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Outside of Eretz Yisroel when we play Dreidel we use - the Nun for Nochamol (go again), the Gimel for Gantz (empty the bank), the Hei for Halb (half the bank), and the Shin for Shtel Arain (put money into the bank). In Eretz Yisroel they replace the Shin (Shom) with a Pai (Po). What does it stand for when you are playing Dreidel?

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Nun is for "noch a mol"? I've always heard that it's for "nisht" - (do) nothing. – Alex Oct 18 '10 at 21:47
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Anyway, though, do they even use those terms in Israel (where, after all, most people don't speak Yiddish? – Alex Oct 18 '10 at 21:48
I thought this is from a German game where the letters NGHS are used. Then it was backfigured into Nes Gadol Haya Sham. Then in Israel, they just used a modification of the back-figuration, not caring about the original meaning (which no one else cared about either since all but the Jews stopped playing it decades or more before). – Charles Koppelman Mar 11 at 1:52

2 Answers

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Pay (or maybe פורע?)

After I thought of pay, i found sources: here and here

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In English, I use the menomics:

  • Nun: None/Nothing
  • Gimmel: Get
  • Hey: Half
  • Shin: Share
  • Pey: Pay
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