{"id":2243,"date":"2011-08-05T08:00:31","date_gmt":"2011-08-05T08:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=2243"},"modified":"2014-07-17T17:14:15","modified_gmt":"2014-07-17T17:14:15","slug":"when-russians-get-busy-they-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/when-russians-get-busy-they-say\/","title":{"rendered":"When Russians Get Busy, They Say…"},"content":{"rendered":"

On my \u00ab<\/strong>\u043b\u0438<\/span>\u0447\u043d\u044b\u0439\u00bb<\/strong> [personal] blog I frequently start new posts with \u00ab<\/strong>\u0438\u0437\u0432\u0438\u043d\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u0435\u00bb<\/strong> [an apology]. It goes something like this: \u201cWell, it\u2019s been a while since my last post, but things have been crazy-busy here\u201d. Until very recently I didn\u2019t think much of the \u201ccrazy-busy\u201d phrase, but how would I say something like that in Russian?<\/p>\n

As I reflected on the many options, I once again though of how \u00ab<\/strong>\u0432\u0435\u043b\u0438<\/span>\u043a <\/strong>\u0438 <\/strong>\u043c\u043e\u0433\u0443<\/span>\u0447 <\/strong>\u0440\u0443<\/span>\u0441\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439 <\/strong>\u044f\u0437\u044b<\/span>\u043a\u00bb<\/strong> [great and mighty the Russian language] really is. Not to mention how \u00ab\u0438\u0437\u043e\u0449\u0440\u0451<\/span>\u043d\u043d\u044b\u0439\u00bb<\/strong> [intricate] it can be.<\/p>\n

The simple and straightforward way for me would be to say \u00ab<\/strong>\u044f <\/strong>\u0431\u044b\u043b\u0430<\/span> <\/strong>\u043e<\/span><\/strong>\u0447\u0435\u043d\u044c <\/strong>\u0437\u0430\u043d\u044f\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u00bb<\/strong> [I was very busy] or \u00ab<\/strong>\u0443 <\/strong>\u043c\u0435\u043d\u044f<\/span> <\/strong>\u0431\u044b<\/span>\u043b\u043e <\/strong>\u043c\u043d\u043e<\/span>\u0433\u043e <\/strong>\u0434\u0435\u043b\u00bb<\/strong> [I had many things to do]. My friends do know me as somewhat of a \u00ab<\/strong>\u0434\u0435\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0430<\/span>\u044f <\/strong>\u043a\u043e\u043b\u0431\u0430\u0441\u0430<\/span>\u00bb<\/strong> [busy bee; lit. busy sausage]. Be careful using this idiom though since it adds a note of irony and even a hint of scorn to an otherwise full-bodied \u00ab<\/strong>\u043a\u043e\u043c\u043f\u043b\u0438\u043c\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0442\u00bb<\/strong> [compliment].<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u0411\u044b\u0442\u044c <\/strong>\u0437\u0430\u043d\u044f\u0442\u044b<\/span>\u043c\u00bb<\/strong> [masculine of \u201cto be busy\u201d] or \u00ab<\/strong>\u0431\u044b\u0442\u044c <\/strong>\u0437\u0430\u043d\u044f\u0442\u043e<\/span>\u0439\u00bb<\/strong> [feminine of \u201cto be busy\u201d is a good phrase to use. However, so many of my posts, e-mails, phone calls and Facebook messages start with this apology, I have to use something else for variety.<\/p>\n

Have you heard a word \u00ab<\/strong>\u0437\u0430\u043f\u0430<\/span>\u0440\u043a\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [steaming]? I love it. The excuse \u00ab<\/strong>\u0443 <\/strong>\u043c\u0435\u043d\u044f<\/span> <\/strong>\u0442\u0443\u0442 <\/strong>\u0437\u0430\u043f\u0430<\/span>\u0440\u043a\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> is so evocative of how a very busy person might feel – overheating, with \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u0430\u0440\u00bb<\/strong> [steam] escaping with every breath, just about ready to boil over from all the activity. A good English equivalent would be \u201cto be in a lather\u201d.<\/p>\n

Note:<\/em> do not confuse \u00ab<\/strong>\u0437\u0430\u043f\u0430<\/span>\u0440\u043a\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> with \u00ab<\/strong>\u0437\u043e\u043e\u043f\u0430<\/span>\u0440\u043a\u00bb<\/strong> [a zoo]. The two words sound startlingly similar, especially if carelessly pronounced, but mean totally different things as in \u00ab<\/strong>\u044f <\/strong>\u0432 <\/strong>\u0437\u0430\u043f\u0430<\/span>\u0440\u043a\u0435\u00bb<\/strong> [I\u2019ve worked myself into a lather] and \u00ab<\/strong>\u044f <\/strong>\u0432 <\/strong>\u0437\u043e\u043e\u043f\u0430<\/span>\u0440\u043a\u0435\u00bb <\/strong>[I\u2019m at a zoo].<\/p>\n

