Mensch (Yiddish: מענטש mentsh, cognate with German: Mensch "human being") means "a person of integrity and honor." The opposite of a "mensch" is an "unmensch" (meaning: an utterly unlikeable or unfriendly person). According to Leo Rosten, the Yiddish maven and author of The Joys of Yiddish, "mensch" is "someone to admire and emulate, someone of noble character. The key to being 'a real mensch' is nothing less than character, rectitude, dignity, a sense of what is right, responsible, decorous." The term is used as a high compliment, expressing the rarity and value of that individual's qualities.
In Yiddish, mentsh roughly means "a good person." The word has migrated as a loanword into American English, where a mensch is a particularly good person, similar to a "stand-up guy", a person with the qualities one would hope for in a friend or trusted colleague. Mentshlekhkeyt (Yiddish מענטשלעכקייט, German Menschlichkeit) are the properties which make a person a mensch.
During the Age of Enlightenment in Germany the term Humanität, in the philosophical sense of compassion, was used to describe what characterizes a "better human being" in Humanism. The concept goes back to Cicero's Humanitas. It was literally translated into the German word Menschlichkeit and then adapted as mentsh in Yiddish use.
Mensch, released in 2002, is the 20th music release by prominent German rock/pop artist Herbert Grönemeyer. Mensch ("Human") is Grönemeyer's 11th full-length album of original compositions. The title track "Mensch" became Grönemeyer's first number-one single in Germany. The mood of the album reflects the recent death of his wife and one of his older brothers in the same week, and is rich with poetic imagery. The songs range from rock to ballads. The richness of the imagery and language, as well as the use of creative word play, can make the lyrics difficult to interpret by listeners who are not fluent in German. In Mensch Grönemeyer reflects on his own humanity as it relates to feeling loss. The song "Der Weg" in particular focuses on memories of his wife and the love they shared.
The full-length album was released in three versions:
Mensch (German for human being) is a Yiddish word for a person of integrity and honor.
Mensch may also refer to:
Ein Jugendlicher aà ein Kebap, es sollte sein letztes sein
Er traf auf drei Verrückte, die fingen gleich an zu schrei'n
"Der Fraà in deiner Hand ist undeutsch; wirf's weg, sonst bist du dran!"
Er tat es, doch der Irre schoÃ, und seine letzte Minute begann
Ein Schwarzer saà in der S-Bahn in einer schönen deutschen Stadt
Da stiegen ein paar Verrückte ein, sie schrien "Ausländerpack!"
Sie schlugen ihm die Zähne ein und traten ihn in den Bauch
Dann machten sie die Tür auf und warfen ihn hinaus
Warfen ihn hinaus
Ein anderer deutscher Morgen, ein and'rer Teil der Geschicht
Drei Herren aus der Nachbarschaft zerschlugen sein Gesicht
Sie stachen ihm die Augen aus, für immer er verschwand
Am nächsten Tag die Zeitung schrieb: "Das war Deutschlands schlimmster Asylant"
Der Blonde mit dem dicken Bauch
stellt sich grinsend vor dir auf
und spricht:
Mit welcher Berechtigung
Aus welchem Grund
[4x] Nennst du dich Mensch?
Aus welchem Grund nennst du dich Mensch?
Aus welchem Grund nennst du dich Mensch?
Aus welchem Grund nennst du dich Mensch?