5.15 דער זיידע פֿון דעם לערער איז אַן אַלטער מאַן פֿון אַכציק יאָר.
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These are the grammar rules for פֿון (fun), "of, from."
Always the dative. Everything that stands after פֿון is in the dative: the article, the adjective, the noun and the pronoun. The article is דעם for a masculine or neuter noun, דער for a feminine one, and די for the plural: פֿון דעם לערער (5.7), פֿון דער מאַמע (5.5), פֿון די קינדער (5.9). The same is true of אין and אױף in Lesson 1. The adjective between אַ and the noun takes the dative endings of Lesson 4: פֿון אַ גוטן פֿרײַנד (5.6, masculine), פֿון אַ קלײנער שטאָט (5.11, feminine). The dative pronouns are מיר (mir), דיר (dir), אים (im), איר (ir), אונדז (undz), אײַך (aykh) and זײ (zey): so פֿון מיר (5.2), "from me," and פֿון אים, "from him." A noun with no article has no ending to show the case, as in פֿון װאַרשע (5.1) and פֿון האָלץ (5.12).
Contraction. Lesson 1 gave the contractions of the prepositions with דעם. For פֿון it is פֿונעם (funem): פֿונעם לערער for פֿון דעם לערער. The feminine and the plural do not contract. As elsewhere in this course, the full forms are written.
Possession. There is no genitive article in Yiddish, and so ownership is shown by פֿון. The owned thing goes first, then פֿון, then the owner in the dative: דער הונט פֿון דעם לערער (5.7), "the dog of the teacher"; די טאָכטער פֿון דעם דאָקטער (5.8); דער זיידע פֿון דעם לערער (5.15). English often says it the other way round, with 's, and the English order must not be copied. Where the owner is a person, and often when it is a name, Yiddish has a second way, with the ending -ס on the owner, put before the thing: בײלעס בריוו (beyles briv), "Beyle's letter," and דעם לערערס הונט (dem lerers hunt), "the teacher's dog," where the article is still in the dative. This is for people, and sometimes animals, only. For things and places only פֿון is used: דער װעג פֿון דער שטאָט (5.10), and never \*דער שטאָטס װעג. When in doubt, use פֿון, which is correct for every owner.
From: where someone or something comes from. English says "from" for origin, and so does פֿון: ער איז פֿון װאַרשע (5.1), זי איז פֿון װילנע (5.3), איך בין פֿון אַ קלײנער שטאָט (5.11). The verb is איז or בין, as in Lesson 2, and the idea of movement is not needed: it is only where the person comes from. Real movement away, as in "I come from the post office," takes the verb קומען (kumen), "to come," and פֿון: איך קום פֿון דער פּאָסט (5.17). The question words are פֿון װאַנען? (fun vanen), "from where?" (5.16, 5.20), and פֿון װעמען? (fun vemen), "from whom?" (5.18), with װעמען the dative of װער, "who."
From: who sent it. A letter or a gift is "from" someone: דער בריוו איז פֿון דער מאַמע (5.5), אַ בריוו פֿון אַ גוטן פֿרײַנד (5.6), דאָס איז פֿון מיר (5.2).
Of: what a thing is made of. The material follows פֿון with no article: דער טיש איז פֿון האָלץ (5.12), "the table is of wood"; דער לעפֿל איז פֿון זילבער, "the spoon is of silver." The same phrase can follow the noun directly: אַ לעפֿל פֿון זילבער, "a silver spoon."
By: who wrote it. After a past participle that says what was done, or after a noun that says what was made, פֿון names the maker: דאָס בוך איז געשריבן פֿון אַ גרױסן שרײַבער (5.13). English says "by." In the genre text, איז דאָס בוך פֿון אים? (5.24) asks whether the book is by him, and די ביכער פֿון די גרױסע שרײַבער (5.26) is "the books of the great writers."
One of a group. To pick one from a group that is already known, Yiddish uses אײנער (masculine), אײנע (feminine) or אײנס (neuter) with פֿון and the plural article: אײנער פֿון די קינדער (5.9), אײנער פֿון די לערער (5.22), אײנס פֿון די ביכער (5.27). The word for "one" takes the gender of the thing it stands for, and so a child is אײנער, but a book, a neuter noun, is אײנס. The group is in the plural, with די.
