Information AboutMensch |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT MENSCH | |
| german loanwords | |
| yiddish words and phrases | |
| jewish culture | |
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Mensch (Yiddish '''מענטש'''; also ''mentsch'', ''mentsh'', ''mensh'', or ''mench'', plural: ''mentschen'', German plural: ''Menschen'') is a German noun meaning a " Human ". In Yiddish (from which the word has migrated into American English ), ''mensch'' roughly means "a good person." A role model. A "mensch" is a particularly good person, like "a stand-up guy," a person with the qualities one would hope for in a dear friend or trusted colleague. According to Author and Yiddish popularist Leo Rosten ,
Mentschlekhkeyt (Yiddish: מענטשלעכקייט) are the properties which make one a ''mensch''. The correct German spellings are ''Mensch'' (singular, meaning (non-judgmental) Human or Man ), ''Menschen'' (for the plural and for the singular Accusative ) and ''Menschlichkeit'' ("humanity"). In Modern Israeli Hebrew , the phrase ''Ben Adam'' is used as an exact translation of ''Mensch''. Though it usually means simply "a person" in general, it is used to mean "a nice guy" in the same way as ''mensch''. The direct opposite of a ''Mensch'' is an ''Unmensch'' (meaning: an utterly cruel or evil person). In The Death Gate Cycle , ''mensch'' is used to describe any species one considers inferior to oneself. |
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