{"id":1761,"date":"2011-01-18T10:00:22","date_gmt":"2011-01-18T10:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=1761"},"modified":"2014-07-17T14:26:43","modified_gmt":"2014-07-17T14:26:43","slug":"russian-swimming-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/russian-swimming-words\/","title":{"rendered":"Swimming… in Russian"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

Have you ever considered participating in \u00ab<\/strong>\u0442\u0440\u0438\u0430\u0442\u043b\u043e<\/span>\u043d\u00bb<\/strong> [a triathlon]? I haven\u2019t because\u2026 shhh\u2026 I can\u2019t \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u0430\u0442\u044c\u00bb<\/strong> [swim]. I know, I know, how could I, who grew up on the banks of the mighty \u00ab<\/strong>\u0412\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u0433\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [Volga], not become at least a passable swimmer? Sometimes I wonder about this myself, but here I am nevertheless.<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u0412 <\/strong>\u043c\u043e\u044e<\/span> <\/strong>\u0437\u0430\u0449\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u0443\u00bb<\/strong> [In my defense], I did learn how to \u00ab<\/strong>\u0434\u0435\u0440\u0436\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u044c\u0441\u044f <\/strong>\u043d\u0430 <\/strong>\u043f\u043b\u0430\u0432\u0443<\/span>\u00bb<\/strong> [stay afloat] after that one time in \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u0438\u043e\u043d\u0435<\/span>\u0440\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439 <\/strong>\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0433\u0435\u0440\u044c\u00bb<\/strong> [a youth summer camp] when I almost \u00ab<\/strong>\u0443\u0442\u043e\u043d\u0443<\/span>\u0442\u044c\u00bb<\/strong> [to drown].<\/p>\n

After that incident I begged my parents to get me \u00ab<\/strong>\u0430\u0431\u043e\u043d\u0435\u043c\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0442 <\/strong>\u0432 <\/strong>\u0431\u0430\u0441\u0441\u0435<\/span>\u0439\u043d\u00bb<\/strong> [a multi-visit pass to the swimming pool] and tried a few \u00ab<\/strong>\u0443\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u043a\u0438 <\/strong>\u043f\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u0430\u043d\u044c\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> [swimming lessons]. My haphazard splashing did improve to the level of a frantic \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u0430\u043d\u044c\u0435 <\/strong>\u043f\u043e-<\/strong>\u0441\u043e\u0431\u0430<\/span>\u0447\u044c\u0438\u00bb<\/strong> [dog paddle] and a semi-confident \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u0430\u043d\u044c\u0435 <\/strong>\u043d\u0430 <\/strong>\u0441\u043f\u0438\u043d\u0435<\/span>\u00bb<\/strong> [backstroke]. This is my \u00ab\u0432\u043e\u043b\u044c\u043d\u044b\u0439<\/strong>\u0441\u0442\u0438\u043b\u044c\u00bb<\/strong> [freestyle] combination, by the way. I continue to \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u0430\u0442\u044c <\/strong>\u043a\u0430\u043a <\/strong>\u0442\u043e\u043f\u043e<\/span>\u0440\u00bb<\/strong> [lit: swim like an ax = swim like a stone] every time I attempt \u00ab<\/strong>\u0431\u0440\u0430\u0441\u0441\u00bb<\/strong> [breaststroke] or \u00ab<\/strong>\u043a\u0440\u043e\u043b\u044c\u00bb<\/strong> [front crawl].<\/p>\n

Since then I spent years in Florida, a place with a ratio of \u00ab<\/strong>\u0431\u0430\u0441\u0441\u0435<\/span>\u0439\u043d\u044b\u00bb<\/strong> [swimming pools] to \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0446\u044b<\/span>\u00bb<\/strong> [swimmers] is almost 1:1. Not to mention that I lived within walking distance from \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u043b\u044f\u0436\u00bb<\/strong> [beach]. Apparently hanging out \u00ab<\/strong>\u0433\u0434\u0435 <\/strong>\u043c\u0435<\/span>\u043b\u043a\u043e\u00bb<\/strong> [on the shallow end] doesn\u2019t improve one\u2019s \u00ab<\/strong>\u043d\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u044b\u043a\u0438 <\/strong>\u043f\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u0430\u043d\u044c\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> [swimming skills].<\/p>\n

