For autodidact students of Yiddish, the eighth word is "I," and in Yiddish "I" is איך (ikh). The learner has met it since the first lesson, in איך בין שוין אין דער קיך (ikh bin shoyn in der kikh), "I am already in the kitchen," and in the present tense of זײַן in Lesson 2, איך בין, דו ביסט, ער איז. This lesson takes it as the headword and shows what it does. It is the subject pronoun of the first person singular, the word with which a speaker refers to the speaker: איך זע (ikh ze), "I see," איך האָב (ikh hob), "I have," איך װיל (ikh vil), "I want."
English writes "I" with a capital letter, and Yiddish does not: איך is spelled like any other word. The more important difference is in the verb. In the present tense the first person singular of most Yiddish verbs is the bare stem, the infinitive without its ending: זען (zen) gives איך זע, קומען (kumen) gives איך קום, נעמען (nemen) gives איך נעם, גײען (geyen) gives איך גײ. The other persons add an ending, ער זעט, ער גײט, דו האָסט, and so the first person has no ending to tell the reader who acts. The pronoun does that work, and Yiddish therefore says it in every sentence: איך זע אים, never a bare זע. A few verbs have a first person of their own: איך בין, "I am," איך װיל, "I want," איך מוז, "I must."
The pronoun has three forms, one for each case the course has met. The subject is איך. The direct object is מיך (mikh): ער זעט מיך, "he sees me." The dative, the case of the indirect object and of the word after a preposition, is מיר (mir): דער דאָקטער גיט מיר אַ בריוו, "the doctor gives me a letter," and צו מיר, "to me," פֿון מיר, "from me," אין מיר, "in me," as Lessons 5, 6 and 7 gave the dative after פֿון, צו and אין. Two references consulted for this lesson, the Yiddish entries of Wiktionary and the English Wikipedia article on Yiddish grammar, give the same three forms: איך, מיך, מיר.
Here is the trap of the lesson. The word מיר is not only "to me": it is also the plural subject "we," as in מיר גײען, "we go," which the learner met in Lesson 7. The two words are the same in spelling and in sound. The verb tells them apart: after the plural subject מיר the verb has the ending -ען (מיר טרינקען, מיר זענען), and the dative מיר stands with a verb whose subject is another word (גיט מיר, זאָגט מיר). Context does the rest. The word for "us" is a different word, אונדז (undz), which belongs to a later lesson.
The related word of possession is מײַן (mayn), "my," which stands before its noun: מײַן פֿרײַנד, "my friend," מײַן מאַמע, "my mother." This lesson uses it only in its plain form, as the first word of a subject. The endings which it takes in the other cases the course leaves to a later lesson.
The word is a cousin of German ich, and both come from the same Germanic root as English "I": Wiktionary gives it as from Middle High German ich, through Old High German ih. Hebrew has its own word for "I," אני (ani), and Yiddish does not use it: the Yiddish pronoun is a Germanic word, like most of the grammar around it. In fast, informal speech and writing the pronoun is often contracted before a verb, and is then written כ׳ with an apostrophe: כ׳בין, כ׳װיל. The course writes the full איך, and the learner who finds the short form in a text should know it. In some southern dialects the word is said ekh or yakh; the course keeps the standard ikh.
Script note: איך has three letters, written from right to left: the א (alef, silent, which carries the vowel), the י (yud, here the vowel i) and the final ך (khof, the sound kh). The last letter is the final form of the כ, used only at the end of a word, and it is told from the final ן of אין by its flat top, which bends over to the left. The word looks like אין (Lesson 7) and like איז (Lesson 2), and the last letter is what tells the three apart: איך, אין, איז. Take care that the kh is the sound of Scottish "loch," not k, and that the vowel is the short i of English "it," not ee.
