Learn Russian

talking about how old you are

Mon, 22 May 2017 10:04:12 GMT

Posted by: ratcreature

I'm still a beginner with Russian, and I am confused about a sentence example that is in my text book for talking about how old somebody is. The book does not explain all the parts, just gives the translation.

The sentence in question is "Ей ещё нет и тридцати." and the translation given is "She is not yet thirty." (well that in German, because that is my native language). I do not understand what exactly the "и" is doing in this sentence? Why is it there?

The grammar section just explains the basic examples, i.e. that you put the person in dative + number + год/года/лет, depending on what the number is. And I understand that number in the example above is genitive above because of the negation, "ещё" is to express the "yet" and that "лет" can be omitted just like in English if the context is clear, but not the "и".

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"Не до сна"

Fri, 07 Oct 2016 16:09:00 GMT

Posted by: wolfie-18.livejournal.com

What does that mean exactly? Listening to the song Весенее танго by Sergey and Tatyana Nikitin(a)

Приходит время, с юга птицы прилетают
Снеговые горы тают и не до сна

Wondering if it's a colloquial phrase meaning "not completely," but I find it odd that сон would be here.

Another question regarding a later stanza:

Сколько сердце валидолом не лечи
Всё равно сплошные перебои
Сколько головой об стенку не стучи
Не помогут лучшие врачи

I'm assuming a good translation would be:

No matter how much you treat a heart with validol
You'll still have complete stoppage (<- not the prettiest word choice here, but...)
No matter how much you hit you head on a wall
The best doctors won't/can't help

So the construction "Сколько ... не + imp." means "No matter how much...," correct? Wondering how common this is used in speech as opposed to what I've heard before, something like "Да не важно, сколько ..., все таки не поможет!" Thoughts?

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Russian Dictionary Apps

Thu, 29 Sep 2016 17:08:00 GMT

Posted by: wolfie-18.livejournal.com

Hi everyone! I'm sure this has been asked before, but what apps do you recommend for a Russian-English dictionary? I love Multitran and how detailed it is, as well as ABBY Lingvo (when it was still alive...) but I can't seem to find an app from them so I can pull this information easily from my phone. Help? Спасибо заранее!

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Pushkin and Chekhov stagings to be shown in U.S. and Canada cinemas

Sun, 18 Sep 2016 17:34:00 GMT

Posted by: oryx_and_crake

May be of interest to those who are interested in Russian literature/theatre
https://rbth.com/arts/theatre/2016/07/14/moscow-theaters-go-to-us_610929

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И тебя мороженого!

Thu, 15 Sep 2016 13:00:00 GMT

Posted by: gnomygnomy.livejournal.com

(edited spelling)

Hello, all! I have another question about usage. :)

So in this snippet, the two are talking about ice cream. I want to make sure I understand the cases at work in these responses, which appear to me to be elliptical.

1 Mom: что ты хочешь, чтобы мама тебе купила?
2 Kid: мороженое!
3 Mom: какое?
4 Kid: жёлтое.
5 Mom: а шоколадное?
6 Kid: и шоколадное хочу смешать .
7 Mom: а ещё что?
8 Kid: и с ним будет леденец рядом .
9 Mom: ага, ещё что?
10 Kid: ничё
11 Kid: и тебя мороженого!
12 Kid: и милы мороженое!

In line 2, мороженое is an elliptical response in accusative case. Is line 3 also accusative? And therefore line 4? And 5?

In line 11, I think the kid is saying "and ice cream for you!" I think the kid left out "для" in this sentence. This is sort of a minor question, but is there a significant difference between saying "это для тебя" vs "это тебе"?

In a completely separate part of the tape, the child is talking about an episode of a kids' show (Лунтик и его друзья, if you're wondering). In the story, a character dresses up as a ghost in order to frighten his friends. The kid in the recording says the friends run around scared, shouting, "спасение от привидения!" Is that an appropriate thing to shout? As opposed to something like, "спаси меня!" or "помоги! это привидение!"

Thank you for any insight you can provide!

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More confusing child speech

Sun, 11 Sep 2016 15:37:00 GMT

Posted by: gnomygnomy.livejournal.com

Here's the context:

Mom: а кто там ещё был из деток с вами ?
Kid: раз пять шесть четыре и всё
Kid: нас было пять и ещё . (could also have said всё, it's not clear)
Mom: а детки были из вашей группы ?
Kid: нашей с цыплёнок .

Background info: The kid is talking about her groups at school. Her group, I think, is the chicks group. There's another group called the rainbow group.

This is what I think is being said:

Mom: and who among the children was still there with you?
Kid: one, five, six, four and that's it
Kid: there were five of us and more (or, "and that's it")
Mom: but the kids were from your group?
Kid: (from) our (group) with.. um.. chicken? (THIS IS WHERE I'M LOST)

How can I make sense of the fifth line, or is it another example of ungrammatical (and therefore nonsensical) speech?

Another question: Can садик be a short word for детский сад?

