Mensch
MENTSH • Noun
מענטש
A genuinely good, honorable, stand-up person with outstanding character and integrity.
The ultimate compliment. It has nothing to do with wealth, success, or status; entirely about how you treat people when no one is looking.
Rhymes with 'bench'. Say it warmly and with a slight nod of respect. You can't call yourself a mensch; it must be awarded by others.
Standard YIVO transliteration: mentsh
Etymology: From German Mensch (human being). In Yiddish it acquires the ethical charge: not just 'person' but 'person of integrity.'
"Your son helped carry my groceries up three flights of stairs. What a mensch."
"When our lead architect was sick, the director stayed up late to rewrite the entire deploy script herself. A total mensch move."