Image Source: Tobyotter via Flickr!

Happy New Year! С Новым годом! Have you had a chance to try a real салат Оливье (Olivier salad) this year? To be honest, I wasn’t going to make it this year. I mean, after so many New Years in a row featuring this dish, this salad simply приелся (became boring). But after following Rob’s link to новогодние рецепты (New Year recipes) at Say7.info, I felt compelled to make it after all.

By the way, thanks to your comments on Rob’s New Year post, I found out that this year is год Змеи (year of the Snake). Living in the US, I tend to forget these things. But in Russia, everyone seems to know свой знак Зодиака (one’s own Zodiac sign). Otherwise, how would you know whether in this year of the Snake you should

A- keep your eyes open for многообещающие возможности (promising opportunities),
B- предвкушать великие дела (look forward to great undertakings) or
C- dial down your эксцентричность (eccentricity).

Hint: A is for Овен (Aries), B is for Лев (Leo) and C is for Рыбы (Pisces).

Here are all the Zodiac signs in Russian with English translation

• Овен – Aries
• Телец – Taurus
• Близнецы – Gemini
• Рак – Cancer
• Лев – Leo
• Дева – Virgo
• Весы – Libra
• Скорпион – Scorpio
• Стрелец – Saggitarius
• Козерог – Capricorn
• Водолей – Aquarius
• Рыбы – Pisces

In addition to knowing one’s знак Зодиака, many Russians know their знак восточного или китайского гороскопа (Eastern or Chinese Zodiac sign). The terms гороскоп (horoscope) and Зодиак (Zodiac) are used interchangeably by most people. So when you go out on a date, you can ask both Кто ты по зодиаку and Кто ты по гороскопу to ensure compatibility, develop dating strategy and predict future of the relationship. Both phrases mean “What is your Zodiac sign”.

Example:

– Кто ты по гороскопу? (What is your horoscope sign?)
– Я – Дева, а ты? (I am a Virgo, how about you?)
– А я – Рак, а по году я – Петух. А ты? (I am a Cancer, but I am a Rooster by my birth year. And you?)
– А я – Змея. (I am a Snake)

If, by chance, those are your and your date’s signs, rejoice, for you are ideally compatible for both любовь (love) and брак (marriage). If these are not your signs, search for a phrase совместимость [Zodiac sign] и [Zodiac sign] as in

совместимость Льва и Водолея
совместимось Тигра и Лошади

To search for что год грядущий вам готовит (what the coming year has in store for you), type in гороскоп 2013 [Chinese Zodiac sign] as in

гороскоп 2013 Бык

To help you with your research, here are the Russian words for the signs of the Chinese Zodiac and their translations:

• Крыса или Мышь – Rat or Mouse
• Бык – Ox
• Тигр – Tiger
• Кролик – Rabbit
• Дракон – Dragon
• Змея – Snake
• Лошадь – Horse
• Овца – Goat
• Обезьяна – Monkey
• Петух – Rooster
• Собака – Dog
• Свинья – Pig

Whether your horoscope for this year will be не в бровь, а в глаз (hit the nail on the head; lit: not on the eyebrow, but in the eye) or полный вздор (baloney), only time will tell.

Since this is the year of the Black Snake, it won’t do not to learn a few snake-related Russian phrases. Most of them are not complementary to this animal which in Russia is viewed as evil (just look at the Russia’s coat of arms keeping in mind that a snake is the dragon’s nearest relative). Notable exceptions include мудрый Каа (wise Kaa) from Mowgli and голубая змейка (the little blue snake) in a story by Russian writer Bazhov.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnDo8cLADPg

In general, comparing someone to змея does not bode well for them as it describes a deceitful, sneaky, crafty person. Even worse is when someone is called змея подколодная (a snake in the grass; lit: a snake under a stack of logs). Sometimes, when we are deceived or wronged by someone we helped or supported, we feel as if we пригреть змею на груди (nurture a snake in one’s bosom). This is exactly the same as пригреть змею за пазухой.

These sayings imply that the snake you so blindly trusted and nurtured was ядовитая (a venomous one). Interestingly, the most common неядовитая (non-venomous) snake in Russia is уж known in English as grass snake or… water snake. Even children know that уж – безобидная змея (a grass snake is harmless), so harmless, in fact, that there is a saying на трусливого и уж – змея (it doesn’t take much to scare a coward or for a coward even a grass snake looks like a viper).

The modest and harmless grass snake makes another appearance in a phrase как уж на сковороде (like a grass snake on a hot skillet) which describes someone trying to wiggle out of a just punishment.

I already mentioned Голубая змейка (the little blue snake) who is a fairy tale creature. You won’t hear it mentioned much outside of the Bazhov’s story by the same name. However, you might hear about зелёный змей (green snake) a lot. Or you might also see it as зелёный змий:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPzr5duugz4

Встречая год Чёрной Змеи, главное – не встретить зелёного змея. (As you are greeting the year of the Black Snake, it’s important not to meet the green snake).

Which sounds cryptic, unless you know that Russians refer to alcohol as зелёный змей especially if it’s drunk in quantities that make one see зелёные чёртики (green devils), in other words to develop белая горячка (delirium tremens).

If you feel particularly curious as to why alcohol is referred to as a GREEN snake (vodka is white, after all), try researching it and post your ideas in the comments. Hint – it has nothing to do with the color GREEN.

So post your guesses, questions or any other Russian phrases with snakes in them that you know of in the comments. And Happy New Year!