Key Takeaways: - איך (ikh): "I," the subject pronoun of the first person singular, never written with a capital - Always said: the first person of the verb is the bare stem, so the pronoun tells who acts: איך זע, איך קום, איך גײ - Three forms: איך (subject), מיך (direct object), מיר (dative and after prepositions) - מיר is also "we" (nominative plural): the verb ending -ען shows which - The verb is second: הײַנט בין איך, אין װינטער לײען איך, װאָס האָב איך? - With a modal the second verb is the bare infinitive: איך װיל װיסן, איך מוז גײן - "My name is …" is איך הײס …, literally "I am called …" - Negative: נישט after the verb: איך בין נישט קראַנק - The related possessive is מײַן, "my" - Do not confuse איך with אין, "in," or איז, "is"; informal speech contracts it to כ׳
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8.1a איך I בין am דאָ here
8.1b ikh (ikh) I bin (bin) be.1SG do (doh) here
8.2a איך I האָב have אַ a בוך book
8.2b ikh (ikh) I hob (hob) have.1SG a (ah) a bukh (bookh) book.N
8.3a איך I זע see דעם the גאָרטן garden
8.3b ikh (ikh) I ze (zeh) see.1SG dem (dem) the-M.ACC gortn (GOR-tn) garden.M
8.4a איך I הײס am-called לײזער Leyzer
8.4b ikh (ikh) I heys (hayss) be-called.1SG leyzer (LAY-zer) Leyzer
8.5a איך I גײ go אין in שול school
8.5b ikh (ikh) I gey (gay) go.1SG in (in) in shul (shool) school.F
8.6a הײַנט today בין am איך I אין in דער the שטוב room
8.6b haynt (highnt) today bin (bin) be.1SG ikh (ikh) I in (in) in der (dair) the-F.DAT shtub (shtoob) room.F
8.7a איך I בין am נישט not קראַנק sick איך I בין am געזונט well
8.7b ikh (ikh) I bin (bin) be.1SG nisht (nisht) not krank (krahnk) sick ikh (ikh) I bin (bin) be.1SG gezunt (geh-ZOONT) well
8.8a װאָס what האָב have איך I אין in דער the האַנט hand
8.8b vos (voss) what hob (hob) have.1SG ikh (ikh) I in (in) in der (dair) the-F.DAT hant (hahnt) hand.F
8.9a קום come צו to מיר me איך I האָב have טײ tea
8.9b kum (koom) come.IMP.SG tsu (tsoo) to mir (meer) me.DAT ikh (ikh) I hob (hob) have.1SG tey (tay) tea
8.10a איך I זע see אים him און and ער he זעט sees מיך me
8.10b ikh (ikh) I ze (zeh) see.1SG im (im) him.ACC un (oon) and er (er) he zet (zet) see.3SG mikh (mikh) me.ACC
8.11a װען when איך I בין am אין in שטוב house איז is שטיל quiet
8.11b ven (ven) when ikh (ikh) I bin (bin) be.1SG in (in) in shtub (shtoob) house.F iz (iz) be.3SG shtil (shtil) quiet
8.12a אין in װינטער winter לײען read איך I אַ a בוך book אין in דער the שטוב room
8.12b in (in) in vinter (VIN-ter) winter.M leyen (LAY-en) read.1SG ikh (ikh) I a (ah) a bukh (bookh) book.N in (in) in der (dair) the-F.DAT shtub (shtoob) room.F
8.13a איך I מוז must גײן go אָבער but איך I קום come באַלד soon װידער again
8.13b ikh (ikh) I muz (mooz) must.1SG geyn (gayn) go.INF ober (OH-ber) but ikh (ikh) I kum (koom) come.1SG bald (bahld) soon vider (VEE-der) again
8.14a דער the דאָקטער doctor גיט gives מיר me אַ a בריוו letter און and איך I לײען read דעם the בריוו letter אין in דער the קיך kitchen
8.14b der (dair) the-M.NOM doktor (DOK-tor) doctor.M git (git) give.3SG mir (meer) me.DAT a (ah) a briv (brif) letter.M un (oon) and ikh (ikh) I leyen (LAY-en) read.1SG dem (dem) the-M.ACC briv (brif) letter.M in (in) in der (dair) the-F.DAT kikh (kikh) kitchen.F
8.15a איך I װיל want װיסן to-know װאָס what שטײט stands אין in דעם the בריוו letter
8.15b ikh (ikh) I vil (vil) want.1SG visn (VIS-n) know.INF vos (voss) what shteyt (shtayt) stand.3SG in (in) in dem (dem) the-M.DAT briv (brif) letter.M
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8.1 איך בין דאָ. (ikh bin do) "I am here." 8.2 איך האָב אַ בוך. (ikh hob a bukh) "I have a book." 8.3 איך זע דעם גאָרטן. (ikh ze dem gortn) "I see the garden." 8.4 איך הײס לײזער. (ikh heys leyzer) "My name is Leyzer." 8.5 איך גײ אין שול. (ikh gey in shul) "I go to school." 8.6 הײַנט בין איך אין דער שטוב. (haynt bin ikh in der shtub) "Today I am in the room." 8.7 איך בין נישט קראַנק, איך בין געזונט. (ikh bin nisht krank, ikh bin gezunt) "I am not sick, I am well." 8.8 װאָס האָב איך אין דער האַנט? (vos hob ikh in der hant) "What do I have in my hand?" 8.9 קום צו מיר, איך האָב טײ. (kum tsu mir, ikh hob tey) "Come to me, I have tea." 8.10 איך זע אים און ער זעט מיך. (ikh ze im un er zet mikh) "I see him and he sees me." 8.11 װען איך בין אין שטוב, איז שטיל. (ven ikh bin in shtub, iz shtil) "When I am indoors, it is quiet." 8.12 אין װינטער לײען איך אַ בוך אין דער שטוב. (in vinter leyen ikh a bukh in der shtub) "In winter I read a book in the room." 8.13 איך מוז גײן, אָבער איך קום באַלד װידער. (ikh muz geyn, ober ikh kum bald vider) "I must go, but I shall come again soon." 8.14 דער דאָקטער גיט מיר אַ בריוו, און איך לײען דעם בריוו אין דער קיך. (der doktor git mir a briv, un ikh leyen dem briv in der kikh) "The doctor gives me a letter, and I read the letter in the kitchen." 8.15 איך װיל װיסן װאָס שטײט אין דעם בריוו. (ikh vil visn vos shteyt in dem briv) "I want to know what the letter says."
