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«День всех влюблённых» [Valentine’s Day] in Russia Posted by josefina on Feb 14, 2010
«На этом воздушном шарике» [on this balloon] it says «я тебя люблю!» [I love you!] But don’t we all not just want to read these words, but have them said to us «вслух» [aloud]? Today is February 14th, a day known around the world as Valentine’s Day. In Russia this day has a name of…
Introducing «Елена» [Yelena]: The New Addition to Our Russian Blog! Posted by josefina on Feb 13, 2010
Today is «начало больших перемен» [the beginning of big changes] here on the Russian Blog – what used to be «мой блог» [my blog] (even though it was never really entirely ‘mine’…) «стал НАШИМ блогом» [has become OUR blog]! «Как?» [how?] you might be wondering. Well, wonder no longer! Because from now the Russian blog…
«Щас!» – What DOES it mean and what DO Russians mean when they say it? Posted by josefina on Feb 11, 2010
Sometimes Russians say things to you and you do not understand. «Это неизбежно» [it is inevitable]. «К сожалению» [unfortunately]. And this situation may be repeated. Over and over. The situation in itself will be different every time, but the word or phrase you didn’t understand the first time will remain the same. Until you figure…
«Масленица» begins and that’s why «готовим блины!» [we’re making Russian pancakes!] Posted by josefina on Feb 8, 2010
Today is «8 (восьмого) февраля» [the 8th of February] and a Monday but not just any Monday – today is the Monday on which «Масленица» [‘Maslenitsa’; carnival, shrove] begins – also known as «сырная неделя» [cheese week] – in Russia. This used to be a «языческий праздник» [pagan holiday] back before Russia became a Christian…
«Кем быть?» [Who to be?]: The beginner’s guide to using the verb «быть» in both future and past tenses but leaving it out of the present tense altogether Posted by josefina on Feb 5, 2010
It is imperative for everyone to learn to be happy about the smaller things in life. An example of a small thing that can (and should!) bring happiness into everyone’s life is the fact that Russian verbs only have «три времена» [three tenses]: «настоящее время» [present tense], «прошедшее время» [past tense] and «будущее время» [future…
The Return of «ибо»! Posted by josefina on Feb 2, 2010
When in Moscow it is a rule to go for a stroll «на Красной площади» [on the Red Square], «ибо это делают все» [because everybody does that] «и туристы, и провинциалы» [both tourists and people from the provinces]. «Провинциал» means ‘provincial, backwoodsman; unsophisticated person’. The female version of the word is «провинциалка». When I first…
Doing it Russian style means doing it «коллективно» [collectively] Posted by josefina on Jan 29, 2010
The title of today’s post might (actually have been intended to) lead my dear readers’ minds astray. Despite whatever you might have thought that this post was going to be about, let me assure you that «нет, не это я имела в виду» [no, that was not what I had in mind]. What I actually…