חלשןkhaleshn meaning in Yiddish
to faint; (colloquially) to be dying for something, to have a fit · verb
The word literally means to pass out. Nobody uses it that way. They use it to mean 'I'm dying for a cigarette' or, more often, 'don't have a fit about it.'
װען זי האָט דערזען דעם חשבון בײַם דאָקטער, האָט זי כּמעט געחלשט.
“When she saw the bill at the doctor's, she nearly fainted.”
What is the one thing you khalesh for the moment you don't have it?
Yiddish words for feelings and moodsEveryday Yiddish verbs
Published 11 September 2026