A question of nuances and degrees, I guess

[gnomygnomy.livejournal.com]

My book lists these verbs just like this:

бояться - to fear, be afraid of
пугаться/испугаться - to be afraid of
-------
избегать/избежать - to avoid
опасаться - to fear, shun, keep off, avoid
-------
держаться - to keep to, hold on to, adhere to
придерживаться - to adhere to, stick to


In each pair, I'm having trouble deciding when to use which verb. Especially for the first two verbs, of which the English definitions are... strikingly similar? In what contexts would I choose one over the other? Or are they practically synonyms, and can be used interchangeably?

Thanks, guys. :)

Comments

[colonelrabin.livejournal.com]

бояться - to fear, be afraid of
пугаться/испугаться - better to get afraid of

[gnomygnomy.livejournal.com]

So the first focuses on perpetual condition, while the second focuses on the process?

[nesmeeva.livejournal.com]

бояться можно долго (протяженно во времени)
испугаться - одномоментно (в один момент времени)
Т.Е. если мы ДОЛГО переживаем испуг - то мы "боимся" ;))

[gera.livejournal.com]

пугаться/испугаться - to get scared

Он боится мышей.
Он увидел тигра и испугался.

In the second pair note that you can avoid something not only out of fear.
The third pair is pretty much interchangeable (well, держаться also has a literal meaning - держаться за перила).

[gnomygnomy.livejournal.com]

I see. There IS a difference. Thank you!

[ashalynd.livejournal.com]

When I was a kid I used to say things like: "Я не боюсь, я опасаюсь" (~ I am not afraid, I just take care). Thats about the difference between бояться and опасаться. Пугаться is more focused on the process of getting afraid: Ребенок испугался злой собаки - The little kid got spooked/boggled by the angry dog.

Держаться and придерживаться mean roughly the same but could be used in different context.
Держитесь правой стороны - Keep right.
Придерживайтесь должностной инструкции - Follow the official regulations.

"Я не боюсь, я опасаюсь"

[gnomygnomy.livejournal.com]

I think I'll keep that, thank you. :)

[svyatogor.livejournal.com]

держаться can have to meanings. First one is literaly hold onto something. Я держусь за ручку - I hold onto the handle.
The second maning is 'to keep to', which I'd say used mostly in sapcial context.

придерживаться (have very little to do with придерживать) could also be translated as 'to keep to', but to avoid confusion you can think of it as 'to follow'. Придерживаться правил - To follow the regulations. Note that here it would mean that you mostly follow the rules and not follow them letter by letter.

[gnomygnomy.livejournal.com]

That's helpful! Thank you. :)

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

in the pair
избегать/избежать - to avoid
опасаться - to fear, shun, keep off, avoid
sinply drop "avoid" from the list of the second verb's meanings, and live happy ever after :)

[gnomygnomy.livejournal.com]

Trust me, I was *this* *close* to doing just that. But I figured it would come back to haunt me later.

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

And yes, concerning the 1st pair - бояться is an ongoing process: я не хожу в лес [никогда], потому что [всегда] боюсь волков (I [never] go to the woods because I'm [always] afraid of wolwes); пугаться (imperf.)/испугаться (perf.) is a brief action: однажды в лесу я увидел волка и сильно испугался, и с тех пор пугался каждый раз, когда видел похожую на волка собаку (once I have seen a wolf in the woods and got really afraid; since then, I kept getting afraid every time I saw a dog which resembled a wolf.)

[gnomygnomy.livejournal.com]

ohhhhhhhhhh, I get it. Thanks!

[harmonoisit.livejournal.com]

Two proverbs may help to remember the difference in the first pair
Волков бояться - в лес не ходить (If you are afraid of wolves, do not go into woods)
Пуганая ворона куста боится (The crow that had been frightned once is afraid of any bush)

[gnomygnomy.livejournal.com]

I like it! Thank you. :)