{"id":8885,"date":"2016-03-02T07:31:08","date_gmt":"2016-03-02T07:31:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=8885"},"modified":"2016-09-26T15:52:55","modified_gmt":"2016-09-26T15:52:55","slug":"four-alcohol-related-concepts-you-may-struggle-to-express-in-russian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/four-alcohol-related-concepts-you-may-struggle-to-express-in-russian\/","title":{"rendered":"Four Alcohol-Related Concepts You May Struggle To Express In Russian"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"drinks\"<\/p>\n

What? Struggling to talk about alcohol in Russian? Surely, with the fourth-highest per capita alcohol consumption<\/a> in Europe, Russia must have developed an extensive booze vocabulary, much like the proverbial, if debunked, words for “snow” in Eskimo languages<\/a>? Well, yes and no.<\/p>\n

1. Shots<\/h2>\n

You know those small glasses of straight liquor college kids do in bars? Yes, I’m talking about shots, also known as “shooters.” You may be surprised to learn there is no commonly understood, widespread name for them. A shot glass is, of course, \u0441\u0442\u043e\u0301\u043f\u043a\u0430<\/a>. But what about the drink itself?<\/p>\n

Well, having shots is a relatively new thing in Russia, so most bars that do serve them will call them “\u0448\u043e\u0301\u0442\u044b.” This Russian site even has an explanation<\/a> of what a shot is. The closest I can think of to a shot is having vodka by the \u0440\u044e\u0301\u043c\u043a\u0430 (a 50 ml glass). That is usually done at the table, during a meal, and chugging all of your drink at once is optional. Moreover, at least in my family, that was more of a man’s drink.<\/p>\n

2. Happy Hour<\/h2>\n

\"twoHappy hour is another common concept that does not have a universally recognizable name in Russian. As you probably know, happy hour is the time when establishments offer discounts in an effort to entice customers before the normal “rush hour.” The bilingual corpus Linguee<\/a> lists a few variants for translating it, including “\u0441\u0447\u0430\u0441\u0442\u043b\u0438\u0301\u0432\u044b\u0439 \u0447\u0430\u0441” and “\u0447\u0430\u0441 \u0441\u043a\u0438\u0301\u0434\u043e\u043a” (literally, “discount hour”).<\/p>\n

My Internet research has revealed that many Russian bars<\/a> will use “happy hours” in English and in plural. Perhaps the plural is because the promotion does not last literally one hour?<\/p>\n

3. Mixed Drinks<\/h2>\n

\"mixedNow, I know what some of you may be thinking. “But my Russian friends kept having \u043e\u0442\u0432\u0451\u0440\u0442\u043a\u0430 (screwdriver), so Russians must know at least\u00a0some\u00a0<\/em>mixed drinks.” That much is true. Some mixed drinks are known in Russia, depending where you are and who you talk to.<\/p>\n

For instance, this bar<\/a> in \u042f\u0440\u043e\u0441\u043b\u0430\u0301\u0432\u043b\u044c (Yaroslavl) lists \u043b\u043e\u043d\u0433-\u0430\u0301\u0439\u043b\u0435\u043d\u0434 (Long Island Iced Tea), \u043c\u043e\u0445\u0438\u0301\u0442\u043e (mojito), and \u0434\u0430\u0439\u043a\u0438\u0301\u0440\u0438 (daiquiri). However, you cannot assume that any bartender or, much less, any adult, will know what you are talking about if you casually order a White Russian (“\u0411\u0435\u0301\u043b\u044b\u0439 \u0440\u0443\u0301\u0441\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439<\/a>“? To most people this will sound like we are talking about the White Army<\/a> after the Russian Revolution).<\/p>\n

In general, I find that Russian lacks the detailed vocabulary for alcohol consumption outside the house. For example, I can’t think of a way of saying “well\/rail drinks<\/a>” (mixed drinks made with the cheapest, off-brand liquor) or “call drinks<\/a>” (drinks made with brand-name liquor).<\/p>\n

4. Pre-Gaming<\/h2>\n

Drinking at home before heading out to a social event is known as pregaming<\/a> or preloading in English. I was not able to find an established equivalent in Russian. You would probably use a literal description, like “\u0432\u044b\u0301\u043f\u0438\u0442\u044c \u043f\u0435\u0301\u0440\u0435\u0434 \u0432\u044b\u0301\u0445\u043e\u0434\u043e\u043c \u0432 \u0441\u0432\u0435\u0442” (drink before going out). Does that mean that Russians never drink before going out? No. Perhaps they just haven’t done it long enough or often enough to have an agreed-upon name for it.<\/p>\n

In other words, while alcohol consumption is high in Russia, consuming largely mixed drinks in establishments outside one’s home is a relatively recent and limited development (we are not talking about Tsarist-era inns, or kabaks<\/em>). In my experience, Russians tend to drink their alcohol straight, at home, over the course of a meal. Bars and clubs\u00a0mostly\u00a0attract a younger, trendy, urban crowd. As a result, Russian doesn’t have a very developed vocabulary for going out to drink. Does this align with your experience? Can you think of any other drinking concepts that don’t have a good description in Russian?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"two

What? Struggling to talk about alcohol in Russian? Surely, with the fourth-highest per capita alcohol consumption in Europe, Russia must have developed an extensive booze vocabulary, much like the proverbial, if debunked, words for “snow” in Eskimo languages? Well, yes and no. 1. Shots You know those small glasses of straight liquor college kids do…<\/p>\n

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