Than. After a comparative פֿון may stand for "than": ער איז עלטער פֿון מיר (5.4), "he is older than me." The comparative עלטער is from אַלט, "old," with the vowel changed, as the English "old, older" has it, and the pronoun is dative. This is only one of the ways Yiddish has of comparing, and the later lessons teach the others.
Time: from … on. For "from a time onward" the pair is פֿון … אָן, with the time between: פֿון הײַנט אָן (5.14), "from today on"; פֿון מאָרגן אָן, "from tomorrow on." The word אָן is also a preposition meaning "without," and the pair should not be mixed up with it. A phrase of this kind often comes first in the sentence, and the verb comes next, as in 5.14.
Number and age. A person's age and a quantity of years may be added to a noun with פֿון: אַ מאַן פֿון אַכציק יאָר (5.15), "a man of eighty years." The noun יאָר, "year," keeps the same form after a number.
Not between a unit and its substance. Lesson 4 taught that Yiddish puts the unit and the substance together, with no word for "of": אַ גלאָז טײ, אַ שטיק ברױט. פֿון does not go there. It appears with a substance only when the substance is a particular one and has the definite article, as the whole from which a part is taken: אַ שטיק פֿון דעם ברױט, "a piece of the bread."
Common Mistakes: - Writing the פּ with the dot: \*פּון. The word has the bar: פֿון - Using the nominative after פֿון: \*פֿון דער לערער. It is פֿון דעם לערער - Using the masculine article for a feminine noun: \*פֿון דעם שטאָט. It is פֿון דער שטאָט (5.10) - Using the English order of owner and thing: \*דער לערער הונט. It is דער הונט פֿון דעם לערער, or דעם לערערס הונט - Putting -ס on a thing or a place: \*דער שטאָטס װעג. It is דער װעג פֿון דער שטאָט - Using a nominative pronoun: \פֿון איך, \פֿון ער. It is פֿון מיר, פֿון אים - Putting פֿון between a unit and its substance: \*אַ גלאָז פֿון טײ. It is אַ גלאָז טײ - Using the singular article for the group: \*אײנער פֿון דער קינדער. It is אײנער פֿון די קינדער - Mixing up פֿון with פֿאַר (far), "for" - Mixing up פֿון, און, אין and אַן, which differ by a single letter or mark
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פֿון is the fifth word on the frequency list this course follows, and it is among the words that a reader meets in nearly every sentence of Yiddish prose. In speech it is short and unstressed, a quick fun said into the word after it.
Because פֿון is both "of" and "from," the same word serves for a person's belongings and for a person's home town: ער איז פֿון װילנע, "he is from Vilna." The question פֿון װאַנען קומסט דו? (fun vanen kumst du), "where do you come from?" is a common beginning of a conversation between strangers, and in the genre text of this lesson Beyle puts it to Leyzer. Warsaw (װאַרשע) and Vilna (װילנע) were two of the great cities of Yiddish culture, and for that reason they are the places of this lesson.
Several sayings turn on פֿון. One of the best known, found in the collections of Yiddish proverbs, is פֿון אַ חזיר־שװענצל קען מען קײן שטרײַמל נישט מאַכן (fun a khazer-shventsl ken men keyn shtrayml nisht makhn), "you cannot make a shtreiml out of a pig's tail." A שטרײַמל (shtrayml) is the round fur hat worn by Hasidic men, and the saying means that fine things cannot be made of poor stuff. It uses the "made of" פֿון of 5.12. The sources write the negative as nit, a spoken form, and this course writes נישט (nisht), as in the earlier lessons. The saying that opens Section F is another of this sort.
Finally, a word on register. פֿון is not marked: it is neither formal nor familiar, and it is correct everywhere. The ending -ס of the owner (בײלעס בריוו) is also correct, but only for a person, so for a learner פֿון is the safe choice.