Still, I love watching \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0446\u044b<\/span>\u00bb<\/strong> [male swimmers] and \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0447\u0438<\/span>\u0445\u0438\u00bb<\/strong> [female swimmers] practice and compete. Would I ever \u00ab<\/strong>\u043d\u044b\u0440\u044f<\/span>\u0442\u044c <\/strong>\u0433\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0432\u043e<\/span>\u0439 <\/strong>\u0432\u043f\u0435\u0440\u0451<\/span>\u0434\u00bb<\/strong> [dive head forward]? No way! When I dive, it\u2019s always \u00ab<\/strong>\u0441\u043e\u043b\u0434\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u0438\u043a\u043e\u043c\u00bb<\/strong> [lit: soldier-style = rigid and feet first, resembling a soldier standing at attention]. In case you\u2019re wondering, \u201ccannonball\u201d dive is \u00ab<\/strong>\u043d\u044b\u0440\u044f<\/span>\u0442\u044c <\/strong>\u0431\u043e<\/span>\u0447\u043a\u043e\u0439\u00bb<\/strong> [lit. barrel dive].Would I ever propel myself forward using \u00ab<\/strong>\u0431\u0430\u0442\u0442\u0435\u0440\u0444\u043b\u044f<\/span>\u0439\u00bb<\/strong> [butterfly stroke]? No! Last time I tried, \u00ab<\/strong>\u0441\u043f\u0430\u0441\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u0435\u043b\u044c\u00bb<\/strong> [lifeguard] thought I was calling for help. But the biggest show-stopper for me, when it comes to training for \u00ab<\/strong>\u041e\u043b\u0438\u043c\u043f\u0438<\/span>\u0439\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0435 <\/strong>\u0438<\/span><\/strong>\u0433\u0440\u044b\u00bb<\/strong> [the Olympic Games] is that I refuse to keep my eyes open \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u043e\u0434 <\/strong>\u0432\u043e\u0434\u043e<\/span>\u0439\u00bb <\/strong>[under water],<\/strong> whether I wear \u00ab<\/strong>\u043e\u0447\u043a\u0438<\/span> <\/strong>\u0434\u043b\u044f <\/strong>\u043f\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u0430\u043d\u044c\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> [swimming goggles] or not.<\/p>\n

But enough about me. After all, I think that most Russians are much better swimmers than I am. How do I know? Well, how else would you explain the fact that so many Russian men wear \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u043a\u0438\u00bb<\/strong> [Speedo-style swimming trunks] \u00ab<\/strong>\u0432 <\/strong>\u0431\u0430\u0441\u0441\u0435<\/span>\u0439\u043d\u0435\u00bb<\/strong> [at a swimming pool] and \u00ab<\/strong>\u043d\u0430 <\/strong>\u043f\u043b\u044f<\/span>\u0436\u0435\u00bb<\/strong> [at a beach].Thankfully, the younger generation of Russian men is now more into \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u043b\u044f<\/span>\u0436\u043d\u044b\u0435 <\/strong>\u0448\u043e<\/span>\u0440\u0442\u044b\u00bb<\/strong> [beach shorts]. While a positive change aesthetically, does it mean that Russians are becoming less \u00ab<\/strong>\u043a\u043e\u043d\u043a\u0443\u0440\u0435\u043d\u0442\u043e\u0441\u043f\u043e\u0441\u043e<\/span>\u0431\u043d\u044b\u0439\u00bb<\/strong> [competitive] at swimming?<\/p>\n

Next question: in line with the theme of \u00ab<\/strong>\u0441\u043e\u0432\u043c\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u044c <\/strong>\u043f\u0440\u0438\u044f<\/span>\u0442\u043d\u043e\u0435 <\/strong>\u0441 <\/strong>\u043f\u043e\u043b\u0435<\/span>\u0437\u043d\u044b\u043c\u00bb<\/strong> [reconcile pleasure with duty], if you are into swimming, can you learn Russian \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u0430\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> [while swimming]?<\/p>\n

Since they haven\u2019t yet invented some kind of swimming treadmills, printing and laminating this post won\u2019t help. If you have \u00ab<\/strong>\u0432\u043e\u0434\u043e\u043d\u0435\u043f\u0440\u043e\u043d\u0438\u0446\u0430<\/span>\u0435\u043c\u044b\u0439\u00bb<\/strong> [waterproof] iPod, you might download and listen to this Aquafit podcast<\/a> (it\u2019s primarily for women and not all issues are about swimming) or this personal podcast\u2019s \u201cswimming\u201d-tagged<\/a> posts.<\/p>\n