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8.1 איך בין דאָ. 8.2 איך האָב אַ בוך. 8.3 איך זע דעם גאָרטן. 8.4 איך הײס לײזער. 8.5 איך גײ אין שול. 8.6 הײַנט בין איך אין דער שטוב. 8.7 איך בין נישט קראַנק, איך בין געזונט. 8.8 װאָס האָב איך אין דער האַנט? 8.9 קום צו מיר, איך האָב טײ. 8.10 איך זע אים און ער זעט מיך. 8.11 װען איך בין אין שטוב, איז שטיל. 8.12 אין װינטער לײען איך אַ בוך אין דער שטוב. 8.13 איך מוז גײן, אָבער איך קום באַלד װידער. 8.14 דער דאָקטער גיט מיר אַ בריוו, און איך לײען דעם בריוו אין דער קיך. 8.15 איך װיל װיסן װאָס שטײט אין דעם בריוו.
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These are the grammar rules for איך (ikh), "I."
The three forms. The first person singular has a form for each of the cases the course has met: the nominative איך, the accusative מיך, the dative מיר. The nominative is the subject: איך זע (8.3). The accusative is the direct object, the thing seen, taken or loved: ער זעט מיך (8.10). The dative is the indirect object and the word after a preposition: דער דאָקטער גיט מיר אַ בריוו (8.14), קום צו מיר (8.9). This is the rule of Lessons 1, 5, 6 and 7: after פֿון, צו and אין the pronoun is in the dative, and so it is צו מיר, פֿון מיר, אין מיר, and never *צו מיך. The same three-way division returns in the pronoun of the second person, דו, דיר, דיך, which the genre section and the citation of this lesson show in use. The forms for the other persons come with their own lessons.
The bare stem. The first person singular of the present tense is the stem, without an ending. The infinitives are זען, קומען, גײען, לײענען, נעמען, and the first persons are איך זע (8.3), איך קום (8.13), איך גײ (8.5), איך לײען (8.12), איך נעם (8.30). Compare the third person, which adds -ט: ער זעט (8.10), ער גײט, ער לײענט. The second person adds -סט: דו האָסט, דו טרינקסט. The plural adds -ען: מיר גײען, מיר טרינקען. Because the first person has no ending, the pronoun must be said.
Irregular first persons. זײַן has בין: איך בין (8.1), the form of Lesson 2, with דו ביסט, ער איז, מיר זענען. האָבן has איך האָב (8.2), which is the stem. The verbs of wanting and necessity have forms of their own: איך װיל (8.15), "I want," from װילן, and איך מוז (8.13), "I must," from מוזן. Both are followed by the bare infinitive, with no word for "to": איך װיל װיסן, "I want to know," איך מוז גײן, "I must go." This is not the צו of Lesson 6, which stands before the infinitive after an adjective such as שװער.
Word order. The verb stands second in the sentence, and the pronoun follows it when something else stands first. With a time phrase first: הײַנט בין איך אין דער שטוב (8.6), אין װינטער לײען איך אַ בוך (8.12), אין פֿרילינג קום איך (8.25). In a question with a question word: װאָס האָב איך אין דער האַנט? (8.8). In the order of a plain statement the pronoun comes first: איך בין דאָ (8.1). When a whole clause stands first, the main clause begins with its verb: װען איך בין אין שטוב, איז שטיל (8.11), as in Lesson 7: אין דער שטוב איז שטיל. The word אָבער, "but," stands outside the order, as Lesson 1 showed: אָבער איך קום באַלד װידער (8.13).
Two clauses, one pronoun. The course repeats the pronoun in a second clause, as in 8.7, איך בין נישט קראַנק, איך בין געזונט, and 8.14, ... און איך לײען דעם בריוו. The learner should do the same: each clause has its own איך.
