Today we will talk about the oft-overlooked word кача́ть. From its literal meaning of rocking to its uses in exercise and networking, качать is a useful word to have in your arsenal!

Don’t Rock the Boat!

The first and primary meaning of качать is to rock something back and forth, for example, качать ребёнка. Another collocation is качать голово́й (to shake your head):

Старики́, проходя́ ми́мо, кача́ли неодобри́тельно голова́ми. Но техни́ческого прогре́сса и модерниза́ции останови́ть не могли́. (Old people passing by shook their heads in disapproval but could not stop progress.) [Герман Садулаев. Бич Божий (2010) // «Знамя», 2008]

Качать can also refer to the rocking of a sea vessel. Sometimes it is used literally:

Ло́дку с борта́ на борт кача́ло. (The boat was rocking from side to side.) [Борис Екимов. Рассказы // «Новый Мир», 2002]

Other times, качать ло́дку or раска́чивать ло́дку refers to rocking the proverbial boat — disturbing peace of challenging the status quo:

Они́ что, не понима́ли, как опа́сно раска́чивать ло́дку во вре́мя войны́? (Did they not understand how dangerous it was to rock the boat during the war?) [Сергей Баймухаметов. Кто погубил прежнюю Россию? Нация самоубийц? (2003) // «Вестник США», 2003.11.12]

Pump It Up!

A related meaning of качать has to do with pumping — water from the well, oil from the ground, and so on.

Но газ мо́жно кача́ть по тру́бам, а у́голь прихо́дится вози́ть по желе́зной доро́ге, что до́рого и неудо́бно. (But you can transport gas over a pipeline, while coal needs to be transported by rail, which is expensive and cumbersome.) [Борис Жуков. Стратегия, загнанная в уголь (2003)]

Для поли́ва э́тих садо́в со́тни рабо́в кача́ли во́ду из Евфра́та. (Hundreds of slaves pumped water from the Euphrates to irrigate these gardens.) [Борис Руденко. Чудеса света: семь и другие // «Наука и жизнь», 2008]

Surprising Meanings

Some meanings of the word may not be as obvious but make sense if you think metaphorically.

Качать can refer to training a certain muscle group — compare it to the English “pumping iron.” The slang term for a gym is кача́лка. A gym rat/bodybuilding addict is качо́к.

Мне сказа́ли, что нельзя́ не́сколько дней пресс кача́ть, а ещё в бассе́йн па́ру неде́ль не ходи́ть. (I was told I could not do situps for a few days and go to the swimming pool for a couple of weeks.) [Красота, здоровье, отдых: Красота (форум) (2005)]

Качать is also a slang term for downloading data. Think about it as pumping water from a well — it’s the same idea. The perfective verb is скача́ть. The technical term for download (or upload, for that matter) is загрузи́ть.

Я уже́ полчаса́ кача́ю э́тот дура́цкий файл. (I’ve been downloading this stupid file for half an hour.) [Андрей Геласимов. Год обмана (2003)] ) // «Еженедельный журнал», 2003.03.03]

Finally, one of the most unexpected — and most popular — saying with качать is кача́ть права́. This colloquial expression means “to seek justice,” “to fight for your rights,” or also “to make a stink about something.”

Положе́ние бы́ло тру́дное, кача́ть права́ бесполе́зно. (The situation was difficult; putting up a fight was pointless.) [Давид Самойлов. Общий дневник (1977-1989)]

Have you encountered качать in these or any other contexts?