Or you can memorize related vocabulary, including:<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u0430\u043d\u044c\u0435\u00bb<\/strong> – swimming<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u043b\u044b\u0442\u044c\u00bb<\/strong>, \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u0430\u0442\u044c\u00bb<\/strong>, \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u043e\u043f\u043b\u044b<\/span>\u0442\u044c\u00bb<\/strong> [perfective aspect] – to swim (practice conjugating<\/a> all three)<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u043e\u0442\u043a\u0440\u044b<\/span>\u0442\u044b\u0439 <\/strong>\u0431\u0430\u0441\u0441\u0435<\/span>\u0439\u043d\u00bb<\/strong> – open air swimming pool<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u0437\u0430\u043a\u0440\u044b<\/span>\u0442\u044b\u0439 <\/strong>\u0431\u0430\u0441\u0441\u0435<\/span>\u0439\u043d\u00bb<\/strong> – indoor swimming pool<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u0431\u0430\u0441\u0441\u0435<\/span>\u0439\u043d\u00bb<\/strong> – swimming pool, but also refers to the swimming distance as in \u00ab<\/strong>\u044f <\/strong>\u043f\u0440\u043e\u043f\u043b\u044b<\/span>\u043b <\/strong>\u043a\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u0435\u043c 2 <\/strong>\u0431\u0430\u0441\u0441\u0435<\/span>\u0439\u043d\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [I swam 2 lengths of the pool using front crawl stroke].<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u043a\u0438\u00bb<\/strong> – man\u2019s swimming trunks, short and tight (think Speedos)<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u043a\u0443\u043f\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u043d\u0438\u043a\u00bb<\/strong> – woman\u2019s swimming suit, also \u00ab\u043a\u0443\u043f\u0430\u043b\u044c\u043d\u044b\u0439 \u043a\u043e\u0441\u0442\u044e\u043c\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u043f\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u0430\u0442\u0435\u043b\u044c\u043d\u044b\u0439 \u043a\u043e\u0441\u0442\u044e<\/span>\u043c\u00bb<\/strong> – swimsuit<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u0437\u0430\u043f\u043b\u044b<\/span>\u0432\u00bb<\/strong> – heat, as in swimming heat<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u0437\u0430\u043f\u043b\u044b<\/span>\u0432 <\/strong>\u043d\u0430 200 <\/strong>\u043c\u0435<\/span>\u0442\u0440\u043e\u0432 <\/strong>\u0431\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u0441\u043e\u043c\u00bb<\/strong> – a 200-meter breaststroke heat – this is just an example of using the word \u00ab<\/strong>\u0437\u0430\u043f\u043b\u044b<\/span>\u0432\u00bb<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u043e\u0442\u043a\u0440\u044b<\/span>\u0442\u0430\u044f <\/strong>\u0432\u043e\u0434\u0430<\/span>\u00bb<\/strong> – open water, as in river, lake, ocean<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u0434\u0438\u0441\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u0446\u0438\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> – distance<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u0434\u043e\u0441\u043a\u0430<\/span> \u0434\u043b\u044f \u043f\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u0430\u043d\u044c\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> – kickboard<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u0442\u044b\u00bb<\/strong> – flippers<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u043d\u044b\u0440\u044f<\/span>\u0442\u044c\u00bb <\/strong>(imperfective), \u00ab<\/strong>\u043d\u044b\u0440\u043d\u0443<\/span>\u0442\u044c\u00bb <\/strong>(perfective) – to dive<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u0440\u044b\u0436\u043a\u0438<\/span> <\/strong>\u0432 <\/strong>\u0432\u043e<\/span>\u0434\u0443\u00bb<\/strong> – diving, both springboard and platform<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u0441\u0438\u043d\u0445\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u043d\u043d\u043e\u0435 <\/strong>\u043f\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u0430\u043d\u044c\u0435\u00bb<\/strong> – synchronized swimming<\/p>\n

Any swimmers out there? Help me out by adding more vocabulary (in English, Russian or both) and swimming-related Russian-language resources – training manuals, podcasts, news articles, videos, etc.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Have you ever considered participating in \u00ab\u0442\u0440\u0438\u0430\u0442\u043b\u043e\u043d\u00bb [a triathlon]? I haven\u2019t because\u2026 shhh\u2026 I can\u2019t \u00ab\u043f\u043b\u0430\u0432\u0430\u0442\u044c\u00bb [swim]. I know, I know, how could I, who grew up on the banks of the mighty \u00ab\u0412\u043e\u043b\u0433\u0430\u00bb [Volga], not become at least a passable swimmer? Sometimes I wonder about this myself, but here I am nevertheless. \u00ab\u0412…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":1762,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[8,7828],"tags":[7775,3560,13334,1237,1248,13346,2556],"class_list":["post-1761","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-language","category-russian-for-beginners","tag-fun-in-russia","tag-hobbies","tag-learning-russian-is-fun","tag-russian-grammar","tag-russian-language","tag-sports-in-russia","tag-swimming"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1761"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1761\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6265,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1761\/revisions\/6265"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}