Tag Archives: Russian language
Russia – the Land of the Crocodiles Posted by yelena on Jul 8, 2013
You might already know that Россия – родина слонов (Russia is the home of elephants). But did you know that крокодилы (crocodiles) are also very popular in Russia? Don’t believe me? Back in 1582 Russian летописцы (chroniclers) mentioned an appearance of crocodiles near the city of Pskov. But that’s all ancient history. It’s time to…
Three Whales and Other Russian Phrases for Counting to Ten Posted by yelena on Mar 13, 2013
I am trying to figure out a way to talk about the три кита русского мата (the three whales of the Russian obscenity) without crossing the line yet without having to use so many *** that it makes the post unreadable. If you have any ideas on how to do this, let me know. In…
How to Curse Like a Russian Kindergartner Posted by yelena on Mar 7, 2013
Today, my friends, is the day to learn some Russian curse words. The signs are all here – the Chelyabinsk meteor, the asteroid flyby, the unbelievable видео с авторегистраторов (dashcam videos). These videos alone make you want to curse a blue streak. However, keeping in mind that just like the great and mighty Russian language…
Oldies, but Goodies – Love Songs Edition Posted by yelena on Feb 14, 2013
Yay, it’s Valentine’s Day today! Love it or make fun of it, there’s no escape from dozens of red roses, pounds of chocolate candy, piles of cheesy postcards and other holiday hoopla. Either way, let’s make the most out of the occasion and listen to some love songs that you have probably not heard before and get…
5 Russian Stereotypes Other Than Winter, Vodka and Bears Posted by yelena on Jan 17, 2013
In the middle of the winter, a group of young foreigners travels across Russia searching for Russian women, Russian vodka and Russian bears. Nope, this is not a sequel to Особенности национальной охоты (Peculiarities of the National Hunt) movie. Instead, it is this year’s Cinetrain documentary project. The twenty four filmmakers participating in it are…
How to Count to a Billion in Russian Posted by yelena on Nov 15, 2012
Image source: Wikimedia Commons Do you know how to count to a million in Russian? Recently, we posted about counting до двадцати (to twenty) in Russian. And a while ago we talked about counting to 100. But суровая действительность (the harsh reality) dictates that we learn numbers well beyond the first сотня (hundred). Here’s why. Budgeting for…
Do You Speak Runglish? Posted by yelena on Sep 4, 2012
If you are to search Google for a phrase “на каком языке говорит эта женщина” (what language does this woman speak), you will get более шестисот тысяч результатов (over six hundred thousand results). The above video will be at the top of the search results followed closely by articles and forum discussions, many – highly…