Mokum
Nickname for Amsterdam
title: "Mokum" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["alternative-place-names", "culture-in-amsterdam", "delft", "dutch-words-and-phrases", "hebrew-words-and-phrases", "history-of-amsterdam", "history-of-berlin", "lists-of-cities-by-nickname", "rotterdam", "yiddish-culture-in-germany", "yiddish-culture-in-the-netherlands", "yiddish-words-and-phrases"] description: "Nickname for Amsterdam" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mokum" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Nickname for Amsterdam ::
Mokum (מקום) is the Yiddish word for "place" or "safe haven". It is derived from the Hebrew word makom (מקום, "place").
::data[format=table]
| City | Yiddish | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Alkmaar | Mokum Aye | – |
| Amsterdam | Mokum Alef | City A |
| Berlin | Mokum Beis | City B |
| Delft | Mokum Dollet | City D |
| Rotterdam | Mokum Resh | City R |
| Winschoten | Mokum van het Noorden | City of the North |
| :: |
In Yiddish, the names for some cities in the Netherlands and Germany were shortened to Mokum and had the first letter of the name of the city, transliterated into the Hebrew alphabet, added to them. Cities named this way were Amsterdam, Berlin, Delft, and Rotterdam.
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Borden_Amsterdam_overplakt_met_de_naam_Mokum,_het_bord_aa_de_Utrechtseweg,_Bestanddeelnr_915-2363.jpg" caption=""Mokum" pasted over "[[Amsterdam]]" on a city limit sign in 1963"] ::
Mokum, without Aleph, is still commonly used as a nickname in the Netherlands for the city of Amsterdam. The nickname was first considered to be an example of bargoens, a form of Dutch slang, but in the 20th century it lost its negative sound and is now used by Amsterdammers as a nickname for their city in a sentimental context. Examples are the song "Brand in Mokum" (derived from "Scotland's Burning"); Mokum 700, an exhibit in the RAI Amsterdam Convention Centre celebrating the 700th anniversary of Amsterdam in 1975; Mokum in Hi-Fi, an album by Ben van Gelder and Reinier Baas; and "Mama Mokum", a song from 1997 about Amsterdam, by Ramses Shaffy.
References
References
- "Yiddish Dictionary Online".
- "Milon".
- Martens, Hadewych. (2006-09-26). "Jiddisch, ontstaan en etymologie".
- (1992). "Hij zeit wat. De Amsterdamse volkstaal". BZZTôH.
- [https://archief.amsterdam/beeldbank/detail/147a7c43-d99b-78eb-2b1e-7a13b48dd8ed "700-jarig bestaan van Amsterdam 1275–1975"], [[Amsterdam City Archives]]. Retrieved 2020-02-11.
- (2019-09-13). "Ben Van Gelder, Reinier Baas – Mokum In Hi-Fi".
- [https://www.discogs.com/Ramses-Ramses-97/release/3972773 "Ramses '97"], [[Discogs]]. Retrieved 2020-02-11.
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