The negative. נישט stands after the verb and after the pronoun: איך בין נישט קראַנק (8.7). It stands as in Lesson 1: ... דאָס ברױט זע איך נישט.
"My name is …". For a name Yiddish uses איך הײס לײזער (8.4), "I am called Leyzer," with the verb הײסן (heysn), where English says "my name is." The first person is the stem הײס, and so it is written like the adjective הײס, "hot," of Lesson 7 (עס איז הײס): the same letters are two words, and the context tells them apart. The third person is ער הײסט. מיר "me" and מיר "we". The two words are written the same, and so the learner reads the verb. Plural subject: מיר טרינקען טײ (8.19), with the ending -ען. Dative: דער דאָקטער גיט מיר אַ בריוו (8.14), זאָגט מיר (8.24), שרײַב מיר (8.27), with a verb of another subject. After an imperative such as שרײַב, "write," the word מיר is the dative, "to me."
Subject and object together. The sentence איך זע אים און ער זעט מיך (8.10) shows both forms at once: the subject איך in the first clause, the object מיך in the second. The word אים (im) is "him," the object form of ער, which belongs to a later lesson. English behaves in the same way ("I see him and he sees me").
Subordinate clauses. After װען, "when," אַז, "that," and װאָס, "what," the pronoun stands after the conjunction: װען איך בין אין שטוב (8.11), אַז איך בין שױן געזונט (8.24), as Lesson 7 had it in אַז איך בין געזונט. In 8.15, איך װיל װיסן װאָס שטײט אין דעם בריוו, the clause װאָס שטײט אין דעם בריוו is the object of װיסן, and its verb follows װאָס at once.
Common Mistakes: - Leaving out the pronoun, as in a language which does without it: \*זע דעם גאָרטן. It is איך זע דעם גאָרטן - Using מיר as the subject: \*מיר בין דאָ. It is איך בין דאָ - Using איך as the object: \*ער זעט איך. It is ער זעט מיך - Using the accusative after a preposition: \*צו מיך. It is צו מיר - Putting the pronoun before the verb after a time phrase: \*הײַנט איך בין אין דער שטוב. It is הײַנט בין איך אין דער שטוב - Using the third person ending with איך: \איך זעט, \איך גײט. It is איך זע, איך גײ - Putting צו before the infinitive after a modal: \*איך װיל צו װיסן. It is איך װיל װיסן - Reading the final ך as ן, and so איך as אין, or writing the one for the other - Reading the kh as k, or the vowel as ee: the word is ikh, short and unstressed
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איך is the eighth word on the frequency list this course follows, and it is among the words which a reader meets in every line of speech and of a letter. It is unstressed in a sentence, said quickly, ikh, and in informal speech and writing it is contracted before a verb, which gives the כ׳בין and כ׳װיל mentioned in the Introduction. The full form is correct in every register.
A word on the sound. The final kh is the sound of Scottish "loch," said at the back of the mouth. The English speaker will tend to say ik, and so should practise the final sound. The vowel is short, as in English "it."
Letters are the place where איך stands most naturally, since a letter is one person speaking to another, and the Genre Section of this lesson is a letter. The first person איך is answered in it by the second person, דו, דיר, דיך. The next section takes a song whose title has the pair in it: איך as subject, דיך as object.
Hebrew and Aramaic gave Yiddish a great part of its religious and learned vocabulary, and they did not give it its pronouns. The word for "I" in the language is Germanic, and so are the words for "you," "he," "she," "it" and "we." A Yiddish speaker who knows Hebrew has two words for "I," and uses them in two languages: איך in Yiddish, אני in Hebrew.
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איך האָב דיך צו פֿיל ליב (Ikh hob dikh tsu fil lib), a song of 1933 or 1934 from the musical comedy Der Katerinshtshik, music by Alexander Olshanetsky, words by Chaim Tauber
The song Ikh hob dikh tsu fil lib, "I love you too much," is one of the best known love songs in Yiddish. It was written by the composer Alexander Olshanetsky and the lyricist Chaim Tauber (spelled Towber in some sources) for the musical comedy Der Katerinshtshik, "The Organ-Grinder," which was played at David Kessler's Second Avenue Theatre in New York. The title was checked in these places: the English Wikipedia article on the song, which gives the Yiddish title as איך האָב דיך צו פֿיל ליב, the authors, and the date of 1933 and the first season of 1933–1934; the Freedman Catalogue of the University of Pennsylvania, which lists the work under the same Yiddish title and the English title "I Love You Much Too Much," with the show Di Katerinshtshik and the date 1934; and the page of the Yiddish song archive for a different song, Ikh hob dikh lib vi a peysakhdikn rosl, which shows the same construction in romanisation, ikh hob dikh lib, in a folk text. The two main sources differ by a year, and so the lesson says "1933 or 1934." Only the title is cited: the lesson does not quote from the words of the song, since only a line in romanisation was seen and none was checked in Yiddish letters against more than one printed text. The title is given in the YIVO standard spelling.
