Tag Archives: Russian sayings
More Macabre Sayings Posted by bota on Oct 11, 2021
While Halloween on October 31st might not be a widely recognized or endorsed holiday in Russia, there are plenty of macabre Russian sayings to use this spooky season. Some are very similar to English idiomatic expressions, for example: то́лько че́рез мой труп – over my dead body. Others are dark but humorous and colloquial. Спать как…
Russian Summer Sayings Posted by Nadya on May 28, 2021
We have already talked about Russian spring proverbs, winter expressions, and fall vocabulary. And, of course, today’s blog will be about summer sayings. Today, you can quickly check the weather forecast in seconds. To do this, you just need the Internet. But for millennia, people have followed the changes in nature and its phenomena. The…
Russian Proverbs About Spring Posted by Nadya on Mar 30, 2021
Probably, people in Russia do not await any other season as much as spring. Finally, the snow melted, the birds started singing, and nature began to acquire bright colors. For a long time in Russia, spring was treated with gratitude and honor. Writers have devoted an endless number of novels and poems describing spring nature…
Love And Vegetable Sayings Posted by Nadya on Feb 12, 2021
As you know, Valentine’s Day (День Святого Валентина) is approaching. There will finally be an occasion to call those we love (любить) but rarely talk to. While some are looking forward to this holiday, others do not celebrate it for their personal reasons or principles. No matter what group of people you belong to, I…
Winter Is Coming – Idiomatic Expressions Posted by Nadya on Nov 30, 2020
What comes to your mind when you hear the word “Russia?” Foreigners often imagine a blizzard on Red Square, people in earflaps, and snow banks at least to the knee. Although there is already some snow in many cities in Russia, winter officially begins there on December 1st. “Пе́рвый снег — не зима́, пе́рвая зазно́ба…
Working hard or hardly working: Russian sayings about laziness Posted by bota on Jul 14, 2020
Not sure if it’s July heat in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan that’s making any effort to do anything three times more exhausting, or the fact that I consumed triple the recommended amount of chocolate fudge cake for my birthday (you only turn 25 once, right?) — either way, I’m feeling like the biggest sloth. So, why not…
When “Yes No Maybe” Is A Complete Sentence Posted by Nadya on Apr 22, 2020
Words or whole phrases, intonation, and stress are used to express confidence and uncertainty in speech. In the Russian language, as well as in other languages, there are formal and informal forms of expression. Let’s look at a few examples. Modal words Modal words (мода́льные слова́) in the Russian language is the category of words…