yasher koach

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Pronunciations

yasher koach (YAH-sher KOH-ahkh) listen
shkoyach (SHKOY-ikh) listen

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Definitions

  • interj. The traditional exclamation of congratulations after one has read Torah or performed hagba or gelilah in synagogue.

  • interj. Congratulations; good job.

  • interj. (Orthodox) Thank you.

Example Sentences

  • "Yasher koach, to a bright new future in the Holy Land!" (source)

  • "When Richard came down from the bimah, I shook his hand and told him, ‘yasher koach!'" (JPS)

  • "And to all those who have given of their time for this project, yishar koach!" (Glinert)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • TH יישר כוחך yishar kohekha, lit. 'may your strength persist' > Y יישר־כּוח (ya)sh(er)-kóyekh, 'good job'

      • Who Uses This

      • Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education

      Regions

      • North America
      • Great Britain
      • Australia / New Zealand
      • South Africa

      Dictionaries

      • Yiddish and English: A Century of Yiddish in America, by Sol Steinmetz (Tuscaloosa, 1986).
      • The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
      • 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).
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      Alternative Spellings

      yashar koach, yasher koyekh, shkoyekh, yishar koach, shkoyach, shkoyakh, shekoyekh, shkoyech

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