Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

kvetch

/kvɛt͡ʃ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.59 in modern English

Syllables: kvetch
IPA: /kvɛt͡ʃ/

18

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

1

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To whine or complain, often needlessly and incessantly.

noun

A person who endlessly whines or complains; a person who finds fault with anything.

noun

An instance of kvetching; a complaint or whine.

Example Sentences

"Is this truth I’m delivering up, or is it just plain kvetching? Or is kvetching for people like me a form of truth?"
"Make a commitment, Charlie. Go with life or go with death, but quit the kvetching. Don’t keep us all in suspense."
"Celebrities often kvetch about the lack of privacy and being bothered by paparazzi, but these are not life-threatening problems and they get enormous advantage as they go through life."
"“Long Story Short,” a new animated series from Raphael Bob-Waksberg with art by Lisa Hanawalt, trades the talking animals for kvetching humans."

Etymology

From Yiddish קוועטשן (kvetshn, literally “to squeeze, pinch”), from Middle High German quetschen (“crush, press”).

Origin

Source language: Yiddish

Word Breakdown

Root: קוועטשן

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /kvɛt͡ʃ/
British English: /kvɛt͡ʃ/

Inflected Forms

kvetches (present, singular) kvetching (participle, present) kvetched (participle, past) kvetched (past) kvitch (alternative) kvetches (plural)

Derived Forms

kvetcher kvetchy

Phrases

split hairs

Frequently Paired Words

carping cavil nitpick split hairs

Synonyms

kvetcher whiner complain kick plain sound off quetch

Rhymes With

stretch sketch fetch wretch etch ketch meche petsch outstretch betsch petsche fetsch

Questions

How do you pronounce kvetch?: The recorded pronunciation is /kvɛt͡ʃ/.
What does kvetch mean?: To whine or complain, often needlessly and incessantly.
Where does kvetch come from?: It is traced to Yiddish.

How to pronounce kvetch

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “kvetch”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/kvɛt͡ʃ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “kvetch”.
Repeat and practice — Say “kvetch” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.