בעסטע וווּנטשן
beste vuntshn
The Yiddish phrase for "best wishes" is בעסטע וווּנטשן (beste vuntshn).
בעסטע וווּנטשן is a polite phrase used to express hope for someone's future happiness or success, often used at the end of a letter.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the adjective 'beste' (best) and the noun 'vuntshn' (wishes).
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is beste vuntshn.
Did you know?
- In some traditional Ashkenazi circles, offering 'best wishes' for a future event can be seen as inviting bad luck, leading people to add בלי עין הרע to ward off the evil eye.
- In many Yiddish-speaking communities, a more religious version of 'best wishes' would involve wishing someone 'mazel tov', which shifts the focus from 'wishes' to 'luck' or 'destiny'.
- The word בעסטע is a cognate of the English 'best', reflecting the heavy influence of Middle High German on the development of Yiddish.
Examples in context
- בעסטע וווּנטשן פֿאַר דיין נייע אַרבעט.beste vunshen far dein naye arbet.Best wishes for your new job.
Example conversation
Menachem and Hana are ending their correspondence via a letter.
- מנחם Menahemאיך האָב גענוסן צו שרײַבן דיר.Ikh hob genusn tsu shraybn dir.I enjoyed writing to you.
- חנה Chanaאיך אויך, מנחם. דאַנקע פֿאַרן בריוו.Ikh oykh, Menakhem. Danke farn briv.Me too, Menachem. Thanks for the letter.
- מנחם Menahemבעסטע וווּנטשן פֿאַר דיין געזונט, חנה.Beste vuntshn far dayn gezunt, Khone.Best wishes for your health, Hana.
- חנה Chanaדאַנקע דיר, מנחם!Danke dir, Menakhem!Thank you, Menachem!
