Is "mensch" a commonly understood word?

When I see “mensch” I think of the German word for “Human.”

I’m not Jewish, for the record.

I had to look it up to find the Yiddish meaning. Interesting.

Anyone who regularly reads the New York Times would be familiar with the word (as I am). I think your using it is dependent on your target readership.

Personally, I believe one should not “dumb-down’ something unless you are writing for TV or selling junk food.

Well, considering my vast pool of vocabulary, I have never heard of it; it may be a communal thing, though

I’ve never heard the word, and although I don’t read the New York Times, I don’t consider myself lacking in vocabulary.

It’s up to you, though.

Does it mean something else in Yiddish than in German?

I believe the word Mensch is an accepted loanword in English in combinations like Übermensch or Untermensch. On its own, I don’t believe it is, but if its usage is related to those other two words, people might understand anyway.

Also, beware of Nazi connotations.

I use it all the time, but I may be overly Jewish for not actually being Jewish.

Mensch is one of the first words I learned at my grandmother’s knee. She spoke Grandma Yiddish, a trick designed to keep secrets from the children. So I had a powerful incentive to learn it as quickly as possible. (A useful trick for teaching foreign languages, by the way.)

To me and the people that I hang with, it is part of the lingua franca and easily understood.

Edit:@Jeruba makes a valid point. I started life in the Bronx and then lived in a commuting suburb of Manhattan, married a Jew from Boston and moved back to NYC. Mensch means a stand-up guy.

I understand it because I have a lot of Jewish friends who use it. It’s probably familiar in areas where there’s a large Jewish population and where everybody uses at least a few Yiddish expressions. But my guess is that it’s not commonly understood as to its connotations, as when someone says “She’s a real mensch.”

So does mensch in Yiddish not just mean “human being”?

@Fyrius No, it means a good person – think the guy you want to marry your daughter off to, and you have the ideal mensch.

Very familar to me- but I have a Jewish husband, plus I love Yiddish comedians.

I’m not Jewish but I speak German and “mensch” has two meanings in German. Either “human being” or an exclamation such as “man!”.

I didn’t know it was used in English but typed it into my dictionary and this is its definition:

mensch |men ch |
noun ( pl. menschen |ˈmen ch ən|or mensches) informal
a person of integrity and honor.

ORIGIN 1930s: Yiddish mensh, from German Mensch, literally ‘person.’

I did not know what it meant, until I read through this question.
I live in a rural area, where there are not a lot of Jewish people.

@MyNewtBoobs
Ah. Thanks.

Never heard of it.

I did not know that it is Yiddish… I know it from German: Human (being). Mankind = Menschheit.

Just surfing @fluther.com and learning at midnight interesting things… THX!

I don’t know it at all, neither as Yiddish or German.

I do. But then I thought everyone knew what “body English” was until yesterday.

No, it just makes me think of menarche (=girl’s first menstruation)

If I hadn’t lived in PA and later in Upstate NY, I would probably have never even heard of the word.

I love the word (and am Jewish), but it is one of my favorites. How many other words are in your proposed title? Are there enough to give a clue to this word, if people don’t know its meaning?

I instantly thought of the german version, never heard of a Yiddish version.

As a Jewish baby-boomer I’ve known many common Yiddish expressions since childhood. “Mensh” is certainly entrenched in American culture, though from my perspective I can’t say how it’s received by the gentile majority of Americans.

Let me quote from the master on the subject, Leo Rosten (1908–1997), author of the acclaimed & classic dictionary The Joys of Yiddish. Herewith is the entry from my yellowing copy of the book© 1968 Pocket Books:

——————
mensh
mench

Rymes with “bench.” From German: Mensch: “person.” Plural: menshen.

1. A human being. “After all, he is a mensh, not an animal.”

2. An upright, honorable, decent person. “Come on, act like a mensh!”

3. Someone of consequence; someone to admire and emulate; someone of noble character. “Now, there is a real mensh!”

It is hard to convey the special sense of respect, dignity, approbation that can be conveyed by calling someone “a real mensh!”

As a child, I often heard it said: “The finest thing you can say about a man is that he is a mensh!” Jewish children often hear the admonition: “Behave ike a mensh!” or “Be a mensh!” This use of the word is uniquely Yiddish in its overtones.

The most withering comment one might make on someone’s character or conduct is: “He is not (did not act like) a mensh.”

To be a mensh has nothing to do with success, wealth, status. A judge can be a zhlob; a millionaire can be a momzer; a professor can be a shlemiel, a doctor a klutz, a lawyer a bulvon. The key to being “a real mensh” is nothing less than—character: rectitude, dignity, a sense of what is right, responsible, decorous. Many a poor man, many an ignornant man, is a mensh.
——————

I am familiar with the word, though I’ve only heard it on very rare occasions.

Wow! Thanks for the robust responses all. Very useful perspective for me.
Best,
Marla

Only a putz wouldn’t know what a mensch is.

[ Smacks @WasCy up ‘side da head wid a very large trout! ] HUSH!

@CaptainHarley: Trout, never. Either a smoke whitefish or a pickled herring.

It comes from Middle High German ‘Mensch’ the origin of Yiddish and modern German.

I’m surprised about the meaning in English:

“a decent responsible person with admirable characteristics”

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=define:mensch

@gailcalled

“For your next task, you must chop down a forest with… a herring!” : D

@mattbrowne, I don’t think that’s the meaning in English. It’s the meaning in Yiddish.

@Jeruba – But even the Middle High German ‘Mensch’ just means ‘human being’. Is there a different word for this in Yiddish then?

@mattbrowne, I don’t know if Yiddish has a different word for “human being.” It may be a matter of connotation and context. Regardless, it’s the word “mensch” in Yiddish that’s being defined and not any English expression.

The phrase “real human being” can be used colloquially in English to mean roughly the same thing as mensch. The idea in either case is that a person embodies the best of what it means to be human.

The way I understand Mensch has overtones of gravitas – a person of substance.

I’m researching the term myself. Niche describes a concept called “Uber mensch” (forgive any misspelling please). I believe he’s talking something about embracing the life in front of someone. In other words, (IAW), he believed that if a person was chasing a concept of a “future life”, they were trying to avoid the life that is right in front of them…the life that is “now”. I hope this helps. Please let me know what title you settle upon. I think I may enjoy reading it.:)

The correct spelling is Übermensch or Uebermensch,