(no subject)

[studentka-hb.livejournal.com]

Can anyone explain the difference between ещё раз and снова ? My dictionary lists them both as 'again'...
Thanks!

Comments

[wildash.livejournal.com]

еще раз - one more time
снова - again

[alexbogd.livejournal.com]

ещё раз - once more, once again
снова - again, anew, afresh.

[viteksafronov.livejournal.com]

ещё раз exactly means one more time

[jujav4ik.livejournal.com]

"ещё раз" more less can be translated as "another time".(if you've made one attempt)
And "снова" is closer to "again".

[jadore-vin.livejournal.com]

and where does опять figure in?

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

Снова and опять are almost exactly synonymous, except that опять is slightly more colloquial. It is easy to imagine a family argue where one family member rises his/her voice with "ты опять?" ("you start it again, huh?",) while nobody says "ты снова?" in a situation like this :))

[b0bb.livejournal.com]

Your example is valid, but the difference is more of idiomatic nature, rather than in the formal/colloquial plane.

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

The idiomatic nature of the difference wouldn't be there if there wouldn't be the difference in usage (however subtle it might be.)

[b0bb.livejournal.com]

Sure, you can say that.
There is the difference in use.
However, I consider the difference in the colloquiality of these two words to be too subtle to mention.

[valeria-kapriz.livejournal.com]

And what about "Не опять, а снова"?

[ja-va.livejournal.com]

it's a joke, both words mean the same thing. people say that for the sake of making an empty argument.(unless they are stupid enough to believe that there is a difference :))

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

A word game which underlines almost exact symonymous nature of both words.

[orloffm.livejournal.com]

снова => с нова => с нового => "from new"

[kart.livejournal.com]

I might be wrong, but the way I look at it is: "Еще раз" makes more sense if you're talking about things that can be counted. Abstract concepts, or things that usually aren't counted make more sense with "снова".

Я счастлив снова. - I'm happy again. (but I'm not happy for the 15th time)
Мы поедали закуски еще раз. - We ate snacks again/another time.

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

мы поедали means "we devoured" rather than just "we ate" :)
you mixed up "поесть" (to eat, perf.) and "поедать" (to devour, impref.)

[odin2000.livejournal.com]

Вот за что я люблю это коммьюнити, так это за то, что там подробно и хорошо объясняют вещи, про которые в обычной жизни не задумываешься.

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

I would love to remind that the working language of this community is English. This is because we are not in a community for Russians who cannot read or speak (or both) their language properly (which is the case with pishu_pravilno) but in a community for those non-natives who learn Russian as a foreign language. Many of them cannot understand you yet. It's OK to post or to comment in Russian, but you are expected to rpovide an Englsih translation as well. Please read the community rules before you try to contribute.

[studentka-hb.livejournal.com]

thanks everyone, makes much more sense now!

[dphq.livejournal.com]

снова Syn: еще, опять, заново, вновь

[vdohnovitel.livejournal.com]

There's more to say. For instance, your initial question can be restated as "не мог бы кто-нибудь еще раз объяснить мне..." or "не мог бы кто-нибудь снова объяснить мне..." (the second assumes that you've forgotten everything, the first may mean you're just unclear - as I feel it) but you can't say "не мог бы кто-нибудь опять объяснить мне".

"Еще раз" is also commonly used as "speaking of...": "Еще раз о технике безопасности...", "Еще раз о правильном питании...", "Еще раз о любви..." (compare: "Опять же, ...").

You can say "Снова в бой..." - but not "Еще раз в бой..." or "Опять в бой..." ("Снова в школу" after summer vacations).

"Правительство снова обещает ... (выплатить пенсии, победить коррупцию)" is more or less neutral.
"Правительство опять обещает..." assumes you don't believe in these claims. "Правительство еще раз обещает ..." sounds even more ironical (probably irritated).