What does chutzpa mean?
Chutzpa refers to a kind of supreme self-assurance that crosses the line into audacity — the nerve to demand, presume, or push boundaries where ordinary people would hesitate. Borrowed from Yiddish, which itself took the word from Hebrew, it fills a gap in English vocabulary: no single native word captures this blend of confidence, brazenness, and near-shamelessness. The term can be used admiringly, as when an underdog dares the impossible, or critically, as when someone acts without the slightest regard for propriety. Its tone is informal, yet its expressive power has made it a fixture in journalism, business writing, and everyday speech alike. Calling something chutzpa often implies a grudging respect: even if the behaviour is outrageous, there is something almost admirable in the sheer nerve of it. Few English words so vividly capture the fine line between courage and cheek.
nounSupreme self-confidence or audacity, especially when it borders on rudeness or shamelessness; the nerve to do or say something that others would not dare.
- Audacious self-confidence or gall, typically used of someone who oversteps boundaries without embarrassment, sometimes admiringly, sometimes with disapproval.
"It took real chutzpa to ask for a raise five minutes after missing the deadline."
"She had the chutzpa to charge double for a product she'd copied outright."
"You can't help admiring the chutzpa of a street vendor who sells umbrellas to tourists already soaked in his own shop."
Rarely pluralised; the word is normally treated as an uncountable mass noun referring to a quality rather than countable instances of it.
"Different situations call for different kinds of chutzpas."
Chutzpa is the quality of killing your parents and then begging the court for mercy because you're an orphan — the word's most famous (if dark) illustration of shameless nerve.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of chutzpa
Chutzpa entered English through Yiddish, the historical language of Ashkenazi Jews, and derives ultimately from Hebrew ḥutspā, meaning insolence or impudence. It was adopted into American English in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as Yiddish-speaking immigrants shaped the language of New York and beyond. Cognate forms survive in modern Hebrew, where the word retains its sense of brazen audacity.
How chutzpa is actually used
Chutzpa is a Yiddish loanword with no exact English equivalent; it carries both admiration for boldness and disapproval of shamelessness depending on context. It is informal but widely understood in American and British English. The spelling 'chutzpah' is more common than 'chutzpa', though both are accepted.
Easily confused with chutzpa
Both mean bold self-confidence, but moxie connotes gritty courage and determination, whereas chutzpa implies audacity that flouts social norms and can shade into shamelessness.