thumbnail

Jewish Words Quiz

Guess these words and phrases associated with Jewish religion and culture.
If multiple answers fit, guess the MOST WELL KNOWN among the general population
To make it easier, we give you the first letter
Quiz by Quizmaster
Rate:
Last updated: October 5, 2017
You have not attempted this quiz yet.
First submittedAugust 16, 2011
Times taken28,141
Average score58.3%
Rating4.20
5:00
Enter word or phrase here:
0
 / 24 guessed
The quiz is paused. You have remaining.
Scoring
You scored / = %
This beats or equals % of test takers also scored 100%
The average score is
Your high score is
Your fastest time is
Keep scrolling down for answers and more stats ...
Definition
 
Answer
Candle holder with 7 branches
M
Menorah
Jewish religious teacher
R
Rabbi
Jewish place of worship
S
Synagogue
Jewish skullcap
Y
Yarmulke
Passover feast
S
Seder
Cracker-like food eaten
during Passover
M
Matzo
Day of Atonement
Y
Yom Kippur
Jewish New Year
R
Rosh Hashanah
Congratulations!
M
Mazel Tov
Five books of Moses
T
Torah
Boy's coming of age ritual
B
Bar Mitzvah
Belief in a Jewish homeland
Z
Zionism
Definition
 
Answer
Bread eaten on the Sabbath
C
Challah
Ethnic group of European Jews
A
Ashkenazi
Jewish religious school
Y
Yeshiva
Toast words. To life!
L
L'chaim
Four-sided spinning top
D
Dreidel
Mystical tradition famously
practiced by Madonna
K
Kabbalah
Guts; Audacity (Yiddish)
C
Chutzpah
Gentile (Yiddish)
G
Goy
Attractive female gentile (Yiddish)
S
Shiksa
Clumsy person (Yiddish)
K
Klutz
A real good guy (Yiddish)
M
Mensch
Comic routine (Yiddish)
S
Schtick
+1
Level 82
Apr 20, 2014
I think the double H was what prevented me from getting Rosh Hashanah and I'm not sure about Mazel Tov, I tried a bunch of different things. Moseltof?
+4
Level 66
Apr 20, 2014
Agree. Could be a little more liberal on the spelling acceptance on a few of these, but I'm sure the "purists" will object!
+14
Level 65
Dec 2, 2015
There's no such thing as a correct spelling of a transliterated Hebrew or Yiddish word.
+5
Level 84
Dec 13, 2015
What Elan said.
+2
Level 65
Sep 25, 2022
Yeah. British and I'm more familiar with the bread being spelled chollah.
+5
Level 45
May 4, 2018
totally agree on the spelling, I had chutzpe, goi, mazze, schikse, bar mitzwa... all the words how they would be spelled based on German, which is by the way close to Jiddish...
+1
Level 66
Sep 28, 2019
Tried mazzeltov bar mitzwa and several ways of chutzpah (and matze)
+2
Level 62
Apr 20, 2014
I had problems with mensch. If you transliterate the word from Yiddish, it's actually mentsh rather than mensch, which is the German and apparently also English version. I got it, because mench was an accepted alternate spelling, but maybe mentsh could be added too. It asks for the Yiddish version, afterall. Nice quiz! :)
+2
Level ∞
Apr 20, 2014
Okay, the quiz will allow mentsh now.
+1
Level 77
Sep 25, 2022
What a mensch!
+1
Level 89
Sep 26, 2022
Mensch actually just means human being.
+3
Level 51
Apr 20, 2014
I was raised Jewish and I have NEVER heard of shiksa or yeshiva.
+6
Level 67
Apr 20, 2014
I only know "shiksa" from Seinfeld. "Yeshiva" is very common. I see it on the walls of schools, in pop culture, and in print. Maybe it's just a little quirk that you never came across it.
+2
Level 48
Apr 20, 2014
I know shiksa from "Sophie's Choice." Dense, boring book.
+1
Level 89
Sep 26, 2022
I've heard good things about it. Now I really can't decide whether to read it or not.
+19
Level 69
Feb 29, 2016
Having dated a Jewish guy through college, I heard shiksa...a LOT. Mostly from his mom, when she thought I was out of earshot. :-)
+1
Level 82
Jun 27, 2018
Haha :)
+10
Level 74
May 3, 2019
Yeah, the translation offered here is not correct. 'Shiksa' is a term of disparagement. It's not intended as a compliment or factual description, and you certainly would not use it to describe a random 'attractive female non-Jewish person.' A closer translation would be 'hussy,' 'vixen' or 'temptress.' (Not that there's anything wrong with being any of these! But these are the judgemental connotations the word has.) However the term could be used affectionately, or to tease a friend.
+1
Level 47
Mar 22, 2022
for shiksa it is a word commonly used in the usa
+3
Level 77
Apr 21, 2014
spelling nightmare
+2
Level 74
May 3, 2019
Hehe welcome to the wonderful world of transliteration!
+1
Level 56
Sep 25, 2022
They transliterated het as ch, and while it can make that sound, that's like if you always used c when transliterating the s sound into English
+2
Level 72
Apr 22, 2014
18/24 And almost all of it learned from US sitcoms.
+5
Level 65
Sep 13, 2015
A channukiah hold Channukah candles, a menorah has seven candles instead of the nine required for the holiday.
+1
Level 41
Sep 25, 2022
A Hanukkah menorah, or hanukkiah, is a nine-branched candelabrum lit during the eight-day Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.

