How to Talk Like a Russian (Pet) Posted by yelena on Sep 28, 2011 in language, Russian for beginners, Russian life, when in Russia
Ever wondered what do Russian animals say and how they say it? Well, consider this video your pronunciation guide and this post – the not-so-boring and definitely non-mandatory reading.
I have a bi-lingual cat (here’s his picture). Seriously, my cat is a genius. Not only does he understand everything we tell him whether in Russian or English, he can answer in both languages. Sure, his vocabulary is limited, but his accents are purrfect (pun intended).
Ever wish you could teach your pet Russian? Or maybe you’re packing for a trip to Russia and plan to hit «птичий рынок» [a pet market], «зоомагазин» [a pet store], «зоопарк» [a zoo] or even a local «ферма» [farm] or private «подворье» [backyard]. Whatever your plans are, I guarantee you this post will be either fantastically useful… or totally useless.
Since I have a cat, I’m going to start with cats – «коты» [male cats], «кошки» [female cats] and «котята» [kittens]. When these furry creatures speak Russian, they say «мяу-мяу» [mew] or «мур-мур» [purr]. Every cat in Russia can «мяукать» [to mew] and «мурлыкать» [to purr] fluently.
Next come «собаки» [dogs]. Now, there are two ways to say “a dog” in Russian. One is to use «пёс» [male dog] and «собака» [female dog]. That’s if you want to play it safe or are speaking to amateurs. However, if you are in a company of «собаководы» [dog breeders], «владельцы собак» [dog owners] and «собачники» [people who love dogs], you might find «кобель» [male dog] and «сука» [female dog] more appropriate. But be careful with these two words since taken out of dog ownership content they become serious insults, particularly the former. Regardless of their gender or breed, dogs in Russia know how to «гавкать» [to woof] – «гав-гав» [woof-woof].
Somehow «морские свинки» [guinea pigs], «хорьки» [ferrets], «кролики» [rabbits] and «хомячки» [hamsters] stay silent. You might think it’s because they are so small. However, «мыши» [mice], which are smaller than these, make a «пи-пи» or «пик-пик» sound. Interestingly, «крысы» [rats] stay quiet.
It might be because «мыши» appear frequently in fairy tales where they are very helpful and mischievous. At the same time the only mentions rats get are negative, such as «тыловая крыса» [chair ranger], «корабельная крыса» [ship rat], «офисная крыса» [office rat] and «подопытная крыса» [lab rat], not to mention the whole negative PR in «Щелкунчик» [The Nutcracker].
Out on the farm, «коровы» [cows] say «му-му» [moo-moo]. This is not such a huge departure from what American cows say, is it? The verb for “to moo” is «мычать» which is also used in a rebuke «чья бы корова мычала, а твоя бы молчала» [a pot calling a kettle black].
«Лошади» [horses] on Russian farms don’t “neigh”, but instead say «и-го-го». Now, try to form a verb using this sound… Ok, I’m tricking you. The verb for “to neigh” is, unexpectedly, «ржать». Bizarrely (or not), it is also a verb that describes an act of laughing uproariously and, typically, inappropriately. The noun for such laughter is «ржачка», undignified as it is. It is not to be confused with a noun «жрачка» which, again, rudely, means “grub”. Take note that these two words should not be used in a polite and well-mannered company.
Russian «петух» [cockerel] says «ку-ка-ре-ку» while his flock of «куры» [hens] says «ко-ко-ко» and «цыплята» [chicks] say «пик-пик-пик» (yes, sort of like mice). As for other farm birds, «утки» [ducks] like to «крякать» – to make the sound of «кря-кря» and «гуси» [geese] say «га-га». Which explains my logic in calling «гусыня» [a female goose] at a local lake «Леди Гага» [Lady Gaga]. By the way, the act of making a «га-га» sound is called «гоготать» and can also mean “to laugh loudly, and possibly inappropriately”.
As for the small wild birds, such as «воробьи» [sparrows] or «скворцы» [starlings], they generally say «чик-чирик». More melodious birds, including Russian favorite «соловей» [nightingale] sing «фьють-фьють». Big black «вороны» [female crows, singular «ворона»] and «вороны» [male crows, singular «ворон»] say «кар-кар». The verb is, of course, «каркать» and can also mean “to bring bad luck” or “to prophesy gloom”.
One of the most interesting sounds that you can hear out on the farm is that of «свинья» [a pig] – «хрю-хрю» and not at all the Western “oink-oink”. The verb “to oink” is «хрюкать» and a pig is also referred to as «хрюшка». In fact, one of the beloved TV show characters of Soviet children was a puppet «поросёнок Хрюша» [Khrusha, the piglet].
Sort of to redeem for the tongue-twisting of porcine talk, Russian «лягушка» [frog] says «ква-ква». The verb is «квакать» and a frog itself is frequently called «лягушка-квакушка» in Russian fairy tales.
