Comments:

1. 

    

   Emili Tandri:

   Вешать лапшу на уши
   Lit : To hang noodles on one’s ears
   Meaning : To tell lies / talk nonsense

   I like this idiomatic expression, because it sounds rather funny and unusual, and as far as I know, doesn’t exist in other languages. A ‘cute’ idiom for me.

2. 

    

   JT:

   Всё идёт по плану..

3. 

    

   Keni:

   чем меньше знаешь, тем крепче спишь

4. 

    

   Mark:

   Говорят, что кур доят

   Russians have such a quirky way of saying “Dob’t believe everything you hear”…

5. 

    

   Olivia:

   Там хорошо, где нас нет

   Love the way the Russians say ‘the grass is always greener’ So much more to the point: ‘it’s good over there, where we aren’t’.

6. 

    

   Janet Martin:

   “Love and eggs are best when they are fresh.”

   влюбленность и яичка самые лучшие когда они свежи

7. 

    

   Rob McGee:

   My current favorite is:

   Сказка — ложь
   Да в ней намёк
   Добрым молодцам урок!

   Literally, this translates something like:

   A fairytale is a lie
   But in it there’s a hint
   A lesson for those who are kind and clever!

   But for rhyme’s sake, I might render it as:

   Fairytales are a mountain of lies —
   But with hinted-at Truths for discerning eyes!

   I have sometimes quoted this as a rebuke to atheists who dismiss the Bible as useless superstition because it’s full of fantastical events like seas parting and people rising from the dead; but also in rebuke to religious believers who insist on reading every word in the Bible literally.

   (I’m sort of an agnostic Deist and thus uncertain if there truly is a God, but if there is one, it seems perfectly reasonable to me that He would make up some little fibs for our “preschool education” as a species — the actual size of the Universe and the complexity of DNA would’ve been a bit much for Bronze Age people!)

   P.S. I can’t remember ever hearing Говорят, что кур доят before — I love it! As a hint for other non-Russians, the infinitive of доят is доить, and кур is the genitive/accusative plural of курица.

8. 

    

   Drake:

   «Давайте выпьем за то, чтобы мы испытали столько горя, сколько капель останется в наших бокалах!» [Let’s drink to us experiencing as much sorrow as there are drops (of drink) left in our glasses!]
   Ever since I read that here, I always use it as a toast. Love it.

9. 

    

   Carla Stern:

   Here’s my favorite Russian saying:
   Хогошо там, где нас нет!

   It’s short and simple, expressing the silly but common human longing to be where one is not. (Literally, “It is good, where we are not”)

10. 

     

    Carla Stern:

    Actually, here’s a more accurate interpretation: Life is always better somewhere else.

11. 

     

    James Janzen:

    I don’t have a favourite quote but wanted to extend congratulations on your 100th blog. You have shared so much culture and language from a unique perspective. Thank you.

12. 

     

    Peggy:

    I don’t know many sayings but I have just ( after nearly five years) finished reading Война и Мир (пo-русски, конечно) so I feel this one!
    Я не чуаю (?) ног под собой.
    The English version would be similar – I am walking on air.

13. 

     

    Peggy:

    Congratulations on your 100th post. They really are appreciated.

14. 

     

    David:

    медведь на ухи наступил

    A bear stepped on his ear — so much nicer than saying, boy, is he tone deaf!

15. 

     

    Tommi:

    Поздравляем на сотый пост! (Is this rightly expressed? 😐 )

    *Для милого дружка не жаль серёжки из ушка.*

    This kind of means:
    For a dear friend, it’s not regrettable to hand over one’s earrings from their ears.

    And…….. for other people like me learning Russian, here’s something I really like:

    *И швец, и жнец, и на дуде игрец.*

    Apparently means “Jack-of-all-trades”, a person who can be a *швец* – tailor, a *жнец* – reaper, and play the *дуда* – pipe.
    😀

16. 

     

    Tommi:

    Oh, and the first picture seems to be the bottom parts of the матрёшки ! 🙂

17. 

     

    Edward Genochio:

    My vote has to go to “С лёгким паром”.

    Surely no language has a more delightful way to wish someone a happy bathtime than to say “with a light steaming”.

18. 