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דאָס עפּעלע פֿאַלט נישט װײַט פֿון בײמעלע (Dos epele falt nisht vayt fun beymele), a traditional Yiddish proverb
This is a folk saying with no known author, quoted in English as "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree." The wording was checked in two places: the Wikiquote collection of Yiddish proverbs, and a bookseller's list of Yiddish proverbs and quotations. Both give it in transliteration as Dos epele falt nit vayt fun beymele, and the two agree. The Yiddish spelling here is normalised by the Latinum Institute to the YIVO standard, since the printed sources differ in how they spell some of the letters, so the text is a reconstruction in standard spelling and not a facsimile of any one printing. Both sources write the negative as nit; this course writes נישט (nisht).
דאָס עפּעלע פֿאַלט נישט װײַט פֿון בײמעלע.
F-A: Interlinear
F.1a דאָס the עפּעלע little-apple פֿאַלט falls נישט not װײַט far פֿון from בײמעלע little-tree
F.1b dos (doss) the-N.NOM epele (EH-peh-leh) apple-DIM.N falt (falt) fall.3SG nisht (nisht) not vayt (vight) far fun (foon) from beymele (BAY-meh-leh) tree-DIM.N
F-B: Original and Translation
דאָס עפּעלע פֿאַלט נישט װײַט פֿון בײמעלע.
"The little apple does not fall far from the little tree." (Translation: Latinum Institute.) The sense, as the English equivalent shows, is that children are like their parents. English drops the diminutives and says "the apple" and "the tree"; Yiddish keeps them, and the saying has a tenderness that the English does not.
F-C: Original
דאָס עפּעלע פֿאַלט נישט װײַט פֿון בײמעלע.
F-D: Grammar and Literary Commentary
The proverb has one פֿון, and it is the "from" of Section D: the apple falls, and the tree is the place that it comes from. The word װײַט (vayt), "far," comes before it, and the whole phrase װײַט פֿון (vayt fun) is "far from," as English says. The noun after פֿון is in the dative, as always, but it has no article and no ending to show it, which is the rule for a thing taken in general: not a particular tree, but any tree.
Both nouns are diminutives. The suffix -ל (here -עלע) makes a small thing, or a dear one, and a diminutive is always neuter, so the first word is דאָס, "the," in the neuter nominative. The word עפּל, "apple," of Lesson 4 becomes עפּעלע (epele), and בױם (boym), "tree," from the genre text of Lesson 4, becomes בײמעלע (beymele): the vowel ױ (oy) changes to ײ (ey), the same change that gives the plural בײמער (beymer), "trees." The verb פֿאַלט (falt) is the third person singular of פֿאַלן (faln), "to fall," and נישט, "not," stands before the adverb it limits: נישט װײַט, "not far."
The saying pictures descent, and so it belongs with the "of" of this lesson: what פֿון says of the apple and the tree is close to what it says of the dog and the teacher in 5.7, that the one is tied to the other.
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Beyle meets Leyzer in the street, outside the post office, and sees that he has a letter. The dialogue uses פֿון in each line: for where a person comes from, for who sent a letter, for who wrote a book, for a member of a group, and for time. It follows Beyle and Leyzer of Lesson 3.
5.16a בײלע Beyle פֿון from װאַנען where קומסט come דו you לײזער Leyzer
