Archive for 'Russian life'
Same-Same but Different II: Homophones Posted by josefina on Aug 28, 2010
Two days ago we discussed «омонимы» [pl. homonyms] here on our blog. As a part of that process I tried to be funny but was probably only silly when I used the popular phrase «гнать самогон» in a sentence so it wouldn’t mean «гнать самогон» as in ‘to distill moonshine’ – like it usually does…
«Ненастоящие друзья» [False friends]: part II Posted by josefina on Aug 18, 2010
Not everything in a foreign language is difficult. If you feel like calling the vehicle above «мотоцикл» [motorcycle] in Russian, then that’s okay and even correct. But that doesn’t mean you can go ahead and assume that a bicycle is «бицикл» in Russian because really the word for it is «велосипед» [bicycle]. Today’s post is…
Reading «Мастер и Маргарита»: Chapter 9 Posted by yelena on Aug 2, 2010
What is «жилплощадь»? Ah, the wonderful or rather wonder-inspiring language of «Совдепия» [Sovietdom]! «Жиплощадь» is short for «жилая площадь», meaning «обитаемая, предназначенная для жилья площадь дома, квартиры» [floor space of a living areas of an apartment or a house]. So why not say «квартира» [apartment] or «комната» [room] when referring to one’s living quarters? Back…
You say it best when you say «ничего» [nothing] at all Posted by josefina on Jul 30, 2010
Let’s put an end to this kind of boring (and pointless and not to mention plainly weird) conversations frequently used in textbooks on Russian language! Wouldn’t it be much more fun if the policeman had said: «Ну что это?» [Well what is this?] and John at that had answered: «Я вообще не понимаю. Я типо…
Reading «Мастер и Маргарита»: Chapter 8 Posted by josefina on Jul 26, 2010
«Давайте принесём Булгакова на пляж!» [Let’s bring Bulgakov to the beach!] Russians – like most people that live in geographical regions where the longest season of the year is «зима» [winter] – can’t afford «пренебрегать летом: солнцем и теплом» [impfv. to neglect (also: to scorn; disdain; disregard; ignore) the summer: the sun and the warmth]…
Russian Politics 101 Posted by yelena on Jul 22, 2010
Our next guest blogger, Natalie, is a university student studying history and the Russian language. She writes the blog birdbrain and can be found on Twitter at @natalie_. Her interest in the Russian language was sparked by Russian history and a Russian course at university and she’s been hooked ever since. When learning about a…
Word of the Week: «Жара!» [Heat!] Posted by josefina on Jul 18, 2010
In Russia you’ll only find «такая пустая улица» [such an empty street] in the city «летом» [(instrumental case: when?) in the summer] when «жара» [the heat] has driven all citizens either «на дачу» [(accusative case: direction) to the dacha] or – as one can read about in this article – «в подвал» [into the basement]…