Another great \u201cbusy\u201d word is \u00ab<\/strong>\u0437\u0430\u0433\u0440\u0443<\/span>\u0436\u0435\u043d\u043d\u044b\u0439\u00bb<\/strong> [loaded] as in \u00ab<\/strong>\u0423 <\/strong>\u043c\u0435\u043d\u044f<\/span> <\/strong>\u0440\u0430\u0441\u043f\u0438\u0441\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u0435 <\/strong>\u043e<\/span><\/strong>\u0447\u0435\u043d\u044c <\/strong>\u0437\u0430\u0433\u0440\u0443<\/span>\u0436\u0435\u043d\u043d\u043e\u0435 <\/strong>\u043d\u0430 <\/strong>\u0432\u0441\u0451 <\/strong>\u043b\u0435<\/span>\u0442\u043e, <\/strong>\u0442\u0430\u043a <\/strong>\u0447\u0442\u043e <\/strong>\u043e<\/span><\/strong>\u0442\u043f\u0443\u0441\u043a\u0430 <\/strong>\u043d\u0435 <\/strong>\u0431\u0443<\/span>\u0434\u0435\u0442\u00bb<\/strong> [My schedule is loaded for the entire summer, so I won\u2019t have a vacation].<\/p>\n

An even more informal way of saying the same thing would be \u00ab<\/strong>\u041d\u0430 <\/strong>\u0440\u0430\u0431\u043e<\/span>\u0442\u0435 <\/strong>\u043f\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u043d\u044b\u0439 <\/strong>\u0437\u0430\u0433\u0440\u0443<\/span>\u0437 <\/strong>\u0438 <\/strong>\u043e<\/span><\/strong>\u0442\u043f\u0443\u0441\u043a\u0430 <\/strong>\u043d\u0435 <\/strong>\u0431\u0443<\/span>\u0434\u0435\u0442\u00bb<\/strong> [It\u2019s crazy-busy at work, so no vacation]. Or in my case, I\u2019d have to write \u00ab<\/strong>\u0418\u0437\u0432\u0438\u043d\u044f<\/span>\u044e\u0441\u044c <\/strong>\u0437\u0430 <\/strong>\u043c\u043e\u043b\u0447\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u0435, <\/strong>\u043d\u0430 <\/strong>\u0440\u0430\u0431\u043e<\/span>\u0442\u0435 <\/strong>\u0437\u0430\u0433\u0440\u0443<\/span>\u0437\u00bb<\/strong> [Apologies for the silence, work\u2019s been crazy-busy].<\/p>\n

The word \u00ab<\/strong>\u043d\u0430\u043f\u0440\u044f\u0436\u0451<\/span>\u043d\u043d\u044b\u0439\u00bb<\/strong> [intense] can undergo a similar transformation and become a very informally used noun \u00ab<\/strong>\u043d\u0430\u043f\u0440\u044f<\/span>\u0433\u00bb<\/strong> [pressure]. It\u2019s not exactly the same as being busy, of course, but my experience tells me that whenever things in life get \u00ab<\/strong>\u043d\u0430\u043f\u0440\u044f\u0436\u0451<\/span>\u043d\u043d\u044b\u0435\u00bb<\/strong> [intense], people tend to \u00ab<\/strong>\u0431\u044b\u0442\u044c <\/strong>\u0432 <\/strong>\u043d\u0430\u043f\u0440\u044f<\/span>\u0433\u0435\u00bb<\/strong> [be under pressure] and get very busy.<\/p>\n

Sometimes I complain that my time is \u00ab<\/strong>\u0437\u0430\u0431\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u043e <\/strong>\u043a\u0430\u043a\u0438<\/span>\u043c\u0438-<\/strong>\u0442\u043e <\/strong>\u043c\u0435\u043b\u043e\u0447\u0430<\/span>\u043c\u0438\u00bb<\/strong> [taken up by little things]. A friend likes saying that his \u00ab<\/strong>\u0434\u043d\u0438 <\/strong>\u0437\u0430\u0431\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u044b <\/strong>\u043f\u043e\u0434 <\/strong>\u0437\u0430\u0432\u044f<\/span>\u0437\u043a\u0443\u00bb<\/strong> [days are chock-full].<\/p>\n

But my absolutely favorite way of complaining about the problem of not having enough time is to say \u00ab<\/strong>\u044f <\/strong>\u0432 <\/strong>\u043f\u043e\u0441\u0442\u043e\u044f<\/span>\u043d\u043d\u043e\u043c <\/strong>\u0446\u0435\u0439\u0442\u043d\u043e<\/span>\u0442\u0435\u00bb<\/strong> [I\u2019m in a constant acute shortage of time]. \u00ab<\/strong>\u0426\u0435\u0439\u0442\u043d\u043e<\/span>\u0442\u00bb<\/strong> is a direct borrowing from the German \u201cZeitnot\u201d, a chess term known in English as \u201ctime trouble<\/a>\u201d or \u201ctime pressure\u201d.<\/p>\n

So how do you say that you have been busy?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"Soviet

On my \u00ab\u043b\u0438\u0447\u043d\u044b\u0439\u00bb [personal] blog I frequently start new posts with \u00ab\u0438\u0437\u0432\u0438\u043d\u0435\u043d\u0438\u0435\u00bb [an apology]. It goes something like this: \u201cWell, it\u2019s been a while since my last post, but things have been crazy-busy here\u201d. Until very recently I didn\u2019t think much of the \u201ccrazy-busy\u201d phrase, but how would I say something like that in Russian?…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":2244,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3,8,7828],"tags":[60756,1248,1278,9623],"class_list":["post-2243","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-language","category-russian-for-beginners","tag-conversational-russian","tag-russian-language","tag-russian-slang","tag-speaking-russian"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2243","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=2243"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2243\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6350,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2243\/revisions\/6350"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2243"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}