Translation?

[mananas.livejournal.com]

I've heard "Боже мой!" translated as, "My goodness!" and "Oh my God!". So tell me, is it corny or no? Would it be offensive if I, an American 20 something in Russia (well I'm not there... yet), said it?

Comments

[mananas.livejournal.com]

So when I don't want to sound corny, but I don't want to be offensive to anybody, what should I say?

And thanks to everyone who responded, by the way.

[yozhevich.livejournal.com]

I think it probably depends on what you're reacting to. Maybe if you gave of a few examples of when you would expect to say "Oh my God!" in English, those responding could provide some suggestions...

[mananas.livejournal.com]

Hmmm... let's see. "Oh my God, it's beautiful" - maybe seeing something spectacular, like Lenin's preserved corpse. "Oh my God..." - seeing something shocking or disgusting, like a frozen hobo in the Red Square, or a car wreck.

[schwarzer-tod.livejournal.com]

lolololol @ Lenin's preserved corpse

[mananas.livejournal.com]

If it's not a pipe, what is it?

[schwarzer-tod.livejournal.com]

A Magritte parody?

[yms.livejournal.com]

Russuan tend to mention God much more seldom :)
If you're amazed, you can say "Ого!", or "Ничего себе!" with proper intonation. (Lingvo translates "ничего себе" as "not so bad", but it's only one meaning, and I mean the other one, expressing astonishment. It depends on intonation.)

[wolfie-18.livejournal.com]

The word you're looking for is "wow."

[yms.livejournal.com]

and it can be said in Russian speech as well :)

[http://users.livejournal.com/bc_/]

...if you are a female teenager whose education comes from TV :)

(an exaggeration, I know)

[yozhevich.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think it would apply in those cases just fine. I thought you meant something closer to "Ohhhh my God, this purse is so cute!" Then... probably not so much. :) Though, I guess if it's really cute...

[yms.livejournal.com]

Simple "Боже!" or "О боже!" doesn't sound corny and still is not offensive. But, IMHO, it sounds a little female, women tend to use this expression much more often.

[ducking.livejournal.com]

I've got a male friend who uses the exclamation "Господи!" way too much. It sounds cute sometimes though.

[yms.livejournal.com]

I just forgot about "Господи" :)
But it has slightly different set of meanings. You can hardly express amazement with it.

[wolfie-18.livejournal.com]

oops.