Answers to Quora Questions by Yair Davidiy
Why does 'Khazar' mean 'pig' in Yiddish despite that Khazari people were Jewish themselves? What's the secret behind this?
https://www.quora.com/Why-does-Khazar-mean-pig-in-Yiddish-despite-that-Khazari-people-were-Jewish-themselves-Whats-the-secret-behind-this/answer/Yair-Davidiy
(24 April, 2018, 9 Iyar, 5778)Â
Khazar DOES NOT mean 'pig' in Yiddish. The word for pig in both Hebrew and Yiddish is 'Chazir' with a soft 'Ch' inclining more to 'h'. The first letter is 'chet' i.e. ×—
The word Khazar has a hard 'Kh' or simply 'K' sound though it too is sometimes written (i.e. transliterated) as 'Chazar.' The first letter is 'caph' i.e. ×› . Please note the letters chet ×— and caph ×› LOOK DIFFERENT and should sound different.
The sounds are different though to someone imperfectly familiar with the language spoken they may sound similar.