mensch

American  

[mench] / mɛntʃ /

noun

Informal.

• menschen,
  plural
• mensches
  plural

1. a decent, upright, mature, and responsible person.

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• menschen
  plural
• mensches
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of mensch

First recorded in 1910–15; from Yiddish mentsh “man, human being,” from Middle High German mensch ( German Mensch ), from Old High German mennisco, mannisco; see man, -ish ¹

---

Explanation

A mensch is a good person, someone you really like and admire. Your neighbor who offers you a ride to work every time he notices that you've missed your bus again is a mensch. If you have a trusted friend or a reliable co-worker you can always count on, an informal word that describes them both is mensch. You might vote for the political candidate who seems the most like a mensch, or name your very favorite teacher and add, "She's a real mensch." The word comes from Yiddish, in which it means "a person of integrity and honor," from the German Mensch, or "person."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mensch menschen mensches

“He is the biggest mensch in the world,” said the writer-director Jenni Konner, who cast him in that memorable part in “Girls” in 2014 and then befriended him.

From New York Times ● Jun. 20, 2023

My Justin, who will always be the face of the Dodgers, was a mensch, a real human being, who along with his wife, Kourtney, did marvelously caring services for the entire Los Angeles community.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 23, 2022

Paul instinctively recoils from the hypocrisies around him, and late in “Armageddon Time,” his grandfather gives him an invaluable tutorial in how to be a mensch rather than a passive bystander.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 2, 2022

“You’ve gotta say something,” Paul’s grandfather tells him in an earlier scene, urging him to stand up to bullies and be a mensch to those who need it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2022

This guy was really amazing; in addition to his tough mind, he was a real mensch.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

That’s a shame, because we could use more examples of broad-minded menschen like the Magi in this dismally dogmatic age of ours.

From Time ● Jan. 6, 2012

Mrs. Grannich laughed hysterically, was too overcome to speak in English, shouted: "Ich hob aruntergenummen die shich jar alle menschen?"

From Time Magazine Archive

Little tidbits like that keep interest going, and who doesn't want to be reminded that Lennon had a way with one-liners, or that Harrison and McCartney could be mensches?

From Salon ● Sep. 10, 2020

After all, the immature boys who work at About the Fit are total mensches, even though they wear T-shirts and play video games.

From Slate ● Sep. 25, 2015

Of mensches and mitzvahs: Itzhak Perlman and cantor Yitzchak Meir Helfgot celebrate Jewish music both secular and sacred on a new "Great Performances."

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2014

They can be fathers and mensches; they don’t see themselves as bad guys, and we most often never see those few moments that would change our view of them.

From Time ● Jun. 5, 2014

In fact, it is their naiveté they have to shed in order to become the mensches we want them to be.

From Newsweek ● May 20, 2010

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---