איך האָב דיך צו פֿיל ליב
F-A: Interlinear
F.1a איך I האָב have דיך you צו too פֿיל much ליב dear
F.1b ikh (ikh) I hob (hob) have.1SG dikh (dikh) you.ACC tsu (tsoo) too fil (fil) much lib (lip) dear
F-B: Original and Translation
איך האָב דיך צו פֿיל ליב
"I love you too much." (Translation: Latinum Institute.) Word for word the Yiddish says "I have you too much dear." The English title of the song is "I Love You Much Too Much."
F-C: Original
איך האָב דיך צו פֿיל ליב
F-D: Grammar and Literary Commentary
The sentence is built on the first person singular. איך is the subject, and the verb האָב is the stem of האָבן, "to have," which is the first person as in 8.2. The pronoun דיך (dikh) is the accusative of דו, "you," and it stands to דו as מיך stands to איך: the same ending -יך marks the object of the first and second persons. The Yiddish for "to love, to be fond of" is the construction האָבן with an object and the adjective ליב (lib), "dear": איך האָב דיך ליב, "I have you dear." The folk text in the song archive uses the same construction, ikh hob dikh lib, followed by a comparison.
The two small words צו פֿיל deserve a look. The word צו is spelled as the preposition "to" of Lesson 6, but here it is another word, "too," which stands before an adjective or an adverb of quantity: צו פֿיל, "too much." The learner who reads it as the preposition will make no sense of the title. The word פֿיל (fil), "much," is written with the פֿ, the bar letter, which is f. The final ב of ליב is said as p, a final consonant said hard, as in שטוב.
The title is a complete sentence of the kind that this lesson teaches: pronoun, verb, object in the accusative, and the words of degree after it. Compare 8.10, איך זע אים און ער זעט מיך, where the accusative מיך stands as דיך does here.
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Leyzer, who in Lesson 7 came to Beyle's house and promised to come into her garden in summer, is now in Warsaw, and it is winter. He writes her a letter. A letter is one person speaking, and the first person singular stands in every line. It follows Beyle and Leyzer of Lessons 5, 6 and 7.
8.16a ליבע dear בײלע Beyle איך I שרײַב write דיר you אַ a בריוו letter פֿון from װאַרשע Warsaw
8.16b libe (LEE-beh) dear-F beyle (BAY-leh) Beyle ikh (ikh) I shrayb (shrighp) write.1SG dir (deer) you.DAT a (ah) a briv (brif) letter.M fun (foon) from varshe (VAR-sheh) Warsaw
8.17a איך I בין am שױן already אַ a װאָך week אין in װאַרשע Warsaw
8.17b ikh (ikh) I bin (bin) be.1SG shoyn (shoyn) already a (ah) a vokh (vokh) week.F in (in) in varshe (VAR-sheh) Warsaw
8.18a אין in װינטער winter איז is קאַלט cold אין in דער the שטאָט city אָבער but איך I האָב have אַ a װאַרעמע warm שטוב room
8.18b in (in) in vinter (VIN-ter) winter.M iz (iz) be.3SG kalt (kahlt) cold in (in) in der (dair) the-F.DAT shtot (shtot) city.F ober (OH-ber) but ikh (ikh) I hob (hob) have.1SG a (ah) a vareme (VAH-reh-meh) warm-F.ACC shtub (shtoob) room.F
8.19a איך I האָב have דאָ here אַ a גוטן good פֿרײַנד friend און and מיר we טרינקען drink טײ tea אין in דער the קיך kitchen
8.19b ikh (ikh) I hob (hob) have.1SG do (doh) here a (ah) a gutn (GOOT-n) good-M.ACC fraynd (frighnt) friend.M un (oon) and mir (meer) we trinken (TRIN-ken) drink.1PL tey (tay) tea in (in) in der (dair) the-F.DAT kikh (kikh) kitchen.F
8.20a אין in דער the פֿרי morning לײען read איך I אַ a בוך book אין in דער the שטוב room
8.20b in (in) in der (dair) the-F.DAT fri (free) morning.F leyen (LAY-en) read.1SG ikh (ikh) I a (ah) a bukh (bookh) book.N in (in) in der (dair) the-F.DAT shtub (shtoob) room.F
8.21a װי how גײט goes עס it דיר you בײלע Beyle איך I װיל want װיסן to-know
8.21b vi (vee) how geyt (gayt) go.3SG es (es) it dir (deer) you.DAT beyle (BAY-leh) Beyle ikh (ikh) I vil (vil) want.1SG visn (VIS-n) know.INF
8.22a איך I זאָג say דיר you אַ a דאַנק thanks פֿאַר for דעם the טײ tea אין in דעם the גאָרטן garden
8.22b ikh (ikh) I zog (zok) say.1SG dir (deer) you.DAT a (ah) a dank (dahnk) thanks.M far (far) for dem (dem) the-M.ACC tey (tay) tea.M in (in) in dem (dem) the-M.DAT gortn (GOR-tn) garden.M
