נס
nes/nɛs/masculine
The Yiddish word for miracle is נס (nes). Wiktionary also lists נעס (nes) and מופֿת (moyfes).
Meaning: wonderful event attributed to supernatural powers (noun)
Ways to say it
| Yiddish | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| נס | nes | /nɛs/ | masculine |
| נעס | nes | masculine | |
| מופֿת | moyfes | /ˈmɔɪ̯fəs/ | masculine |
| פּלא | pele | feminine |
All provided forms refer to a wonderful event attributed to supernatural powers.
Which one should you use?
נס and נעס are both masculine forms of the same word. מופֿת is also a masculine noun. פּלא is a feminine noun.
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form of נס is נסים (nesim).
How do you pronounce it?
The word is pronounced /nɛs/ (nes).
Did you know?
- The word נס originally referred to a 'banner' or 'signal' in ancient Hebrew, which was raised to mark a divine victory or a turning point.
- If you describe a person as a פּלא, you might be calling them a 'wonder' due to their extraordinary qualities, not necessarily implying they are supernatural.
- Unlike many Yiddish nouns, the plural נסים retains a strong Hebrew grammatical structure rather than adopting a standard Yiddish plural suffix.
Examples in context
- אַ גרויסער נס איז דאָ געשען.A great miracle happened here.This sentence shows how to describe a great miracle happening in a specific location using נס.Tatoeba #13767333 by rul, translation #13746698 by rul
- אַ גרויסער נס איז דאָרט געשען.A great miracle happened there.This sentence shows how to describe a great miracle happening in a different location using נס.Tatoeba #13767334 by rul, translation #13746697 by rul
- כ׳קען האָפֿן אויף אַ נס, אַיאָ?I can hope for a miracle, can't I?This sentence shows how to express hope for a miracle using נס.Tatoeba #9870657 by shekitten, translation #2301259 by CK
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Berl and Miriam are talking about a narrow escape from an accident.
- בערל Berelדאָס איז אַ ממשן נס!Dos iz a mameshen nes!That is a real miracle!
- מרים Miriamיאָ, איך גלייב נישט אַז מיר זענען גאַנץ.Yo, ikh glayb nisht az mir zenen gantz.Yes, I can't believe we are okay.
- בערל Berelמיר האָבן געזען אַ נס היינט.Mir hobn gezen a nes haynt.We saw a miracle today.
- מרים Miriamדאַנק דער גאָט, בערל.Dank der got, Berl.Thank God, Berl.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “miracle” translations and entries נס, מופֿת, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries מופֿת, נס, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
