{"id":14404,"date":"2021-07-15T09:00:01","date_gmt":"2021-07-15T09:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=14404"},"modified":"2022-05-18T13:48:48","modified_gmt":"2022-05-18T13:48:48","slug":"two-very-neat-russian-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/two-very-neat-russian-words\/","title":{"rendered":"Two very neat Russian words"},"content":{"rendered":"

*All images from Google Translate are by author<\/em><\/p>\n

This blog is simple. I have two Russian words that I find very neat and a little underappreciated. We will talk about what they mean, how they are used, and attempt to make sense of their English translations. And if you are a native Russian speaker or (after reading this blog) somebody who will share my appreciation for these two words, I\u2019m asking you to comment below on how you would translate them into English \u00a0(or if there are other language alternatives).<\/p>\n

\"3

Photo by\u00a0Anne Kruse<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0from\u00a0Pexels<\/strong><\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

The two words are:<\/h4>\n
    \n
  1. \u0417\u0430\u0433\u0432\u043e\u0301\u0437\u0434\u043a\u0430 [zagvo<\/span>zdka]<\/li>\n
  2. \u0418\u0437\u044e\u0301\u043c\u0438\u043d\u043a\u0430 [izyu<\/span>minka]<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If you already know what they mean \u2014 great. But I\u2019m going to hold off on simply putting the English translation above because I want us to go on a little language walk to uncover their meaning together (and also because I don\u2019t know how to translate them in less than a paragraph). And before you ask \u2014 no, they are not entirely \u201cuntranslatable\u201d even though the click-bait tendencies across language-learning platforms make it oh so tempting<\/em> to title this blog exactly that. As a concept, labeling words in other languages as \u201cuntranslatable\u201d stirs very conflicting emotions in me. One part wants to know everything about that word while the other is thinking about this really cool excerpt from David Shariatmadari\u2019s book* where he says: \u201cThe cult of untranslatables goes beyond orientalism. They spread meme-like, with the same misleading explanations repeated. Often, they hew suspiciously closely to stereotypes about the culture in question\u201d. (Also, please see this great blog by Maria where she discusses six quintessentially Russian concepts<\/a> without calling them untranslatable).<\/p>\n

    But I digress. If you were to type \u201c\u0437\u0430\u0433\u0432\u043e\u0301\u0437\u0434\u043a\u0430<\/strong>\u201d and \u201c\u0438\u0437\u044e\u0301\u043c\u0438\u043d\u043a\u0430<\/strong>\u201d in google translate right this second, here\u2019s what you will get.<\/p>\n

    \u0417\u0430\u0433\u0432\u043e\u0437\u0434\u043a\u0430<\/h4>\n
    \"zagvozdka

    image by author<\/p><\/div>\n

    \"izyuminka

    image by author<\/p><\/div>\n

    While \u201csnag\u201d is certainly not the first word that comes to my mind when I think of \u201c\u0437\u0430\u0433\u0432\u043e\u0437\u0434\u043a\u0430<\/strong>\u201d it\u2019s at least a step in the right direction. According to Merriam-Webster<\/a>, a snag (from what I understand mostly used in British English) means:<\/p>\n