     

    Richard:

    Okay this looks like fun, so I’ve decided to stop lurking 🙂

    My favourite Russian saying is:

    “Я не я, и лошадь не моя!”

    Literally, this beautifully musical phrase means “I am not I, and the horse is not mine!” It’s like in English when we say “It wasn’t me, I didn’t do it!” LOL

    I love the way this proverb rolls off the tongue, it shows the musical quality I’ve always found in the Russian language, also the humour.

    Congrats on your 100th post! I really appreciate the effort you put into this blog, it helps me a lot as my university Russian is pretty rusty.

19. 

     

    Don Schafer:

    Hey, I love your blog, don’t know how to type in Russian on my keyboard, so I can’t give a saying, but I wanted you to know how much I enjoy (and learn) from these posts.

    So…. Spasibo! (Bolshoye spasibo!)

    And on your 100th post …. Pozdravlyayu!

20. 

     

    alison:

    любовь не карошка!

21. 

     

    alison:

    *картошка

22. 

     

    Rob McGee:

    Regarding “Хорошо там, где нас нет!” — I’m not sure if it really has a double meaning to Russian ears, but to my English-speaking ears, this saying has always reminded me of a funny moment between two sisters on the 1970s American sitcom Rhoda:

    Brenda: [very upset, almost in tears] You know what Ma said to me yesterday, Rhoda? She said, “Brenda, no one will ever love you as much as I do”!

    Rhoda: So, what’s wrong with that? If anything, you should be grateful — Ma’s usually not so sweet.

    Brenda: Listen again, Rhoda — she said “NO ONE WILL EVER LOVE YOU as much as I do!”

    Rhoda: Oh, I see what you mean…

    (If you’re unfamiliar with the show Rhoda, you should keep in mind that Rhoda is the married sister and Brenda is unmarried and forever unlucky with men. Also, their mother was truly a passive-aggressive old harpy, so she meant it in exactly the way that Brenda understood it! And Brenda, BTW, was played by Julie Kavner, the voice of Marge Simpson.)

    So anyway, when I hear “Хорошо там, где нас нет!”, I think, “А может, хорошо там потому, что вас нет!?”

    😉

23. 

     

    Markk:

    One from Cheburashka:

    “были до слили”

    As said by the train conductor after Cheburashka and Gena lose their train tickets. Apparently it means “Now you see it, now you don’t”, or literally “They were here until they were poured out”.

24. 

     

    Minority:

    Well, I’m not going to participate in your contest of favourite russian phrase, I’m a russian girl, it’s hard to select only one phrase in such великом и могучем языке [great and powerful language]. 🙂

    But I can add something for those who wants to learn a new things.

    * “Возможно, в этом мире ты всего лишь человек, но для кого-то ты – весь мир” [Perhaps in this world you’re only a human, but to someone you are the whole world.]

    * “Яблоко от яблони недалеко падает.” [“apple doesn’t fall far from the apple-tree” = “Like master like man”]

    * “Мы в ответе за тех, кого приручили” [We are responsible for those who tamed]

    * “Если копнуть глубже, можно наткнуться на клад. А можно вырыть себе могилу.” [If you dig deeper, you can stumble upon a treasure. And you can dig its own grave.] – actually, that’s my phrase, I use it quite often. 🙂 It’s my own version of “много будешь знать – скоро состаришься” [many will know – will soon be old], “не суй нос не в свои дела” [do not pry in someone else’s affairs], “любопытной Варваре на базаре нос оторвали” [Barbara curious nose was torn off in a bazaar].

25. 

     

    Minority:

    > “Поздравляем на сотый пост! (Is this rightly expressed? )”
    Tommi, you’ve got couple of mistakes: with endings of words and with preposition.
    “Поздравляем с сотым постом!” – but it’s correct if you’re talking not only for you, ’cause “поздравляем” is in plural form. If you’re talking only for yourself, you’d better use singular form “поздравляю”.

26. 

     

    Richard:

    Hi Minority,

    The proverb “яблоко от яблони недалеко падает” also exists in English as “the fruit (or apple) doesn’t fall far from the tree”. I don’t know about Russian but in English it has a negative connotation, e.g. if a child grows up to be a criminal and his parents were also criminals, then it’s a case of the fruit not falling far from the tree.

    It’s really the same as the saying “like father, like son”.

