# Do Yiddish speakers (still?) say "Vuz sahgt ah Yid" \[lit. "What does a Jew Say"=="What's up?"\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 2, 2013, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-yiddish-speakers-still-say-vuz-sahgt-ah-yid-lit-what-does-a-jew-say-whats-up/645889 "2013-01-02T22:35:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-yiddish-speakers-still-say-vuz-sahgt-ah-yid-lit-what-does-a-jew-say-whats-up/645889/1 "2013-01-02T22:35:46Z")
So I’m hanging in the street bullshitting with a black friend. One of his friends, black, passes by, and they did a black quick in-passing hand/shake/chest bump/“Yo Holmes” thing. It made me think about quick group identification/solidarity. Among Jews–depending on a zillion factors of secularity, upbringing, self-consciousness in different public situations, whatever–you can quickly tell if you are talking to another (I’m not interested here _why_) by various quick language clues.\* In NYC Jewish idioms have spread far and wide, so it’s not so easy to check anymore. But a Jeff Foxworthy routine on You Can Tell You’ve Just Met a Jew If… might include: You say “How are you” and he says “Thank God.” You ask “Nu?” ["Yiddish “so?”, among many usages] and he starts telling you what’s doing. OK. So I can’t remember if I heard this speaking Yiddish to someone or not (I can understand the language, mostly, but I’m not in a Yiddish-speaking community–hence this post :)) but I seem to recall the friendly, casual equivalent expression transliterated as in the subject header. Old-school? Said at all? \*I don’t know if it was Oscar Wilde, but it certainly should be, who said “Jews and homosexuals can recognize each other at a gathering from across the room.” Not sure how true that is. ETA: Better transcription: For “sahgt” substitute “zahgt.” ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-yiddish-speakers-still-say-vuz-sahgt-ah-yid-lit-what-does-a-jew-say-whats-up/645889/2 "2013-01-03T00:16:06Z")
Two hours later. Nu? ---
**Author:** ![Anchuldigs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Anchuldigs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anchuldigs)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-yiddish-speakers-still-say-vuz-sahgt-ah-yid-lit-what-does-a-jew-say-whats-up/645889/3 "2013-01-03T03:17:11Z")
Yup. Still used by my Yiddish speaking cousins. Although most conversations with them start off with “Nu?” As in “Nu? Vus machst a yid?” ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-yiddish-speakers-still-say-vuz-sahgt-ah-yid-lit-what-does-a-jew-say-whats-up/645889/4 "2013-01-03T05:04:21Z")
Right–Vuz _machst_ a Yid. I had it wrong–or have you ever heard anyone say “Vuz zahgt…”? BTW, the Haredim/hasids in Israel are called mockingly (mean-spiritedly) by seculars “vuzvuzim.” ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-yiddish-speakers-still-say-vuz-sahgt-ah-yid-lit-what-does-a-jew-say-whats-up/645889/5 "2013-01-03T05:11:49Z")
Should have added: _machst_ is English “make” and in Yiddish and German often means “do” and similar verbs. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-yiddish-speakers-still-say-vuz-sahgt-ah-yid-lit-what-does-a-jew-say-whats-up/645889/6 "2013-01-03T16:44:44Z")
A friend of mine says that his Chasidic colleague often greets him with, “Was macht a Yid?” So it is still used to some extent. It may have been “Was tut a Yid”, although I have never understood, even in German, how “tun” differs from “machen”. ---
**Author:** ![Anchuldigs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Anchuldigs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anchuldigs)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-yiddish-speakers-still-say-vuz-sahgt-ah-yid-lit-what-does-a-jew-say-whats-up/645889/7 "2013-01-03T17:50:12Z")
I’ve heard “zuhgt” “machst” and “vus titzech”.