A Yiddish word for a female gossip or busybody.

It can also mean a coarse or shallow woman, or a malicious rumormonger.

As you may have noticed, this is basically the same as a yenta. Yachna may refer to a younger person, but it need not. Yenta might also be used in a half-way friendly sense, while yachna would not be.

Yachna was, in the past, a perfectly acceptable name for a girl; it was the female version of the name Johanon or Jachin. At some point, for unknown reasons, it changed meanings.

It is pronounced YOKH-neh, where the KH is a guttural sound (as you might say in 'Bach'). If you are not up to the guttural, just say YOK-neh. It can also be spelled Yachne. See also: yenta and yideneh.

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