The Yiddish expression schepping naches (SHEH-ping NAH-khes) means taking heartfelt pride or joy in someone else’s accomplishments. Usually that someone is a child, grandchild, student, mentee or someone else you’ve nurtured. It implies not just being pleased, but feeling a warm, emotional satisfaction. When someone scheps naches, they are experiencing a feeling likely familiar to many, and also expressing a deeply held Jewish value: lovingly rearing the next generation. Although primarily used by Jews, the phrase schepping naches has made its way into the general English lexicon.
Yiddish is a blend of German and Hebrew, as is the expression schepping naches. The word schep comes from German and is cognate with the English verb scoop, with a similar meaning. In this case, it means to derive. The word naches comes from the Hebrew nachat, which means pleasure. Schepping naches, then, is deriving pleasure (from another’s achievement). It is very similar to the term kvell, which also means to take great pride in someone else.
Here are some example sentences:
- When Shlomit read Torah for the first time, her grandmother was schepping so much naches you could see it all over her face.
- I’m schepping naches from my son — he studied so hard this semester and really came into his own.
