Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

nudnik

/ˈnʊdnɪk/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables
nud-nik
IPA
/ˈnʊdnɪk/
11
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A person who is very annoying; a pest, a nag, a jerk.

American usage; Colloquial

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Yiddish נודניק (nudnik), from the root of נודיען (nudyen, “to bore”) + ־ניק (-nik, noun-forming suffix) (English -nik), both of Slavic origin. The root derives from Proto-Slavic *nùditi (“to compel”) and the noun *nùďa (“need, necessity”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *new- or *neh₂w- (“to lack, need; to perish”). The suffix is from Proto-Slavic *-ьnikъ (forming agent nouns and objects). Compare Russian ну́дный (núdnyj, “tedious”), Ukrainian нудни́й (nudnýj, “boring”), Polish nudny (“boring”), Slovak nudný (“boring”), Old Church Slavonic ноудити (nuditi) or нѫдити (nǫditi, “to compel”), Hebrew נוּדְנִיק (“nag”). See also English need, and compare needy for the semantics.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: נודניק, *nùditi, *new-

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈnʊdnɪk/
  • British English: /ˈnʊdnɪk/

Usage

Inflected Forms

nudniks (plural) noodnick (alternative) noodnik (alternative) nudnick (alternative)

Derived Forms

phudnik

Frequently Paired Words

nudzh noodge nudge

Synonyms

nudnick

Questions

How do you pronounce nudnik?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈnʊdnɪk/.
What does nudnik mean?
A person who is very annoying; a pest, a nag, a jerk.
Where does nudnik come from?
It is traced to Yiddish.

How to pronounce nudnik

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