8.23a איך I האָב have אַ a בילד picture פֿון of דעם the גאָרטן garden אין in דער the שטוב room
8.23b ikh (ikh) I hob (hob) have.1SG a (ah) a bild (bilt) picture.N fun (foon) of dem (dem) the-M.DAT gortn (GOR-tn) garden.M in (in) in der (dair) the-F.DAT shtub (shtoob) room.F
8.24a מײַן my פֿרײַנד friend זאָגט says מיר me אַז that איך I בין am שױן already געזונט well
8.24b mayn (mighn) my fraynd (frighnt) friend.M zogt (zokt) say.3SG mir (meer) me.DAT az (ahz) that ikh (ikh) I bin (bin) be.1SG shoyn (shoyn) already gezunt (geh-ZOONT) well
8.25a אין in פֿרילינג spring קום come איך I װידער again צו to דיר you
8.25b in (in) in friling (FREE-ling) spring.M kum (koom) come.1SG ikh (ikh) I vider (VEE-der) again tsu (tsoo) to dir (deer) you.DAT
8.26a איך I שיק send דיר you אַ a בוך book מיט with שײנע beautiful בילדער pictures
8.26b ikh (ikh) I shik (shik) send.1SG dir (deer) you.DAT a (ah) a bukh (bookh) book.N mit (mit) with sheyne (SHAY-neh) beautiful-PL bilder (BIL-der) pictures.PL
8.27a שרײַב write מיר me באַלד soon איך I װאַרט wait אױף for דעם the בריוו letter
8.27b shrayb (shrighp) write.IMP.SG mir (meer) me.DAT bald (bahld) soon ikh (ikh) I vart (vart) wait.1SG oyf (oyf) for dem (dem) the-M.ACC briv (brif) letter.M
8.28a איך I װיל want װידער again זען to-see דעם the גאָרטן garden
8.28b ikh (ikh) I vil (vil) want.1SG vider (VEE-der) again zen (zen) see.INF dem (dem) the-M.ACC gortn (GOR-tn) garden.M
8.29a איך I מוז must שױן already גײן go
8.29b ikh (ikh) I muz (mooz) must.1SG shoyn (shoyn) already geyn (gayn) go.INF
8.30a איך I נעם take דעם the בריוו letter אין in דער the האַנט hand און and איך I גײ go אין in דער the גאַס street
8.30b ikh (ikh) I nem (nem) take.1SG dem (dem) the-M.ACC briv (brif) letter.M in (in) in der (dair) the-F.DAT hant (hahnt) hand.F un (oon) and ikh (ikh) I gey (gay) go.1SG in (in) in der (dair) the-F.DAT gas (gahs) street.F
8.16 ליבע בײלע, איך שרײַב דיר אַ בריוו פֿון װאַרשע. (libe beyle, ikh shrayb dir a briv fun varshe) "Dear Beyle, I am writing you a letter from Warsaw." 8.17 איך בין שױן אַ װאָך אין װאַרשע. (ikh bin shoyn a vokh in varshe) "I have been in Warsaw for a week already." 8.18 אין װינטער איז קאַלט אין דער שטאָט, אָבער איך האָב אַ װאַרעמע שטוב. (in vinter iz kalt in der shtot, ober ikh hob a vareme shtub) "In winter it is cold in the city, but I have a warm room." 8.19 איך האָב דאָ אַ גוטן פֿרײַנד, און מיר טרינקען טײ אין דער קיך. (ikh hob do a gutn fraynd, un mir trinken tey in der kikh) "I have a good friend here, and we drink tea in the kitchen." 8.20 אין דער פֿרי לײען איך אַ בוך אין דער שטוב. (in der fri leyen ikh a bukh in der shtub) "In the morning I read a book in the room." 8.21 װי גײט עס דיר, בײלע? איך װיל װיסן. (vi geyt es dir, beyle? ikh vil visn) "How are you, Beyle? I want to know." 8.22 איך זאָג דיר אַ דאַנק פֿאַר דעם טײ אין דעם גאָרטן. (ikh zog dir a dank far dem tey in dem gortn) "I thank you for the tea in the garden." 8.23 איך האָב אַ בילד פֿון דעם גאָרטן אין דער שטוב. (ikh hob a bild fun dem gortn in der shtub) "I have a picture of the garden in my room." 8.24 מײַן פֿרײַנד זאָגט מיר אַז איך בין שױן געזונט. (mayn fraynd zogt mir az ikh bin shoyn gezunt) "My friend tells me that I am well again." 8.25 אין פֿרילינג קום איך װידער צו דיר. (in friling kum ikh vider tsu dir) "In spring I shall come to you again." 8.26 איך שיק דיר אַ בוך מיט שײנע בילדער. (ikh shik dir a bukh mit sheyne bilder) "I am sending you a book with beautiful pictures." 8.27 שרײַב מיר באַלד, איך װאַרט אױף דעם בריוו. (shrayb mir bald, ikh vart oyf dem briv) "Write to me soon, I am waiting for the letter." 8.28 איך װיל װידער זען דעם גאָרטן. (ikh vil vider zen dem gortn) "I want to see the garden again." 8.29 איך מוז שױן גײן. (ikh muz shoyn geyn) "I must go now." 8.30 איך נעם דעם בריוו אין דער האַנט און איך גײ אין דער גאַס. (ikh nem dem briv in der hant un ikh gey in der gas) "I take the letter in my hand and I go into the street."