Of course, this list is far from being exhaustive (although if you got this far, you might be exhausted from reading it). So feel free to add other animal sounds you know or heard.
Want to know more about Russian animal-related words? Check out earlier posts about pet names and Russian sayings about animals.
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Comments:
Sasha:
Strange, I find кобель a lot less offensive than сука!
A post on swearing would be fascinating (especially on x–), the wiki article for it is sooo extensive!
Yelena:
Sasha, you are right. Кобель, while not a nice way to describe a man, is not nearly as offensive as сука. As for your suggestion about swear words, I’ve been thinking about doing just that. I’m just trying to figure out how to write all the words and while staying fairly family-friendly 🙂
Richard:
I think a post on swearing is a great idea! Profanity adds colour and life to a language. You can’t really know a people or their language until you know how they swear.
Just entitle your post: “How to Swear Like a Russian – An Academic Inquiry into Culturally-Centric Coping Mechanisms in a Negatively-Impacted Linguistic Environment as it Relates to Global Warming”.
As long as you use bureaucratic gobbledegook (бюрократический вздор) and relate it to global warming, you’re good to go!
yelena:
@Richard Richard, I love the proposed title! Now I’m seriously thinking about a post on swearing 🙂
Minority:
ФФ> Regardless of their gender or breed, dogs in Russia know how to «гавкать» [to woof] – «гав-гав» [woof-woof].
But when you hear some dog’s woof you’d better say “Собака лает”, “Я слышу лай” =)
Sheeps and goats are crying ’cause you didn’t mention ’em in your post.)
They are used to блеять [bleat] – “беее” or “меее”.
Richard:
Minority, your post reminded me of “Лайка” the first animal to orbit our planet in 1957. How would you translate “Лайка”? I understand that it’s the diminutive of “лай”, but I’d be very interested in hearing a true Russian translation of this cosmonaut’s name.
I have a strong interest and a lot of respect for the Russian space program. And, yes, I am a history nut. Я – любитель истории. 😉
Richard
Minority:
Richard, I guess you can translate it as Woofer/Woofy. And, also, there’s a breed called “лайка” [Laika]. You can read about this breed here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laika_(dog_breed)
But Laika, the first dog in space, wasn’t Laika (the breed). =)
Richard:
Minority,
Thanks for the reply. “Woofy” sounds good in English and makes sense as a diminutive of “лай”!
I apologize for the delay in my response but we just had our Thanksgiving Day holiday in Canada and I was a bit busy.
When I was a boy, I had a beautiful Samoyed (Самоедская собака). I tried to train her to pull me on a sled, but it ended up that she sat on the sled and I pulled her…smart dog! 😀
Rob McGee:
“Interestingly, «крысы» [rats] stay quiet.”
Не только в русском языке, а тоже в действительности, крыси чаще всего молчат. (Not only in the Russian language, but also in reality, rats are most often silent.)
Contrary to popular belief, крысы очень редко пищат — лишь когда им больно или тревожно. (rats rarely squeak — only when they’re in pain or are alarmed).
А когда крысам всё удовлетворительно и приятно, и они вообще чувствуют себя удобно, они “мурлычут” по-своему! (But when rats find everything satisfactory and pleasant, and they generally feel comfortable, they have their own way of “purring”!)
Mind you, a rat’s “purr” does not come from the chest, as a cat’s does; instead, у крысы тихо стучат зубы (the rat’s teeth chatter quietly).
Minority:
Richard, you’re welcome.)
Rob, you’ve made a couple of mistakes.
“Не только в рукком языке, а ТАКЖЕ в действительности, крысы чаще всего молчат”.
I’m sorry I can’t explain why you should use “также” instead of “тоже”, may be Yelena can help 🙂
“А когда крысам все удовлетворительно и приятно”
Everybody will understand what you mean but it sounds strange. This sounds better: “Когда крысы всем удовлетворены и довольны”
yelena:
@Minority Minority, you’re an inspiration! Thank you, thank you for reaching out. The result is tomorrow’s post. Sneak preview just for you – it does have a trick question at the very end, but I know it won’t trick you!
Sarah:
it’s been quite a while – (20 yrs?) but if I remember my grammar rules correctly – “tozhe” is linked to nouns – “takzhe” is linked to verbs…therefore, Minority would be correct as the rats are most often silent (using verb molchat’) TAKZHE in russian language..and actually in real life! 😉
yelena:
@Sarah Bravo, Sarah! You are getting an honorable mention in tomorrow’s post for this super-answer (seriously, 20 yrs later you remember this rule?! Amazing!)
Rob McGee:
Thanks for the corrections, Minority!
Regarding также and тоже, these confuse the heck out of me, but in this case, I had initially written также but then had doubts and changed it to тоже, then back to также, then thought some more and re-changed it to тоже! (Sometimes you should go with your first instinct…)
yelena:
@Rob McGee Rob, stay tuned for tomorrow’s post. Hopefully it will help you out without confusing you further.