Most people — including Jews — incorrectly refer to this as a menorah.

( So how incorrect is it. )

+1
Level 80
Feb 15, 2016
Just missed shiksa, never heard of that one. And I'm not Jewish.
+1
Level 69
Feb 29, 2016
Instead of Ashkenazi, all I could think of was Anasazi, that Native American tribe that lived in the pretty carved-out-of-cliff-faces towns that just disappeared out of history. Same diff, right?
+2
Level 63
Jan 26, 2017
For guts you should allow kishkes.
+2
Level 65
May 4, 2018
Thank you South Park for dreidel and NOFX for shiksa and goy. :)
+1
Level 69
May 4, 2018
What is happening to JetPunk? I was sure I'd find some bellyaching about racism and zionism in this comments section! Self-selecting participant base, I guess?
+2
Level 65
May 4, 2018
If you enjoyed this quiz, you should take my strictly Yiddish loan words quiz here.
+2
Level 67
May 4, 2018
Tried "bris" about a dozen times for the question about a boy's rite of passage. Then it finally hit me.
+1
Level 44
May 4, 2018
I'm Jewish. I got 100%. I should be ashamed if I didn't. ;-) All Jewish people of a certain age would probably know these words. They were very liberal with the spelling. They need to be since this is just a transliteration from Yiddish and different families pronounce things differently.
+5
Level 74
May 3, 2019
Not getting all of them would be nothing to be ashamed of. There are Jews all over the world, and many of them don't speak Yiddish (or German, Polish, or English for that matter). I could see an Ethiopian or Iranian Jew having trouble with this vocab for example, or atheist Jew from Wales or the Arctic Circle..
+1
Level 58
Sep 25, 2022
Not all of us are Ashkenzi.
+1
Level 64
May 4, 2018
Is MrSchickadance a shiksa? No, he's a mensch!
+1
Level 58
May 4, 2018
Problem is that most non-Jewish people hear these words more than read them, and spelling them correctly (or even closely) can be tough. I'm not Jewish and still got 19 of 24 (and really should have gotten two more but blanked.)
+8
Level 69
May 4, 2018
Since you highlight that you use Yiddish words, not Hebrew, on the last six clues, you should do the same for Yarmulke. This is the Yiddish word for the skullcap. In Hebrew, it's a Kippah.
+1
Level 84
Sep 19, 2018
im mad. i couldnt spell synogogue or ashkenazi. i still cant spell it. ithought it started with an O
+1
Level 67
Sep 10, 2020
18/24 75% I'm Jewish
+7
Level 81
Jan 16, 2022
Synagogue should also accept shul as a type in. Greek versus Yiddish words.
+2
Level 62
Sep 26, 2022
I tried shul and then felt really dumb when I missed synagogue.
+2
Level 61
Nov 9, 2023
I hear Jewish people in my area say shul more often than synagogue
+2
Level 47
Mar 22, 2022
for yarmoulke , although yes it is one way to pronounce it , it is the yiddish word for it and it is called like that only in the USA , the real name is Kippa (or kippot) id suggest to change this one
+1
Level 62
Sep 25, 2022
ugh i kept spelling it chutspah and it would not take it :(
+1
Level 77
Sep 25, 2022
It’d have a low score, but a common knowledge thing that would feature Sephardic Jewish culture is couscous.
+1
Level 77
Sep 25, 2022
I love hearing anchorpeople and clueless politicians pronounce chutzpah as “chew” “tzpah”.
+3
Level 65
Sep 25, 2022
Shiksa refers to gentile woman, level of attractiveness is irrelevant
+1
Level 89
Sep 25, 2022
I have a cousin who's half-Jewish and he helped me get some of these :)
+1
Level 62
Sep 26, 2022
22/24. I have been studying Hebrew for years and kept thinking of the Hebrew words in my head. It worked for a couple!
+1
Level 67
Sep 26, 2022
Typically me, only knew 3....but included the least guessed one. xD
+1
Level 75
Sep 26, 2022
Blundered my way through most of them, but missed the familiar-sounding 'schtick' as I didn't know that meaning... I thought it was just a person's peculiar talent or way of behaving.
+1
Level 51
Sep 28, 2022
It's spelled "shtick."
+1
Level 68
Oct 14, 2022
oy vey! I cannot spell Yiddish words!

But I put Zionist for 'belief in jewish homeland' and it wasn't accepted- seems a little harsh.

+1
Level 77
Nov 2, 2022
Kept trying "spiel" or "shpiel" for shtick... am I the only one?
+3
Level 27
Dec 14, 2022
Goy is also hebrew....