8.16 ליבע בײלע, איך שרײַב דיר אַ בריוו פֿון װאַרשע. 8.17 איך בין שױן אַ װאָך אין װאַרשע. 8.18 אין װינטער איז קאַלט אין דער שטאָט, אָבער איך האָב אַ װאַרעמע שטוב. 8.19 איך האָב דאָ אַ גוטן פֿרײַנד, און מיר טרינקען טײ אין דער קיך. 8.20 אין דער פֿרי לײען איך אַ בוך אין דער שטוב. 8.21 װי גײט עס דיר, בײלע? איך װיל װיסן. 8.22 איך זאָג דיר אַ דאַנק פֿאַר דעם טײ אין דעם גאָרטן. 8.23 איך האָב אַ בילד פֿון דעם גאָרטן אין דער שטוב. 8.24 מײַן פֿרײַנד זאָגט מיר אַז איך בין שױן געזונט. 8.25 אין פֿרילינג קום איך װידער צו דיר. 8.26 איך שיק דיר אַ בוך מיט שײנע בילדער. 8.27 שרײַב מיר באַלד, איך װאַרט אױף דעם בריוו. 8.28 איך װיל װידער זען דעם גאָרטן. 8.29 איך מוז שױן גײן. 8.30 איך נעם דעם בריוו אין דער האַנט און איך גײ אין דער גאַס.
The address (8.16). ליבע בײלע, "dear Beyle," opens the letter. The adjective ליב (lib) has the ending -ע, and the name follows it. The sentence then begins with the pronoun: איך שרײַב דיר אַ בריוו. The verb שרײַבן (shraybn), "to write," has the first person שרײַב, the stem, and the person written to is in the dative, דיר, as with גיבן in 8.14. The place from which the letter comes is given with פֿון and no article: פֿון װאַרשע.
A week (8.17). שױן אַ װאָך אין װאַרשע says that the time has lasted until now, and Yiddish uses the present tense: איך בין, where English says "I have been." The word שױן, "already," stands after the verb, as in Lesson 6.
Cold and warm (8.18). אין װינטער איז קאַלט has no עס, since the time phrase stands first, as in Lesson 7. The word אָבער begins the second clause and does not count as an element, and so the order is the plain one: אָבער איך האָב. The adjective װאַרעם takes -ע after אַ with a feminine noun: אַ װאַרעמע שטוב, as in אַ גרױסע שטאָט.
"We" in the letter (8.19). The sentence has two subjects: איך and then מיר. The first is "I," with the ending of the first person, האָב. The second מיר is "we," with the plural ending -ען: טרינקען. The word מיר is the same word as the dative of 8.24 and 8.27, and the verbs tell the reader which it is. The adjective גוטן after אַ with a masculine object is the accusative ending, as in Lesson 7.
Reading in the morning (8.20). The time phrase is first, and so the order is verb, pronoun: לײען איך. The stem לײען is the first person of לײענען, "to read."
How are you (8.21). װי גײט עס דיר? is the usual question about a person's well-being; word for word it is "how goes it to you." The third person גײט and the pronoun עס are those of the weather sentences of Lesson 7, and the person asked is in the dative, דיר. The sentence which follows, איך װיל װיסן, "I want to know," has the modal and the bare infinitive.
