Tag Archives: useful Russian phrases
Just a Story About Grilling Posted by yelena on May 29, 2012
School’s out! Finally, it’s time for летние каникулы (summer break). Before you head out to the beach, ask yourself this: нравится ли мне этот блог? получаю ли я от него удовольствие и/или пользу? (Do I like this blog? Do I get pleasure and/or usefulness from reading it?). If the answer is, then please голосуйте за…
Just a Bit About Fruits Posted by yelena on May 17, 2012
As promised, it’s time to talk fruits and berries. Of course, since this is not a gardening blog, but a blog about Russian language and culture, instead of growing advice there will be lots of useful phrases and expressions. Ready? First, the word фрукт itself is interesting. Its main meaning is “fruit”, but when…
Eat Carrots to Look Like Sophia Loren Posted by yelena on May 16, 2012
Continuing with our exploration of огородная лингвистика (vegetable garden linguistics), let’s take a look at other vegetables that made their way into Russian proverbs, sayings and literature. Лук (onion) – everyone knows that лук – от семи недуг (onion helps fight seven illnesses) and in fact so many Russian folk remedies use onion to fight…
To Each Vegetable Its Own… Phrase Posted by yelena on May 14, 2012
There is a wonderful Russian saying всякому овощу своё время (there’s time for everything). But as it turns out, всякому овощу, фрукту и ягоде – своё красное словцо (to each vegetable, fruit or berry its own witticism). Картофель (potato) is a relative newcomer to Russia, appearing only in Peter the Great’s reign. Much like in…
TGIF Posted by yelena on May 4, 2012
TGIF! Are you ready for выходные (weekend)? But first, if you are curious, Thanks God It’s Friday translates into Russian as слава богу, уже пятница. (The poster above explains that nighttime is not the reason to stop work) How was your work week? Are you устал, как собака (dog-tired)? It’s probably because you пахал…
Примета такая есть – There is an Omen Like That Posted by yelena on Apr 16, 2012
I was so busy last week that I completely forgot about April 13. Тринадцатое апреля (April 13) this year fell on пятница (Friday). Since the next one will be в июле (in July), let’s get ready and talk a bit about Russian суеверия (superstitions). You might’ve noticed that the –верие part in the word суеверие…
Tax Time Posted by yelena on Apr 9, 2012
What’s on your mind, уважаемые читатели (dear readers)? If you live in the US, then you probably have two problems to tackle this week. One is what to do with all the empty plastic eggs from the Easter egg hunts. The other one is, of course, налоги (taxes). Have you heard this Russian expression –…