{"id":9305,"date":"2016-08-02T07:43:40","date_gmt":"2016-08-02T07:43:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=9305"},"modified":"2016-08-01T19:44:51","modified_gmt":"2016-08-01T19:44:51","slug":"true-colors-unexpected-hues-in-russian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/true-colors-unexpected-hues-in-russian\/","title":{"rendered":"True Colors: Unexpected Hues in Russian"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"colored

Image from Pexels<\/p><\/div>\n

We have covered basic color vocabulary<\/a> on this blog before. However, it goes without saying that a direct translation from the learner’s first language into Russian will not work for all nouns. How do you say brown hair, blue eyes, or black horse? If you answered, “\u043a\u043e\u0440\u0438\u0447\u043d\u0435\u0432\u044b\u0435 \u0432\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0441\u044b<\/del>,” “\u0441\u0438<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u0435 \u0433\u043b\u0430\u0437\u0430<\/span>,” or “\u0447\u0451\u0440\u043d\u0430\u044f \u043b\u043e\u0448\u0430\u0434\u044c,” keep reading to learn about some special cases.<\/p>\n

Not All Blonds Are Created Equal<\/h2>\n

Just as in English you may not choose to say “yellow hair” — unless you mean to be unflattering — you do not say “\u0436\u0451\u043b\u0442\u044b\u0435 \u0432\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u043e\u0441\u044b” or “\u0431\u0435<\/span>\u043b\u044b\u0435 \u0432\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u043e\u0441\u044b” in Russian. Blond hair has its own names in Russian.<\/p>\n

Predictably, a blond(e) person is called \u0431\u043b\u043e\u043d\u0434\u0438<\/span>\u043d<\/span> (male) or \u0431\u043b\u043e\u043d\u0434\u0438<\/span>\u043d\u043a\u0430<\/span> (female). Register-wise, this word sounds like it belongs in a fashion magazine, and you probably wouldn’t call your cute 4-year-old niece “\u0431\u043b\u043e\u043d\u0434\u0438<\/span>\u043d\u043a\u0430,” unless you were trying to be ironic. To my ears, this sound too “adult.”<\/p>\n

\"young

Image from Pexels
This hair color is called \u0440\u0443\u0441\u044b\u0439 in Russian<\/p><\/div>\n

Light or fair hair may be called \u0441\u0432\u0435<\/span>\u0442\u043b\u044b\u0435 \u0432\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u043e\u0441\u044b<\/span>.\u00a0What I’ve encountered in the US (folks from other countries, how is it where you live?) is that all hair colors lighter than mid- to dark brown are called “blond,” be it “beach blonde” or “dirty blond.” In Russian, the light brown\/dark blond hues are normally referred to as \u0440\u0443<\/span>\u0441\u044b\u0439<\/span>. This may be used both about the person and their hair — \u0440\u0443<\/span>\u0441\u044b\u0435 \u0432\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0441\u044b<\/span> and \u0440\u0443<\/span>\u0441\u044b\u0439 \u043f\u0430<\/span>\u0440\u0435\u043d\u044c<\/span> (a guy with light brown hair).<\/p>\n

On a related note, gray or white hair (hair that’s lost its pigment) is called \u0441\u0435\u0434\u044b<\/span>\u0435 \u0432\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u043e\u0441\u044b<\/span>. Brown hair is never called \u043a\u043e\u0440\u0438\u0447\u0435\u0432\u044b\u0435 \u0432\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0441\u044b<\/del>\u00a0— use \u043a\u0430\u0448\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u043e\u0432\u044b\u0435 \u0432\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u043e\u0441\u044b<\/span> (chestnut hair) or \u0442\u0451\u043c\u043d\u044b\u0435 \u0432\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u043e\u0441<\/span>\u044b (dark hair) instead.<\/p>\n

Old Blue Eyes<\/h2>\n
\"baby

Image from Pexels<\/p><\/div>\n

Talking about eyes also isn’t straightforward in Russian. As you will remember, Russian has two words for blue — \u0433\u043e\u043b\u0443\u0431\u043e<\/span>\u0439<\/span> for light blue and \u0441\u0438<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u0439<\/span> for dark blue. Speakers of Russian have been found to distinguish shades of blue better<\/a> than non-speakers.<\/p>\n

Blue eyes are usually called \u0433\u043e\u043b\u0443\u0431\u044b<\/span>\u0435 \u0433\u043b\u0430\u0437\u0430<\/span><\/span>. \u0421\u0438<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u0435 \u0433\u043b\u0430\u0437\u0430<\/span><\/span> is reserved for an unusually deep\/dark hue of blue.<\/p>\n

Similarly, we don’t say \u043a\u043e\u0440\u0438\u0447\u043d\u0435\u0432\u044b\u0435 \u0433\u043b\u0430\u0437\u0430<\/del> for brown eyes. The usual phrase is \u043a\u0430<\/span>\u0440\u0438\u0435 \u0433\u043b\u0430\u0437\u0430<\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Dark Horse<\/h2>\n

A final area that has specific color names that I will cover in this post is horse coat color. Somewhat counterintuitively, a black horse is called \u0432\u043e\u0440\u043e\u043d\u0430<\/span>\u044f \u043b\u043e<\/span>\u0448\u0430\u0434\u044c<\/span>.<\/p>\n

A brown horse is called\u00a0\u0433\u043d\u0435\u0434\u0430<\/span>\u044f \u043b\u043e<\/span>\u0448\u0430\u0434\u044c<\/span>. According to Wikipedia<\/a>, this word comes from the Czech for “brown,”\u00a0h<\/em>n\u011bd\u00e1<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Have you come across any of these colors in Russian news or books? What other colors do you find challenging or interesting?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"colored

We have covered basic color vocabulary on this blog before. However, it goes without saying that a direct translation from the learner’s first language into Russian will not work for all nouns. How do you say brown hair, blue eyes, or black horse? If you answered, “\u043a\u043e\u0440\u0438\u0447\u043d\u0435\u0432\u044b\u0435 \u0432\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0441\u044b,” “\u0441\u0438\u043d\u0438\u0435 \u0433\u043b\u0430\u0437\u0430,” or “\u0447\u0451\u0440\u043d\u0430\u044f \u043b\u043e\u0448\u0430\u0434\u044c,” keep reading…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":9309,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3,8],"tags":[8232,2887,507305],"class_list":["post-9305","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-language","tag-collocations","tag-colors","tag-vocabulary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t