Thanks (8.22). The phrase אַ דאַנק, "thanks," was in Lesson 7, in the dialogue. With the verb זאָגן, "to say," it gives זאָג דיר אַ דאַנק, "I say thanks to you," the person in the dative. After פֿאַר, "for," the object is in the accusative, דעם טײ, and the second phrase אין דעם גאָרטן is in the dative.
A picture (8.23). בילד (bild), "picture," is the singular of the בילדער of Lesson 7. The phrase פֿון דעם גאָרטן, "of the garden," uses פֿון as in Lesson 5.
My friend says (8.24). מײַן פֿרײַנד is the subject of the sentence, and מײַן is in its plain form. The verb זאָגט takes the dative of the person, מיר, and the clause with אַז, "that," says what is said: אַז איך בין שױן געזונט.
Spring (8.25). אין פֿרילינג has no article, like the other seasons of Lesson 7. Because it stands first, the verb is second and the pronoun third: קום איך. The present tense serves for the future, as in Lesson 7. The person to whom one comes is in the dative after צו, צו דיר.
Sending (8.26). שיקן, "to send," has the first person שיק, and the person is in the dative, דיר. The phrase מיט שײנע בילדער has a plural noun without an article, with the adjective in -ע, as in Lesson 7, 7.13.
Write to me (8.27). שרײַב מיר is the imperative, with the dative מיר after it, since it is the person who will receive the letter. The word באַלד, "soon," follows. The second clause has the plain order, איך װאַרט, the pronoun first. The verb װאַרטן אױף means "to wait for," and its object is דעם בריוו; as the noun is masculine, the accusative and the dative look alike here, and the lesson does not decide between them.
Wanting and going (8.28, 8.29). איך װיל װידער זען and איך מוז שױן גײן have a modal and a bare infinitive at the end of the clause, and the adverbs װידער and שױן stand between them.
Taking (8.30). נעמען, "to take," has the first person נעם. The pronoun is repeated in the second clause, און איך גײ, as in 8.14. The phrase אין דער האַנט is the same as in Lesson 7: "in the hand."
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The respellings follow the Standard Yiddish pronunciation of the YIVO tradition, as in Lessons 1 to 7, and the transliteration is the YIVO romanisation.
איך (ikh) — IPA: /ɪx/ — The א is silent and carries the vowel, the י is the short vowel i as in English "it," and the final ך is kh, as in Scottish "loch." Short and unstressed in a sentence. מיך (mikh) — IPA: /mɪx/ — The same ending -יך: mikh. מיר (mir) — IPA: /mɪr/ — The vowel is short, as in "it," and the ר is the Yiddish r, which many speakers say at the back of the mouth. דיר (dir) — IPA: /dɪr/ — As מיר. דיך (dikh) — IPA: /dɪx/ — As מיך. אים (im) — IPA: /ɪm/ — The vowel is short. מײַן (mayn) — IPA: /maɪn/ — The ײַ is ay, as in English "nigh." הײַנט (haynt) — IPA: /haɪnt/ — The ײַ is ay. שרײַב (shrayb) — IPA: /ʃraɪp/ — The final ב is said as p. װיל (vil) — IPA: /vɪl/ — The װ is v. מוז (muz) — IPA: /mʊz/ — The ו is the vowel u, as in "put." װיסן (visn) — IPA: /ˈvɪsn̩/ — The final n is syllabic. נעם (nem) — IPA: /nɛm/ — The ע is e as in "bed." זאָג (zog) — IPA: /zɔk/ — The אָ is the vowel of British "dog," and the final ג is said as k. הײס (heys) — IPA: /heɪs/ — The ײ is ey, as in "hay." גײ (gey) — IPA: /ɡeɪ/ — The ײ is ey. באַלד (bald) — IPA: /bald/ — The אַ is a short a. װידער (vider) — IPA: /ˈvɪdər/ — The stress falls on the first syllable. פֿרילינג (friling) — IPA: /ˈfrɪlɪŋ/ — The פֿ (with a bar) is f, and the stress falls on the first syllable. װאָך (vokh) — IPA: /vɔx/ — The אָ is the vowel of British "dog," and the ך is kh. װאַרעמע (vareme) — IPA: /ˈvarəmə/ — The stress falls on the first syllable, and the final ע is a weak e. װאַרט (vart) — IPA: /vart/ — A short a. בילד (bild) — IPA: /bɪlt/ — The final ד is said as t. קראַנק (krank) — IPA: /krank/ — The אַ is a short a. געזונט (gezunt) — IPA: /ɡəˈzʊnt/ — Stress on the second syllable. ליב (lib) — IPA: /lɪp/ — The final ב is said as p. פֿיל (fil) — IPA: /fɪl/ — The פֿ is f. 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), ף (final fey) and ץ (final tsadek) are used only at the end of a word.
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