5.16b beyle (BAY-leh) Beyle fun (foon) from vanen (VAH-nen) where kumst (koomst) come.2SG du (doo) you.SG leyzer (LAY-zer) Leyzer
5.17a לײזער Leyzer איך I קום come פֿון from דער the פּאָסט post-office און and איך I האָב have אַ a בריוו letter
5.17b leyzer (LAY-zer) Leyzer ikh (ikh) I kum (koom) come.1SG fun (foon) from der (dair) the-F.DAT post (post) post-office.F un (oon) and ikh (ikh) I hob (hob) have.1SG a (ah) a briv (brif) letter.M
5.18a בײלע Beyle פֿון from װעמען whom איז is דער the בריוו
5.18b beyle (BAY-leh) Beyle fun (foon) from vemen (VEH-men) who.DAT iz (iz) be.3SG der (dair) the-M.NOM briv (brif) letter.M
5.19a לײזער Leyzer ער it איז is פֿון from אַ a גוטן good פֿרײַנד friend
5.19b leyzer (LAY-zer) Leyzer er (er) it.M iz (iz) be.3SG fun (foon) from a (ah) a gutn (GOOT-n) good-M.DAT fraynd (frighnt) friend.M
5.20a בײלע Beyle פֿון from װאַנען where איז is דער the פֿרײַנד
5.20b beyle (BAY-leh) Beyle fun (foon) from vanen (VAH-nen) where iz (iz) be.3SG der (dair) the-M.NOM fraynd (frighnt) friend.M
5.21a לײזער Leyzer ער he איז is פֿון from װילנע Vilna אָבער but ער he װױנט lives שױן already לאַנג long אין in װאַרשע Warsaw
5.21b leyzer (LAY-zer) Leyzer er (er) he iz (iz) be.3SG fun (foon) from vilne (VIL-neh) Vilna ober (OH-ber) but er (er) he voynt (voynt) live.3SG shoyn (shoyn) already lang (lang) long in (in) in varshe (VAR-sheh) Warsaw
5.22a בײלע Beyle איז is ער he אײנער one פֿון of די the לערער teachers
5.22b beyle (BAY-leh) Beyle iz (iz) be.3SG er (er) he eyner (AY-ner) one-M fun (foon) of di (dee) the-PL.DAT lerer (LEH-rer) teachers.PL
5.23a לײזער Leyzer ניין no ער he איז is אײנער one פֿון of די the שרײַבער writers און and ער he שיקט sends מיר me אַ a בוך book פֿון from װאַרשע Warsaw
5.23b leyzer (LAY-zer) Leyzer neyn (nine) no er (er) he iz (iz) be.3SG eyner (AY-ner) one-M fun (foon) of di (dee) the-PL.DAT shrayber (SHRIGH-ber) writers.PL un (oon) and er (er) he shikt (shikt) send.3SG mir (meer) me.DAT a (ah) a bukh (bookh) book.N fun (foon) from varshe (VAR-sheh) Warsaw
5.24a בײלע Beyle איז is דאָס the בוך book פֿון by אים him
5.24b beyle (BAY-leh) Beyle iz (iz) be.3SG dos (doss) the-N.NOM bukh (bookh) book.N fun (foon) by im (im) him.DAT
5.25a לײזער Leyzer יאָ yes דאָס the בוך book איז is פֿון by אים him און and דער the בריוו letter איז is אױך also פֿון from אים him
5.25b leyzer (LAY-zer) Leyzer yo (yoh) yes dos (doss) the-N.NOM bukh (bookh) book.N iz (iz) be.3SG fun (foon) by im (im) him.DAT un (oon) and der (dair) the-M.NOM briv (brif) letter.M iz (iz) be.3SG oykh (oykh) also fun (foon) from im (im) him.DAT
5.26a בײלע Beyle איך I האָב have ליב dear די the ביכער books פֿון of די the גרױסע great שרײַבער writers
5.26b beyle (BAY-leh) Beyle ikh (ikh) I hob (hob) have.1SG lib (lip) dear di (dee) the-PL.ACC bikher (BIKH-er) books.PL fun (foon) of di (dee) the-PL.DAT groyse (GROY-seh) great-PL shrayber (SHRIGH-ber) writers.PL
5.27a לײזער Leyzer איך I אױך too אָבער but איך I האָב have נאָר only אײנס one פֿון of די the ביכער books
5.27b leyzer (LAY-zer) Leyzer ikh (ikh) I oykh (oykh) too ober (OH-ber) but ikh (ikh) I hob (hob) have.1SG nor (nor) only eyns (ayns) one-N fun (foon) of di (dee) the-PL.DAT bikher (BIKH-er) books.PL
5.28a בײלע Beyle קום come לײזער Leyzer מיר we גײען go צוזאַמען together פֿון from דער the פּאָסט post-office צו to דעם the הױז
