fur coats

[upthera44.livejournal.com]

Could someone explain the use of the word мех / меха? Is it usually used in the plural (even if you are referring to a single fur coat)? How would you say "I want to buy myself a fur coat"? Also, what's the difference between шуба and меха? Is шуба a female coat and меха can be either? Thanks!

Comments

[dinasty.livejournal.com]

Мех is more likely to mean just the fur, whereas the word меха refers to a fur coat. It is quite an outdated word for a fur coat though, I wouldn't use it unless I'm implying that the person got too many/extremely expensive fur coats. If I was saying that I want to buy a fur coat, I would say Я хочу купить шубу.

[zoa-mel-gustar.livejournal.com]

Well, it's singular if you arereferring to the matterial. "Это была шуба из кроличьего меха", "Мех кошки очень мягок".
"Меха" is a word for clothing, and not only fur coats, but anything made of fur. Also, "меха" might refer to furs as a merchindise. "Меха составляли одну из основных статей экспорта из России."
"Шуба" is simply "fur coat".
"I want to buy myself a fur coat" - "Я хочу купить шубу". "Меха" would sound unnatural in such context (unluss you're going to buy numerous coats and maybe some opera-cloaks and such too).

[arashi-opera.livejournal.com]

"Меха" is plural, used more often when describing a merchandise. Also, fancy things like opera cloaks, muffs and such. A simple fur coat is "шуба".

[teknomad.livejournal.com]

Fur of the particular animal - singular. Мех лисицы, мех кролика.

Pointing on some fur outfit, without specificating the type of the fur (or the type of the outfit) - plural. Она была одета в меха.

Just generic fur - safe to use either way. Торговля мехами. Торговля мехом. (Though plural seems slightly more preferrable here).

I want to buy myself a fur coat. - Я хочу купить себе шубу.
Saying "Я хочу купить себе меха" may as well means "I want to buy myself fur coat, fur hat and mittens". Or several fur coats.

[bartoli.livejournal.com]

" Венера в мехах" - роман.

[orie.livejournal.com]

Collocations:
(меховая) шуба - fir coat (the word "меховая" may be omitted)
шуба из искусственного меха - coat from artificial fur

Шуба is used only for coats made from fur

But for material we use the separate word - "мех"

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

To make things worse, мех is also a wineskin, and then its plural form is мехи, not меха -- although that usage, of course, is much more limited. The quotation about pouring new wine in old wineskins reads (in modern Russian) "И никто не вливает молодого вина в мехи ветхие; а иначе молодое вино прорвет мехи, и само вытечет, и мехи пропадут" (in New Int'l Version, accordingly, "And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined.")
To make things worse stil, мех/меха also means "bellows" (either the device used by blacksmiths to blow air into furnace, or the middle part of an accordion.)

[marsianka-selma.livejournal.com]

I totally agree.
"Меха" is obsolete (sort of Tolstoy's vocabulary). You can only use this word when talking about a fur coat ironically.

[upthera44.livejournal.com]

Please stop making things worse ;)

[upthera44.livejournal.com]

Bol'shoe spasibo vsem!

[cmike.livejournal.com]

"Меха" is obsolete (sort of Tolstoy's vocabulary).
As an object of trade it is certainly not. Google gives out a lot of results on "меха".