מזלדיק
mazldik
The Yiddish word for lucky is מזלדיק (mazldik) or גליקלעך.
Meaning: of people, having good fortune (adj)
Ways to say it
| Yiddish | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| מזלדיק | mazldik |
| גליקלעך | gliklekh |
In Yiddish, 'lucky' can refer to people who possess good fortune. You can use either מזלדיק or גליקלעך to convey this sense.
What does it mean word for word?
The form מזלדיק is composed of mazl, meaning luck or fortune and the suffix -dik, which forms adjectives from nouns similarly to the English suffix '-y'.
Which one should you use?
While גליקלעך is a general adjective meaning lucky or fortunate, מזלדיק is more commonly used specifically to describe a person who has good luck.
How does it change in a sentence?
When used as an adjective before a noun, the form changes based on the noun's gender. For a masculine noun, use the ending -er, such as in אַ מזלדיקער מענטש (a lucky person). For a feminine noun, use the ending -e, such as in אַ מזלדיקע פֿרוי (a lucky woman).
How do you pronounce it?
mazldik
Did you know?
- In Yiddish culture, describing someone as too מזלדיק can sometimes be seen as inviting the 'evil eye'. To avoid this, speakers might use a protective phrase or deflect the praise.
- While מזלדיק describes a person's state, the root word מזל (mazl) originally referred to the 'constellations' or 'zodiac signs' in Hebrew, implying that luck is written in the stars.
- The word גליקלעך shares a deep linguistic DNA with the English word 'luck', as both words trace back to the same ancient roots through Germanic languages.
Examples in context
- דײַן חבֿר איז זייער מזלדיק.Your friend is very lucky.This sentence shows how to describe a friend as being lucky using מזלדיק.Tatoeba #10359830 by shekitten, translation #2580779 by Hybrid
- כ׳בין זייער אַ מזלדיקער מענטש.I'm a very lucky person.This sentence demonstrates the use of the attributive adjective form מזלדיק before a masculine noun.Tatoeba #12943023 by rul, translation #8229792 by Ricardo14
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Berel and Reyzl are talking about a lottery ticket.
- בערל Berelאיך האָב געווינען דעם לאָטעריי!ikh hob gevinen dem loterei!I won the lottery!
- רייזל Reizelדאָס איז נאָכגאָר מזלדיק!dos iz nokhgor mazldik!That is very lucky!
- בערל Berelיאָ, איך קען נישט גלייבן.yo, ikh ken nisht gleibn.Yes, I cannot believe it.
- רייזל Reizelדו ביסט אַ מזלדיקער מענטש, בערל.du bist a mazldiker mentsh, berel.You are a lucky person, Berel.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “lucky” translations and entries מזלדיק, גליקלעך, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries גליקלעך, מזלדיק, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
