Skip to content
ontologydriven
Sign out

Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

kvetch en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • /kvɛt͡ʃ/ (Canada, Received-Pronunciation, US)
  • (US) audio

Etymology

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

Meanings

  1. A person who endlessly whines or complains; a person who finds fault with anything.
  2. An instance of kvetching; a complaint or whine.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
kvitch alternative lexicographic
kvetches Number=Plur lexicographic

Synonyms

whiner · kvetcher

Translations (29)

sh њу̏ргало (person who endlessly whines or complains) · ru ны́тик (person who endlessly whines or complains) · fi natku (person who endlessly whines or complains) · ast repunante (person who endlessly whines or complains) · tl reklamador (person who endlessly whines or complains) · sh čangrìzalo (person who endlessly whines or complains) · yi קוועטשער (person who endlessly whines or complains) · sh њу̏ргавица (person who endlessly whines or complains) · sh čangrìzalica (person who endlessly whines or complains) · sh njȕrgavac (person who endlessly whines or complains) · sh чангрѝзало (person who endlessly whines or complains) · pl zrzęda (person who endlessly whines or complains) · sh čangrìzavac (person who endlessly whines or complains) · fi marisija (person who endlessly whines or complains) · lad keshador (person who endlessly whines or complains) · sh njȕrgavica (person who endlessly whines or complains) · sv gnällmåns (person who endlessly whines or complains) · fr plaintif (person who endlessly whines or complains) · fr râleur (person who endlessly whines or complains) · sv gnällspik (person who endlessly whines or complains) · sh чангрѝзалица (person who endlessly whines or complains) · pt reclamão (person who endlessly whines or complains) · lad keshadora (person who endlessly whines or complains) · sh чангрѝзавац (person who endlessly whines or complains) · fi kitisijä (person who endlessly whines or complains) · sh njȕrgalo (person who endlessly whines or complains) · pt reclamona (person who endlessly whines or complains) · sh њу̏ргавац (person who endlessly whines or complains) · es gruñón (person who endlessly whines or complains)

kvetch en · VERB

Pronunciation

  • /kvɛt͡ʃ/ (Canada, Received-Pronunciation, US)
  • (US) audio

Etymology

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

Meanings

  1. To whine or complain, often needlessly and incessantly.
    • 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. 2016 May 11, Catherine Shoard, quoting Woody Allen, “Woody Allen at Cannes: artistic competition 'against common sense'”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 23 Mar 2017:
    • “Long Story Short,” a new animated series from Raphael Bob-Waksberg with art by Lisa Hanawalt, trades the talking animals for kvetching humans. 2025 August 21, Robert Ito, “The Makers of ‘BoJack Horseman’ Take Family Matters by the Reins”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 21 Aug 2025:
    • Is this truth I’m delivering up, or is it just plain kvetching? Or is kvetching for people like me a form of truth? 1969, Philip Roth, Portnoy's Complaint:
    • Make a commitment, Charlie. Go with life or go with death, but quit the kvetching. Don’t keep us all in suspense. 2001, Glen David Gold, Carter Beats the Devil:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
kvetches Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
kvitch alternative lexicographic
kvetched Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
kvetched Tense=Past lexicographic
kvetching Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic

Deriveds

kvetchy · kvetcher

Relateds

nitpick · split hairs · carping · cavil

Translations (23)

fi marista (whine or complain, often needlessly and incessantly) · sh njurgati (whine or complain, often needlessly and incessantly) · yi קוועטשן (whine or complain, often needlessly and incessantly) · ru ныть (whine or complain, often needlessly and incessantly) · yi האָבן טענות (whine or complain, often needlessly and incessantly) · sv klaga (whine or complain, often needlessly and incessantly) · pl biadolić (whine or complain, often needlessly and incessantly) · lad ser una keshadora (whine or complain, often needlessly and incessantly) · fi nurista (whine or complain, often needlessly and incessantly) · is kveina (whine or complain, often needlessly and incessantly) · de nörgeln (whine or complain, often needlessly and incessantly) · sh njorgati (whine or complain, often needlessly and incessantly) · de mäkeln (whine or complain, often needlessly and incessantly) · lad ser un keshador (whine or complain, often needlessly and incessantly) · sh čangrizati (whine or complain, often needlessly and incessantly) · pl zrzędzić (whine or complain, often needlessly and incessantly) · nl kankeren (whine or complain, often needlessly and incessantly) · fr râler (whine or complain, often needlessly and incessantly) · sv kvida (whine or complain, often needlessly and incessantly) · sv beklaga (whine or complain, often needlessly and incessantly) · lad kesharse (whine or complain, often needlessly and incessantly) · sv oja (whine or complain, often needlessly and incessantly) · fr se plaindre (whine or complain, often needlessly and incessantly)