5.28b beyle (BAY-leh) Beyle kum (koom) come.IMP.SG leyzer (LAY-zer) Leyzer mir (meer) we geyen (GAY-en) go.1PL tsuzamen (tsoo-ZAH-men) together fun (foon) from der (dair) the-F.DAT post (post) post-office.F tsu (tsoo) to dem (dem) the-N.DAT hoyz (hoyz) house.N
5.29a לײזער Leyzer גוט good דער the װעג road פֿון from דער the פּאָסט post-office איז is נישט not לאַנג long
5.29b leyzer (LAY-zer) Leyzer gut (goot) good der (dair) the-M.NOM veg (vek) road.M fun (foon) from der (dair) the-F.DAT post (post) post-office.F iz (iz) be.3SG nisht (nisht) not lang (lang) long
5.30a בײלע Beyle און and פֿון from הײַנט today אָן on לײענען read מיר we די the ביכער books פֿון of דעם the גרױסן great שרײַבער writer צוזאַמען together
5.30b beyle (BAY-leh) Beyle un (oon) and fun (foon) from haynt (hight) today on (awn) on leynen (LAY-nen) read.1PL mir (meer) we di (dee) the-PL.ACC bikher (BIKH-er) books.PL fun (foon) of dem (dem) the-M.DAT groysn (GROY-sn) great-M.DAT shrayber (SHRIGH-ber) writer.M tsuzamen (tsoo-ZAH-men) together
5.16 בײלע: פֿון װאַנען קומסט דו, לײזער? (beyle: fun vanen kumst du, leyzer?) "Beyle: Where do you come from, Leyzer?" 5.17 לײזער: איך קום פֿון דער פּאָסט, און איך האָב אַ בריוו. (leyzer: ikh kum fun der post, un ikh hob a briv) "Leyzer: I come from the post office, and I have a letter." 5.18 בײלע: פֿון װעמען איז דער בריוו? (beyle: fun vemen iz der briv?) "Beyle: Who is the letter from?" 5.19 לײזער: ער איז פֿון אַ גוטן פֿרײַנד. (leyzer: er iz fun a gutn fraynd) "Leyzer: It is from a good friend." 5.20 בײלע: פֿון װאַנען איז דער פֿרײַנד? (beyle: fun vanen iz der fraynd?) "Beyle: Where is the friend from?" 5.21 לײזער: ער איז פֿון װילנע, אָבער ער װױנט שױן לאַנג אין װאַרשע. (leyzer: er iz fun vilne, ober er voynt shoyn lang in varshe) "Leyzer: He is from Vilna, but he has lived in Warsaw for a long time." 5.22 בײלע: איז ער אײנער פֿון די לערער? (beyle: iz er eyner fun di lerer?) "Beyle: Is he one of the teachers?" 5.23 לײזער: ניין, ער איז אײנער פֿון די שרײַבער, און ער שיקט מיר אַ בוך פֿון װאַרשע. (leyzer: neyn, er iz eyner fun di shrayber, un er shikt mir a bukh fun varshe) "Leyzer: No, he is one of the writers, and he is sending me a book from Warsaw." 5.24 בײלע: איז דאָס בוך פֿון אים? (beyle: iz dos bukh fun im?) "Beyle: Is the book by him?" 5.25 לײזער: יאָ, דאָס בוך איז פֿון אים, און דער בריוו איז אױך פֿון אים. (leyzer: yo, dos bukh iz fun im, un der briv iz oykh fun im) "Leyzer: Yes, the book is by him, and the letter is also from him." 5.26 בײלע: איך האָב ליב די ביכער פֿון די גרױסע שרײַבער. (beyle: ikh hob lib di bikher fun di groyse shrayber) "Beyle: I love the books of the great writers." 5.27 לײזער: איך אױך, אָבער איך האָב נאָר אײנס פֿון די ביכער. (leyzer: ikh oykh, ober ikh hob nor eyns fun di bikher) "Leyzer: So do I, but I have only one of the books." 5.28 בײלע: קום, לײזער, מיר גײען צוזאַמען פֿון דער פּאָסט צו דעם הױז. (beyle: kum, leyzer, mir geyen tsuzamen fun der post tsu dem hoyz) "Beyle: Come, Leyzer, we are going together from the post office to the house." 5.29 לײזער: גוט, דער װעג פֿון דער פּאָסט איז נישט לאַנג. (leyzer: gut, der veg fun der post iz nisht lang) "Leyzer: Good, the road from the post office is not long." 5.30 בײלע: און פֿון הײַנט אָן לײענען מיר די ביכער פֿון דעם גרױסן שרײַבער צוזאַמען. (beyle: un fun haynt on leynen mir di bikher fun dem groysn shrayber tsuzamen) "Beyle: And from today on we shall read the books of the great writer together."