27. 

     

    Olga:

    От осинки не родятся апельсинки

28. 

     

    Minority:

    Hi, Richard
    Thanks for correcting my translation. I trusted to google’s translation and thought “like master, like man” is its english analogue.

    And yes, we’ve got negative connotation for this phrase too. Or I just can’t remember any good meanings.

29. 

     

    Joerg:

    Елена, поздравляю Вас с юбилеем! Сто постов за полтора года – это не слабо! А мало того, что их уже 100, еще и все, которые я пока прочитал, весьма интересные! Очень надеюсь, что Вы продолжаете в этом же духе! За первые 100 благодарю!
    Ввиду крайне быстро растущего числа поклонников этого блога скоро всем авторам можно будет праздновать юбилей 50.000-го поклонника… 🙂
    А что касается конкурса, то мне очень нравятся выражения “Да ладно тебе!” (Come on!) и “Ну и что!?” (So what?). Да и еще: “Потому что потому, что кончается на у.” (как ответ на вопрос, начинающий с вопросительным словом “Почему?”, на который не хочется отвечать)
    Думаю, что новый рекорд удастся! 🙂

30. 

     

    Jacqueline Madsen:

    лучше поздно, чем никогда!

    Better late than never!
    This may not be a truly Russian saying – but it’s the only one I could remember at the moment – and that I learned in Russian class in high school!
    ~Jackie

31. 

     

    Minority:

    Oh, and suddenly I remembered couple of jokes by Zadornov:

    ***
    Покупатель спрашивает: [Customer’s asking a question:]
    – Это какая смородина? [Which kind of currant is it?]
    – Черная! [Black!]
    – А почему она красная? [And why is it red?]
    – Потому что зеленая! [‘Cause it’s green]

    ***
    “Да нет, наверное” [lit. “Yes, no, perhaps”. But true meaning is “probably no”]

32. 

     

    Rob McGee:

    @Minority:

    In English, we say the same thing about the blueberry (черн’и’ка, т.е. некоторые синии ягоды от разных растений из рода Vaccinium) — the blueberry is red when it’s “green” (unripe).

33. 

     

    Delia:

    HI there:
    I’m not going to participate in the contest either, I am a Russian speaker.
    First, a couple of corrections:
    to PEGGY: Я не ЧУЮ ног пoд собой,
    to DAVID: Медведь на УХО наступил,
    to ALISON: Любовь не картошка, не выбросишь в окошко. You only had the beginning of this great saying.
    “Не вешай мне лапшу на уши” has an English version “Don’t pull my leg”.

    I can add a couple of my favorites:
    “Мы Псковские, мы прорвёмся” We are from Pskov (a town in Russia), we will break/burst through. Meaning ‘No matter what, we will get to our goal”. I understand it might be hard to pronounce PSKOVSKIE, just try PSKOV first and then add the suffix SK and then the ending IE: PSKOV-SKIE.

    Язык до Киева доведёт (Your tongue will take you to Kiev), meaning “If you don’t know how to get somewhere, you can always ask”

    Язык сломаешь, You can break/twist your tongue. We use it when something is really hard to pronounce… yes, even we sometimes have that problem.

    Enjoy the proverbs and the language!

34. 

     

    Delia:

    I just realized that I didn’t translate the saying in my previous message:
    Любовь не картошка, не выбросишь в окошко – Love is not a potato, you can’t throw it out of the window.

    I remembered more favorite sayings of mine: Под каждой крышей свои мыши “Under each roof there are its own mice” which means “Each family/household has its own issues/problems”

    Подложить свинью (Он подложил ей свинью) “To lay a pig near someone” which means “To play a dirty/mean trick on someone”

    Ни рыбо, ни мясо “Neither fish, nor meat” which means a mediocre person; neither fish, flesh now fowl.

    OK, maybe I should stop. I can write about languages non-stop.
    Good luck! Enjoy the Russian language!

35. 

     

    Agata:

    Congratulations on your 100th post!
    One of my favourites:
    Любишь кататься – люби и саночки возить 🙂
    Actually I don’t know its equivalent in English 🙂

36. 

     

    Thomas LoCurto:

    Богу молись, а добра-ума держись
    (Pray to God, but don’t throw out your good brain)

    I like that, in part because I do it, lol.

