kein yirbu

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Pronunciations

kein yirbu (KAYN yeer-BOO) listen

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Definitions

  • interj. A blessing meaning 'may they increase in number' or 'may there be many more'.

Example Sentences

  • "I often nod my head and agree and say, kein yirbu!" (source)

  • "Our population - keyn yirbu - has multiplied ten-fold, while Jewish communities worldwide have withered." (source)

  • "May all Yiddishe parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc., raise beautiful Yiddishe families, keyn yirbu, and continue to shep only nachas from all their descendents!" (source)

  • "Shoshana's had another baby? Her third? Mazel tov! Ken yirbu!" (Glinert)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • TH כן ירבו 'more the better' > Y כּן־ירבו keyn-yirbu

      • Who Uses This

      • Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education
      • Older: Jews who are middle-aged and older
      • Ashkenazim: Jews with Ashkenazi heritage

      Regions

      • North America
      • Great Britain
      • South Africa

      Dictionaries

      • Yiddish and English: A Century of Yiddish in America, by Sol Steinmetz (Tuscaloosa, 1986).
      • The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).
      • Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).

      Alternative Spellings

      ken yirbu, keyn yirbu

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