5.16 בײלע: פֿון װאַנען קומסט דו, לײזער? 5.17 לײזער: איך קום פֿון דער פּאָסט, און איך האָב אַ בריוו. 5.18 בײלע: פֿון װעמען איז דער בריוו? 5.19 לײזער: ער איז פֿון אַ גוטן פֿרײַנד. 5.20 בײלע: פֿון װאַנען איז דער פֿרײַנד? 5.21 לײזער: ער איז פֿון װילנע, אָבער ער װױנט שױן לאַנג אין װאַרשע. 5.22 בײלע: איז ער אײנער פֿון די לערער? 5.23 לײזער: ניין, ער איז אײנער פֿון די שרײַבער, און ער שיקט מיר אַ בוך פֿון װאַרשע. 5.24 בײלע: איז דאָס בוך פֿון אים? 5.25 לײזער: יאָ, דאָס בוך איז פֿון אים, און דער בריוו איז אױך פֿון אים. 5.26 בײלע: איך האָב ליב די ביכער פֿון די גרױסע שרײַבער. 5.27 לײזער: איך אױך, אָבער איך האָב נאָר אײנס פֿון די ביכער. 5.28 בײלע: קום, לײזער, מיר גײען צוזאַמען פֿון דער פּאָסט צו דעם הױז. 5.29 לײזער: גוט, דער װעג פֿון דער פּאָסט איז נישט לאַנג. 5.30 בײלע: און פֿון הײַנט אָן לײענען מיר די ביכער פֿון דעם גרױסן שרײַבער צוזאַמען.
Where from (5.16, 5.17, 5.20, 5.21). Beyle's question is פֿון װאַנען קומסט דו? and the answer repeats פֿון: איך קום פֿון דער פּאָסט. Here the verb really is movement, "come," and so it is קומען. When the question is about origin, it is זײַן: פֿון װאַנען איז דער פֿרײַנד? The answer is ער איז פֿון װילנע, and the other verb, װױנען (voynen), "to live," says where he lives now, with אין and not with פֿון.
The verb before the subject (5.16, 5.18, 5.20, 5.22, 5.24). The questions that begin with פֿון and a question word have the verb second: פֿון װעמען איז דער בריוו? A question with no question word has the verb first: איז ער אײנער פֿון די לערער? איז דאָס בוך פֿון אים? This is the order of Lesson 1.
Who and whom (5.18). װער (ver), "who," is nominative. After a preposition it is dative, װעמען (vemen): פֿון װעמען? "from whom?" English would also say "whom" in a formal style.
A pronoun for a thing (5.19). The letter is דער בריוו, a masculine noun, and so the pronoun that stands for it is ער, "he" or "it": ער איז פֿון אַ גוטן פֿרײַנד. Yiddish does not use "it" for a masculine or a feminine noun, as English does. Only a neuter noun is עס or דאָס.
Two sentences joined (5.21, 5.23, 5.25). אָבער, "but," and און, "and," join two whole clauses, each with its own subject. The second clause of 5.21 begins with ער װױנט, with the verb next to the subject, which is the word order that follows a joining word.
A short answer (5.27). איך אױך, "I too," leaves out the verb, as English does in "me too." The sentence goes on with אָבער and a new clause.
By and from (5.24, 5.25). פֿון אים, "by him," says who wrote the book, and the same phrase says who sent the letter. Which of the two is meant comes from the noun: a book is written, a letter is sent.
"Have dear" (5.26). האָבן ליב (hobn lib) is "to love, to like": איך האָב ליב די ביכער. The word ליב is an adjective, "dear," and it is not changed. It is a word for fondness, and not for passion.
One of the books (5.27). The neuter אײנס stands for a book, because בוך is neuter, and so אײנס פֿון די ביכער, with the plural article. Compare אײנער פֿון די שרײַבער (5.23), where the writers are people, and the word is masculine.
Commands and "we" (5.28, 5.30). קום is the imperative of קומען (compare Lesson 2, זײַ). The "we" form of a verb is the same as the infinitive: מיר גײען, מיר לײענען. The word צוזאַמען (tsuzamen), "together," comes at the end in 5.30, and the first thing in the sentence is the time, פֿון הײַנט אָן, as in 5.14.
