Not that strong

[olydiagron.livejournal.com]

Hello!
My dictionary says that Показать кукиш can be translated as "show the finger"... but can it really? Is'nt it a little milder than showing the finger? And if it is not only an expression but also a gesture - what is the gesture? I hope this is not a question that falls under the faul language rule... But i really need to know because it is in a text that I translated (to Swedish, so don't come with any sofisticated English expressions, please... :-).
amanda

Comments

[uncle-gora.livejournal.com]

http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D1%83%D0%BA%D0%B8%D1%88
Here is a very good description of what the gesture originally meant.
Since there is really no scale that you can use in measuring the relative severity of the two gestures I would say that "show the finger" is a good enough approximation. Of cause, if you are translating Russian classics (say Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Leskov) then in order to keep the "flavor" and authenticity you would have to perhaps say show "kukish" and put the explanations in the footnotes.

[olydiagron.livejournal.com]

Spasibo!!!

[olydiagron.livejournal.com]

aha, thanks, it is the same thing as shish and figa!!! i know them!
amanda

[uncle-gora.livejournal.com]

It is indeed the same.

[firebottle.livejournal.com]

Yes - "фИга" (or "фиг", depending on context) is most common expression, "кУкиш", "шиш" and "дУля" (one more synonym) are used very rarely.

[zveriozha.livejournal.com]

"Дуля" is rather common. "Дуля с маком", "дули крутит", "показать дулю" и т.п. When we were kids we used "дуля" more often than something else.

[khathi.livejournal.com]

It actually means "to show the fig", not "the finger". It has somewhat similar meaning, but is much milder.

[imajin.livejournal.com]

Kukish is a coarse way to say 'No'. Finger , i think, is much more offensive.