должен = should /or/ must?

[david-us.livejournal.com]

In English, to say that one should do something has a connotation of choice.

"You should go there" implies to the listener that it is somewhat of a recommendation. They don't have to go there. It's not an order.

That is completely different from "You must go there." The connotation is one of an order. There's no option.

 

How do Russians make this distinction?
 

Вы должны пойти туда.

 

Would a Russian interpret this as an order or a recommendation. "You should go there" or "You must go there"?

 

 

Comments

[kiselevchik.livejournal.com]

"You must" in Russian is an order too. "Ты должен".
"You should" has the same intonation as in English and sounds like "You better go there". "Тебе лучше пойти туда".

[nic102.livejournal.com]

Вы должны пойти туда.

Would a Russian interpret this as an order or a recommendation. "You should go there" or "You must go there"?

could be either depending on context

[boolka.livejournal.com]

"ты должен", "вы должны" is smth like "you must" and apparently there's no option but it is not an order. the interlocutor informs you that there are some conditions who make you to do this to get what you want. like "чтобы поступить в университет ты должен сдать экзамен"

as an order

[umulamahri.livejournal.com]

Вы должны пойти туда - You must go there (if it's an order, duty, strong advice).

By the way, i think Russians also have problems with this translations).

You should go there - Тебе стоит пойти туда. (рекомендация, recommendation)
You must go there - Ты обязан/должен идти туда. (обязанность, duty)

[korollapushki.livejournal.com]

"You should go there" - Вам следует идти/пойти туда/там!

"It is worth to go there" - Туда стОит сходить/пойти!

"You must go there." - Вы должны идти/сходить туда! Вам надо идти туда/там!

[evermore-spb.livejournal.com]

It depends on intonation and context mostly - but you can use some milder versions like mentioned above or "Хорошо (неплохо) бы тебе пойти туда". Or "Тебе следовало бы / следует пойти туда" (literal translation of should, second is stronger)

[etanila.livejournal.com]

I agree with nic102 - can be either, and context is everything with some guesswork involved. More than that, "должен" means "owe" too, and misunderstandings do happen. Two popular objects for fussing over this word are baby topics and mother-in-law issues. You can often hear (more like read online that is) "my baby doesn't owe anything to anyone" and "I don't owe her anything". Both are reactions to phrases like "a baby должен crawl by 9 month of age" or "a man должен be fed when he comes home from work". :-)))

[tlkh.livejournal.com]

Normally, должен = must.
Only when speaking expressively, it may mean should, e.g. "Вы должны посмотреть этот фильм, он великолепен!".

I have to show you a link to this dictionary

[lion-casserole.livejournal.com]

.
Re: http://dict.rambler.ru/?coll=4.0er&btnG=%CD%E0%E9%F2%E8%21&where=enru&query=welcome
.
(*
Click (LMB) on "Английский" first at all.
Enter (e.g. copy/paste) the word in question there, and click on "Перевести".
Please notice, there are different dictionaries available.
*)

должен предик.
1. (вн. дт.) owe (d. to, d. i.)
он должен ему десять рублей — he owes him ten roubles
2. (+ инф.; обязан) must (+ inf.); have (+ to inf.)
он должен написать ему — he must write to him, he has to write to him
3. (предназначен) be (в личн. формах) (+ to inf.)
этот парк должен был быть украшением города — this park was to have been an ornament to the town
4. с. (+ инф.) be bound (в личн. формах) (+ to inf.)
это и должно было случиться — this was bound to happen
5. (+ инф.) ought (+ to inf.), should (+ inf.)
он должен быть здесь в 2 часа — he should be here at two o'clock, he as due here at two o'clock
он должен быть ей благодарен — he ought to be grateful to her, he owes her gratitude
это должно быть сделано осторожно — it needs to be done with care; it must / should be done with care
◊ должно быть — (вероятно) probably; (о прошедш. действии тж.) must (+ перфектн. инф. соотв. глагола)
он, должно быть, там — he is probably there
вы, должно быть, знаете — you probably know
он, должно быть, уехал — he must have gone
вы, должно быть, слышали об этом — you must have heard of it
должно быть, он не придёт — he is probably not coming, I suppose he isn't coming

That does not answer the question at all

[mithrilian.livejournal.com]

At least, I don't see how it does.

