A new Yiddish course launched on Duolingo, the popular language-learning app, on Tuesday, April 6. On cue, it seems the entirety of Ashkenazi Jewish Twitter started brushing up on the mama loshen, and tweeting through the experience. The results? Some very funny jokes about learning Yiddish on an app.
Here are some of our favorite tweets:
1. Zebras are relevant to everyday conversation, nu?
Yiddish friend: So, you started Duolingo Yiddish??
Me: Totally. Every single day.
Yiddish friend: *speaks Yiddish*
Me *in perfect Yiddish*: “The Zebra is next to the pyramid.”
— D Bash (@DBashIdeas) April 6, 2021
2. Duolingo, are you my Jewish grandma?
Excuse you? pic.twitter.com/uVlZPhG9dt
— Jimmy—#StopGeneralIron—Rothschild (@Pale_0ntologist) April 5, 2021
3. It’s a #BreakTheInternet moment, for sure.
Yiddish coming out on Duolingo is like the Animal Crossing drop for Ashkenazim
— 🌾 Dicki Om’raj 🇵🇷 (@DICKIMINAJ) April 6, 2021
4. “Wine for Mom” is the exact vibe of the moment.
Yiddish is alive because it responds to the moment#WineMom pic.twitter.com/G9g0pk4VPA
— Secreted 🕯 Light (@OrNistar) April 6, 2021
5. Yes, there is actually a category for “complain” :’)
Truly the most Jewish thing you'll ever see on a language app. 💙💙 pic.twitter.com/A7U4yPW94i
— rayne (@rayne_like_rain) April 6, 2021
6. Okay, but for real, why does Duolingo love bears!?
my ancestors hundreds of years ago probably: wow I hope our language and culture is preserved so that we can pass on our stories and family heritage down the centuries in our native yiddish so that none of the intricacy is lost
meanwhile me in the year 2021: pic.twitter.com/tVecXEXpSb
— shira 🏳️🌈 שירה (@shirasaidwhat) April 6, 2021
7. We miss you, Spock.
rip leonard nimoy you would’ve loved yiddish being added to duolingo
— grace🌵🌌 (@finite_alright) April 6, 2021
8. The struggle is real.
update: yiddish is hard
— Yael (@yaeltime) April 6, 2021
9. *Screams*
Why is this a thing Duolingo thinks I need to know how to say? pic.twitter.com/spNiRFQ3FK
— Marxy Playground✡️🔥🤦🏽♂️ (@EvelKneidel) April 6, 2021
10. You don’t have a beloved tomato?
yiddish @duolingo off to a brilliant start pic.twitter.com/llX8wkBpSk
— די ראָזעווע פּאַווע pink peacock (@dirozevepave) April 5, 2021
11. Bringing this exact energy.
My 13 year old and I complaining about Duolingo having made a fictional space language available before Yiddish *while* we are downloading and updating Duolingo to learn Yiddish together is the energy required in order to master Yiddish.
— hodel in the streets, chava in the sheets (@mrotzie) April 6, 2021
12. Once again, did my Grandma program these sentences?!
So Yiddish duolingo wastes NO TIME AT ALL pic.twitter.com/T8m41frcOT
— A.Z. Foreman (@azforeman) April 6, 2021
13. Let’s KEEP THIS ENERGY.
excitement over duolingo Yiddish launching is the most healthy jwitter content I’ve ever witnessed. It also has me wanting to break out the ol tischel
— Rakhel Silverman רחל (@RakhelSilverman) April 6, 2021
14. Yes, Jews crashed Duolingo.
jews: crash duolingo
gentiles: the jews did this
jews: YAH AND WE’D DO IT AGAIN FOR YIDDISH— sidney prescott but jewish (@tashakaminsky) April 6, 2021
15. Brb see you when I’m fluent.
how do I tell my job that I need a week off to focus exclusively on learning yiddish on duolingo
— kosher kaiman (@sapphichellcat) April 6, 2021
16. Okay, for all the jokes, we are thankful!
yiddish duolingo is made by volunteers! please be kind!
— trans jewish noise machine (@klezmerwitch) April 6, 2021
17. LADINO NEXT!!
sephardim waiting for any hint of a ladino duolingo watching ashkenazim have fun with yiddish rn pic.twitter.com/8FKHHEhmkg
— ☭ אַדם (@M0sheAdam) April 6, 2021
18. And let’s end on a genuine note: Mazel tov to everyone who is starting their Yiddish journey. We’re cheering you on!
Seeing so many Jewish college students be this excited to learn Yiddish is so heartwarming to me. We are refusing to let our culture die, I’m so happy for everyone who took their first steps of learning Yiddish today! מזל טוב
— Lena | לנה (@KosherLena) April 6, 2021
