Tag Archives: russian vocabulary
Can You Name 10 More Birds in Russian? Posted by Maria on Apr 20, 2017
How did you do with our ten-bird challenge last week? Can you name ten additional birds? Here is a list to help you expand your ornithological vocabulary. 1. Сорока Сорока is a magpie. These birds have a reputation for liking and stealing shiny objects, although this perception has been debunked. There is a popular interactive…
A Sight to Behold: “Vision” Words with ‑з(о)р‑ in Russian Posted by Maria on Mar 20, 2017
Many readers have commented they enjoy learning related words in “families.” Today, we will look at a group of words with the root -зр-/-зор-, all having to do with seeing. Зрение — Vision The most basic word in this family is зрение (vision, eyesight). This refers to the physiological ability to perceive things with your…
Believe It Or Not: Верить And Related Words in Russian Posted by Maria on Mar 15, 2017
Верить (to believe) and other related words cover various concepts having to do with confidence, reliability, and loyalty in Russian. Let us look at seven of these concepts. Верить The most basic word is верить (to believe). There are two ways you can use it: верить + в + accusative case — to believe in something/someone верить…
Друзья-товарищи: Degrees of Friendship in Russian Posted by Maria on Dec 22, 2016
There are several words for talking about your social circle in Russian. Are all friends created equal? Not so in Russian. There may be some overlap between different words referring to friendship, but let’s concentrate on what’s specific to each of them. Друг The notion of a friend (друг) is more restrictive in Russian than…
Mutually Beneficial: Russian Words With Взаимо- You Need To Know Posted by Maria on Dec 6, 2016
Взаимо- is a useful root that lets you create compound words with the sense of “mutual” or “two-way.” This post will list some common words made with that root. First, взаимо- is related to the adjective “взаимный,” “mutual.” Сохрани́ть доброжела́тельность, чу́вство взаи́много уваже́ния, любви́ ― о́чень сло́жная шту́ка. (Keeping that friendliness, the feeling of mutual respect and…
Ten Key Russian Words for Talking About Brexit Posted by Maria on Jul 4, 2016
The news of #Brexit has been trending over the last few days. For those who were away on a desert island, the United Kingdom has held a referendum and voted to leave the European Union. Here are some useful words for discussing Brexit with your Russian friends. 1. Европейский союз Европейский союз, also known as Евросоюз…
Five Confusing Phrases of English Origin in Russian Posted by Maria on Jun 29, 2016
We know that English influences many languages, including Russian. Numerous words from the domains of science, technology, commerce, and entertainment are borrowed from English. At the same time, some Russian words have English origins but are used in ways unheard of in English. We already covered business words of English origin whose meaning is different…