    В доме повешенного не говорят о верёвке.

    (In the house of a hanged man one doesn’t speak about ropes) – Self explanitory I guess.

    В огороде бузина, а в Киеве дядька.

    This has to be one of my real favorites: “In there garden there’s elderberry and Uncle is in Kiev!”

    One thing doesn’t lead to another/Don’t get ahead of yourself xD

37. 

     

    Michelle:

    Как жаль, что это видеть голубя брошен в реку с твердый камень привязан к его ногам. Wasted были дни не летать.

    What a pity it is to see a dove cast in the river with solid stone tied to his feet. Wasted were the days it did not fly.

38. 

     

    Laramie:

    На зе́ркало не́ча пеня́ть, ко́ли ро́жа крива́.

39. 

     

    Simon Bradley:

    Here are two with English equivalents (although the literal translations are quite different):

    Нет худа без добра.
    Every cloud has a silver lining.

    Дождь льёт как из ведра.
    It’s raining cats and dogs.

40. 

     

    Christine:

    Кто ра́но встаёт, тому́ Бог подаёт.

    Like the English “Early bird catches the worm.” 🙂

    Love this site, very helpful!

41. 

     

    Drew:

    Кто? Кто? Конь в пальто!
    Who? Who? Horse in a coat!

    My Russian teacher taught us this one. She said that when someone keeps asking questions over and over, you can reply with this as a sarcastic answer. I think the usage of irony and sarcasm here really captures the Russian sense of humor =]

42. 

     

    Richard:

    Agata,

    I think “Любишь кататься – люби и саночки возить” could be translated in English as “After the feast comes the reckoning”. This means that we can have our fun but we must pay the price for that fun, whether it’s dragging the toboggan back up the hill or paying the price for an expensive meal!

    Richard 🙂

43. 

     

    Richard:

    This is a bit off topic, but can anyone give mean a good colloquial meaning for “пошлость”? I understand that it means mediocrity, blandness, that sort of thing, but is there a really special meaning to this word?

    Any and all help appreciated!
    Richard

44. 

     

    Lisa:

    волков бояться в лес не ходить :+)

    afraid of wolves? to the woods do not go.

    cute saying .

    тише едешь далше будишь =
    the quieter you go the further you will go..good saying for a Russian class.

45. 

     

    Erica:

    Старость – не радость!

    I learned this one in my Russian class and I just loved saying it to my Russian and Ukrainian friends when they talked about how much experience they have or how much they know about life. It just totally would catch them off guard and make them laugh!

46. 

     

    Dave Andersen:

    Почему петух поeт всю жизнь? Потому, что у него много жeн и ни одной тeщи.

    English: Why does a rooster sings all his life? Because he’s got a lot of wives and not a single mother in law.

    The picture looks to me like a peep-hole in
    the exterior door of a house or an apartment.

47. 

     

    Minority:

    Richard, “пошлость” is vulgarity, banality. But there’s another meaning for this word in our minds now. Last years we used to call “пошлостью” indecent manners or jokes, something about sex, for example. And, when somebody finds sexual meaning in every word and event, we call such person “пошляк”.

48. 

     

    Richard:

    Minority, thank you very much for your explanation of “пошлость”.

    So the original meaning of the word involved vulgarity, immorality (безнравственность), mediocrity (посредственность), a kind of decay in the standards of society?
    Perhaps the overtly sexual aspect that you mentioned which is fairly recent in Russia is due to the commercialization of Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union?

    Прошу прощения для уходить тема, но я – любопытный человек и я люблю слова!

49. 

     

    Delia:

    A couple of comments:

    I never heard of Кто? Уто? Конь в пальто, we usually say “Кто? Кто? Дед Пикто” when you’re annoyed with questions, especially if it is a WHO/КТО question.

    If it’s a WHY/ПОЧЕМУ question,then we might answer “Почему? Потому что оканчивается на У”. Which means “WHY? Because it ends with У” In Russian the Why question has the vowel У at the end.

    Another saying mentioned here was Старость не радость. We also say “Старость не младость” Being old is not being young which I actually like better.

    Speaking of age, I love this one “Если бы молодость знала, если бы старость могла” If only young people knew (what to do)and old people could (do)