Archive for 'idioms'
Winter Is Coming – Idiomatic Expressions Posted by Nadya on Nov 30, 2020
What comes to your mind when you hear the word “Russia?” Foreigners often imagine a blizzard on Red Square, people in earflaps, and snow banks at least to the knee. Although there is already some snow in many cities in Russia, winter officially begins there on December 1st. “Пе́рвый снег — не зима́, пе́рвая зазно́ба…
Russian phrases with numerals Posted by bota on Nov 24, 2020
Since we’ve covered the difference between один and раз, it’s only apt to enrich our vocabulary with a few numeral-heavy Russian expressions and idioms. I will give both the literal translation (sometimes for the sake of curious imagery and other times for even more curious etymological reasons), as well as the actual idiomatic meaning and…
What Animal Are You Posted by Nadya on Aug 10, 2020
Humanity closely lives with animals under the same sky. It is no wonder that since ancient times, people have become accustomed to comparing each other to animals, birds, and fish. Such comparisons are made to describe a person’s appearance, traits of character, activity, behavior, or feelings. Animal similes in the Russian language In the Russian…
Working hard or hardly working: Russian sayings about laziness Posted by bota on Jul 14, 2020
Not sure if it’s July heat in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan that’s making any effort to do anything three times more exhausting, or the fact that I consumed triple the recommended amount of chocolate fudge cake for my birthday (you only turn 25 once, right?) — either way, I’m feeling like the biggest sloth. So, why not…
Easy-breezy Russian idioms with “wind” Posted by bota on Jun 10, 2020
The Russian language is bountiful with idioms (фразеологи́змы) and there are a few particularly fun ones that use the word “ве́тер” (wind). Wind often symbolizes uncertainty, transition, and change. It also carries notions of emptiness and void since we cannot really catch it or hold onto it, but we can definitely feel its power…