I see

[lion-casserole.livejournal.com]

.
There is no simple way to answer questions on "Как перевести это слово?". One needs some context.

In good dictionaries there are examples on how the word (the word "должен", in this particular case) could be used by native guys, as well as equivalent expressions of foreign language(s). Just dig around ("должен", "обязан", "вынужден", etc) to see suggested expressions in both languages.

[voleala.livejournal.com]

As many others have already said, although you can find many other ways to express recommendation or an order, должен can mean both: must or should, depending on the context. The difference can also be perceived from intonation and stress.
I'd like to add something to that. This situation is another small detail I can add to my view on the difference between Russian and American cultures/mentalities. Probably, this situation with "должен" seems strange to you, because for you the difference is important: 'must' is an order, something that is categorical and can sound rude unless there are enough reasons for an order. Right? I think that this is related to the mentality and the general tendency to be direct in Russian. For example, to express disagreement in Russian people use "вы неправы" (you are wrong) very often. It's doesn't sound as rude as in English. It's absolutely normal. The same with saying "no". It's a huge difference between two cultures. While in Russia you hear a direct "no" very often, in similar situations in US you won't get any categorical denial. Instead you'll hear things like "I'll call you later", "we'll keep your resume on file", "we should definitely get together someday. - sure, let's do that", etc.
So, please, don't get offended when you hear "вы неправы", "нет" or "ты должен". :))

[marsianka-selma.livejournal.com]

I agree that the meaning is in most cases clear from the context. If my boss says "Ты должна отправить письмо" (You must send a letter"), I take that as a direct order. But if he says something like "Ты должна посмотреть этот фильм" (You should watch this movie), it is clear to me that he just recommends me to do so with no connections to my duties.
Sometimes people use "должен" to express some general truth like "Студент должен хорошо учиться", and if you hear that you don't have to do anything at all.

[orie.livejournal.com]

I think in very many cases "должен" means that the person HAS an option, e.g. "Чтобы успеть в кино мы должны выйти в 5:30" - "We should go out at 5:30 if we want to come to the movies on time".

I think we have one verb for both cases and English has two verbs, different for each case. "Следует" is a standard way to translate English "should" but no one ever uses it in informal context.

[spiritrc.livejournal.com]

IMHO,

You must = Вы должны
You ought to = Вы должны
You should = Вам следует / Вам стоит
You have to = Вам придется

[rower.livejournal.com]

just as a sidenote - the usage difference in english might not be that strict. if it was - there would be no need to have a specific RFC document (http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc2119.html) covering the usage of should and must in other RFCs :) so, if you MUST know (or express) exactly what is the true meaning - ask (or give) for more specific explanation :)

[crocotiger.livejournal.com]

"Должен" is more like 'should', it implies some possibility of choice.
On the other side, "обязан" implies absolutely-no-choice situation.

"Я должен вас арестовать" = 'I should arrest you' (but if there are circumstances which make it possible to let you go, please tell me)
"Я обязан вас арестовать" = 'I must arrest you' (circumstances don't matter)

[mosopus.livejournal.com]

If you want to translate "must" from English into Russian you may use "должен" (or "обязательно должен"). The connotation is backed by the tone.

E.g. Students! By the next class you must learn all the new words. Студенты! К следущему уроку вы должны выучить все новые слова. By the way the form "вам следует выучить" is also possible, but it doesn't change the sence. It is an order!

Should is usually translated as 1) "должен" but in more polite tone, not so strictly 2) "Вам (тебе, ему...)следует" или "лучше будет, если ты сделаешь...." but very politely.

The main difference is the tone.

And if "must" is used in the meaning of supposition, in Russian we use expressoins like "должно быть", "скорее всего", "наверное". He must have come. Он, должно быть, уже пришел