A tchotchke is a small, cheap, ornamental trinket or souvenir; a knickknack. Tchotchke is taken from Yiddish, a dialect of German based on Hebrew. It has several English spellings, including chotchke, tchachke, and chachki. In Yiddish, it is also sometimes used as a term for a young girl or pretty woman.
Is tchotchke a bad word?
Alternative meanings and context. Depending on context, the term has a connotation of worthlessness or disposability as well as tackiness. A common confusion is between the terms tchotchke and tsatske or rather tsatskele, with the diminutive ending -le.
Why is it called a tchotchke?
Tchotchke comes from the Slavic word for trinket. Russian, Ukrainian, Polish and Belarusian each have their own very similar adaptations. It was later adopted into Yiddish slang as tshatshke, and has long been used by Jewish Americans.Nov 1, 2019
What does tchotchke mean in Russian?
A tchotchke is a small, decorative object that's not valuable or precious. ... Less often, tchotchke is used to mean "pretty girl or woman." The word comes, via Yiddish, from a Slavic root, and over the years it's been spelled in numerous different ways. When you pronounce tchotchke, the first t is silent.