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You are a sailor, Mishka! Posted by bota on Feb 23, 2022
Ты одессит, Мишка, а это значит, Что не страшны тебе ни горе, ни беда. Ведь ты моряк, Мишка, моряк не плачет, И не теряет бодрость духа никогда. You are an Odessa native, Mishka, and that means You are not afraid of neither misery nor misfortune. Because you are a sailor, Mishka, a sailor never cries…
Pelmeni in Cursive Posted by bota on Feb 15, 2022
The most important February holiday is upon us: восемнадцатое февраля — День Пельменей! (Pelmeni day or Russian Dumpling Day) Фото автора Polina Tankilevitch: Pexels *Если вы не знаете, что такое пельмени, быстро прочитайте этот вкусный рецепт от Елены! (If you do not know what pelmeni are, go ahead and read this delicious recipe from Yelena.) This time-tested…
Using English slang in Russian Posted by bota on Feb 3, 2022
Англицизмы или Американизмы — не новая тема в русском языке. (English and American English loanwords is not a new topic in Russian). However, it is one thing to hear about it on the news, for example when a Russian politician calls to ban English loanwords from the Russian language. It is a completely different story…
Familiar Unknowns II Posted by bota on Jan 27, 2022
We continue to cover Russian idioms that make you say “What?” even though you are 99% sure you have heard them before. For Part I see here. Кануть в лету Definition: to be forgotten or to be long gone, to disappear. No, unfortunately we are not talking about summer (лето). Nor is this idiom about…
Familiar unknowns Posted by bota on Jan 17, 2022
In my blog about idioms with the word ‘white’ (белый), I got a great comment about two Russian words чернила и белила (black ink and white paint). (Thank you @samonen! Have I mentioned we love to read your comments?) Белила reminded me of the phrase “белены объелся”. And before you ask, белила и белена are…
Spooky Russian podcasts Posted by bota on Jan 6, 2022
Чего́ вы бои́тесь? (What are you afraid of?) And I don’t necessarily mean the grown up kind of fears like not getting along with your in-laws, identity theft, or small talk. I mean the deep childhood fears of the mysterious, unknown, and overall spooky. Мо́нстры под крова́тью? Леге́нды? Вампи́ры? И́ли мо́жет да́же привиде́ния? (Monsters under…
White roses, knees, and ravens Posted by bota on Dec 21, 2021
When you think of Russian winters, you imagine early mornings with untouched сугро́бы (snowdrifts), краси́вые узо́ры на стёклах авто́бусов (pretty frost patters on the windows of buses), and serene forests of snow-covered pines and birch trees. Вокруг белым–бело́! (It is white everywhere!) To be fair, this Russian white winter fantasy varies greatly depending on where…