The road (5.29). דער װעג פֿון דער פּאָסט is the pattern of 5.10, with the same פֿון, and here the negative נישט stands before the adjective: נישט לאַנג, "not long."
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The respellings follow the Standard Yiddish pronunciation of the YIVO tradition, as in Lessons 1 to 4, and the transliteration is the YIVO romanisation.
פֿון (fun) — IPA: /fʊn/ — A short u, as in English "put," between f and n. The פֿ (fey, with a bar) is f, and not p. פֿאַר (far) — IPA: /far/ — The look-alike for "for." The vowel is the pasekh alef, אַ, of Lesson 4. פֿרײַנד (fraynd) — IPA: /fraɪnt/ — The ײַ is ay, as in English "nigh," and the final d is said as t. פֿאַלט (falt) — IPA: /falt/ — As in פֿאַר, with the vowel a. בריוו (briv) — IPA: /brɪf/ — The final v is said as f at the end of a word, as the d of פֿרײַנד is said as t. װעג (veg) — IPA: /vɛk/ — The װ is v, and the final g is said as k. װאַנען (vanen) — IPA: /ˈvanən/ — Stress on the first syllable. The װ is v and the second vowel is a short, weak e. װעמען (vemen) — IPA: /ˈvɛmən/ — Stress on the first syllable, with the weak e at the end. קומסט (kumst) — IPA: /kʊmst/ — A short u, as in פֿון. װאַרשע (varshe) — IPA: /ˈvarʃə/ — The ש is sh, and the final ע is a weak e. װילנע (vilne) — IPA: /ˈvɪlnə/ — The ע at the end is weak, as in װאַרשע. עלטער (elter) — IPA: /ˈɛltər/ — The ע at the start is e, as in "bed," and the one at the end is weak. אײנער (eyner) — IPA: /ˈeɪnər/ — The ײ is ey, as in "hay." The vowel is stressed on the first syllable. אײנס (eyns) — IPA: /eɪns/ — The same ײ, followed by ns. קראַנק (krank) — IPA: /krank/ — The n before k is said as ng. טאָכטער (tokhter) — IPA: /ˈtɔxtər/ — The אָ is the vowel of British "dog," and the כ is kh, the sound of Scottish "loch" and German "ach." האָלץ (holts) — IPA: /hɔlts/ — The vowel of British "dog," and ts as in "cats." זילבער (zilber) — IPA: /ˈzɪlbər/ — A short i, as in "kit." לעפֿל (lefl) — IPA: /ˈlɛfl̩/ — Stress on the first syllable, and a syllabic l at the end. געשריבן (geshribn) — IPA: /ɡəˈʃrɪbn̩/ — Stress on the second syllable. The n at the end is syllabic. שרײַבער (shrayber) — IPA: /ˈʃraɪbər/ — The ײַ is ay, as in English "nigh." הײַנט (haynt) — IPA: /haɪnt/ — The ײַ is ay, as in שרײַבער. מײַן (mayn) — IPA: /maɪn/ — The same ײַ. אָן (on) — IPA: /ɔn/ — The vowel of British "dog," and not the word און (un). אַכציק (akhtsik) — IPA: /ˈaxtsɪk/ — Stress on the first syllable. The כ is kh, followed by ts. יאָר (yor) — IPA: /jɔr/ — The י is the consonant y, and אָ is the vowel of "dog." פּאָסט (post) — IPA: /pɔst/ — The פּ (pey, with a dot) is p. ליב (lib) — IPA: /lɪp/ — The final b is said as p. ביכער (bikher) — IPA: /ˈbɪxər/ — The כ is kh. גײען (geyen) — IPA: /ˈɡeɪən/ — The ײ is ey. צוזאַמען (tsuzamen) — IPA: /tsuˈzamən/ — Stress on the second syllable. Vowel letters: ו is u, װ is v, ױ is oy /ɔɪ/, ײ is ey /eɪ/, ײַ is ay /aɪ/, י is i, ע is e /ɛ/, אַ is a /a/, אָ is o /ɔ/. The letters ן (final nun), ם (final mem), ך (final khof) and ף (final fey) are used only at the end of a word.
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Course Index: [latinum.substack.com/p/index](https://latinum.substack.com/p/index)