Before I moved to a Brooklyn, New York neighborhood with a large Jewish population, I’d never heard Yiddish words like kvetch, schmear, or schlep. These words were spoken everywhere, and, little by little, I began using them myself. Like many borrowed words, they filled a gap in expressing something better than English could. They added to the richness of my American English, which already is comprised of thousands of borrowed words from Spanish, French, Japanese, Italian, Arabic, German, Greek, and other languages. Here are a few Yiddish words that I adopted.

1. Schmear/Shmear: a spread, typically cream cheese on a bagel, but can refer to any kind of generous spread.

• I asked for a schmear of cream cheese on my bagel and walked out with enough to insulate a small igloo.

2. Kvetch: to complain habitually, often about minor things.

• My uncle can kvetch for three hours about how the coffee isn't as hot as it was in 1978.

3. Bubbeleh: a term of endearment, like "darling" or "sweetheart."

• “Bubbeleh,” said my grandma, “you're too skinny. Eat more, or I’ll call your mother and guilt-trip her for hours.”

4. Schlemiel: a clumsy, inept person who always seems to mess things up.

• Our waiter was such a schlemiel. He dropped a bowl of soup in my lap.

5. Tchotchke: a small decorative object; a knick-knack, often cheap or kitschy.

• Her apartment has so many tchotchkes, I thought I’d wandered into a flea market.

6. Chutzpah: nerve, audacity, boldness (sometimes excessive).

• It takes real chutzpah to ask for a raise after coming in late every day for a year.

7. Klutz: a clumsy person.

• I’m such a klutz. I once sprained my ankle tripping over a cordless phone.

8. Schmooze: to chat or talk in a friendly, persuasive way, often to gain favor.

• He schmoozed the bouncer so well that we got into the club for free.

9. Shtick: a gimmick, routine, or defining characteristic (often humorous or exaggerated).

• His whole shtick is pretending to be bad at cooking—until he wins the cooking competition.

10. Schlep: to carry or haul something (often something heavy or inconvenient); also used to describe a tedious journey.

• I had to schlep five bags of groceries up six flights of stairs.

The words I picked up were windows into another culture. Whether I was noshing on a bagel with a schmear or trying not to trip like a total klutz, I was participating in linguistic exchange that reflects the way we live, talk, and connect with each other.