Thank you, all!

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Это дали собак

Sat, 10 Sep 2016 11:48:00 GMT

Posted by: gnomygnomy.livejournal.com

I'm having trouble making sense of this sentence.

Here's the context:
Person 1: А откуда удочка у Мамы Свинки?
Person 2: Это дали собак.

I understand собак is the genitive plural of собака. I'm wondering if the reason it's in genitive form is to give the effect of "some", as in, "some dogs gave it". Am I close?

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A few Russian questions

Fri, 24 Jun 2016 10:17:00 GMT

Posted by: upthera44.livejournal.com

A couple of random Russian questions that have popped up for me lately:

1. Лучше vs. лучший, меньше vs. меньший, хуже/худший, ... -

Which is correct:

Я надеюсь, что матч завтра будет лучший / лучше, чем сегодняшний.
Тот фильм вчера был хуже / худший, чем этот.

Any more examples of when the comparitive adverb vs. adjective is used would be helpful!

2. Претензии vs. pretense - It seems that Russians use the word претензии a bit different than English speakers' "pretense." Most often in my experience, Russians say "У него претензии ко мне.." (in the sense that the person wants something from you that is not reasonable). In English, the word "pretense" is most often used in the context of someone being "pretentious" -- showing off, pretending to be overly sophisticated (Russians do say "претензиозный" in this context). My question is -- can you say something like "Она претворяется, что любит современное искусство, но это только претензия"? This is how we might say it in English but not sure it works in Russian.

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Someone who can correct my mistakes, please!

Tue, 31 May 2016 10:18:00 GMT

Posted by: angelicagallo.livejournal.com

Hi, I'm Angelica, I'm Italian, I study English and Russian and it's my first experience on Live Journal! I need to improve my Russian writing skills so I would like someone to see and correct my posts. Is there anyone who could give a look to my entries in my journal? Thank you in advance ;)

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Joke...

Sun, 01 May 2016 13:42:00 GMT

Posted by: dil.livejournal.com

A foreigner shot himself dead after trying to translate this from Russian:
"За песчаной косой лопоухий косой пал под острой косой косой бабы с косой..."

P.S. I had to read it three times to understand the whole phrase. What about you? ;)

Update: classic "косил косой косой косой" has at least two completely different meanings..

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For those native English speakers who want to practice in translating from Russian to English

Wed, 07 Oct 2015 21:02:00 GMT

Posted by: pash-zaburuev.livejournal.com

Hello everyone!

Before posting this I've checked the rules - seems I don't break any of them :)

I need my articles, blog postings, texts for my videos etc. translated to English. I believe that the best is to ask for it someone who's native. My texts are mostly about music, I can speak English a lil bit (as you may have noticed reading this :), and know all the terminology used for describing all that muscial and guitar stuff.

Who is interested - please comment or PM me, send your conditions, requirements and what would you want for that (eg payment for certain amount of text etc).

My website to check out what will you work with: http://www.zaburuev.ru

Thanks!

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ещё vs. уже

Thu, 10 Sep 2015 23:40:00 GMT

Posted by: dil.livejournal.com

Can somebody please explain in which cases "yet" is translated into Russian as "ещё", and in which as "уже"?

Examples for thought:

Have you done your homework yet? - Ты уже сделал уроки?
Haven't you done your homework yet? - Ты ещё не сделал уроки?

Looks like declarative version is уже, while negative is ещё, but..

"Are you doing your homework yet?" can be both: "Ты уже делаешь уроки?" (Have you started yet?) and "Ты ещё делаешь уроки?" (Haven't you finshed yet?)
Same with "Aren't you doing your homework yet?": "Ты ещё не делаешь уроки?" (Haven't you started yet?) and "Ты уже не делаешь уроки?" (Have you finished yet?)

P.S. Russian is my mother tongue, более того, пару лет назад я занял I место в онлайновом конкурсе знатоков русского языка, проводимого Пермским политехническим университетом, but I can't formulate that..

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translating a dialogue from a film

Fri, 13 Mar 2015 15:40:00 GMT

Posted by: upthera44.livejournal.com

I have a fun one for you all. Anyone want to try to translate this hilarious and untranslatable dialogue from the film Free Floating (Svobodnoe plavanie, Khlebnikov, 2006)? Here's my version below...

Ну и чё ты?

А ты чё?

Да работа чё. А ты чё?

Да я так..

Ну чё пока?

Давай.

"-Well, what?

-You, what?

-Well, I'm working, that's what.

And what's with you?

-Oh, you know...

-Well, bye then?

-Alright cya."

t's

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Translation of графическое письмо

Thu, 12 Feb 2015 11:02:00 GMT

Posted by: barbarisotschka.livejournal.com

Dear all,

again I am here for your help. Does anybody know what graficheskoe pis'mo means in the context of music?
For exampe (about a piece of music for piano):
Тему проводит левая рука,в нижнем регистре(главная партия), а правая очень"примитивно" аккомпанирует,то есть используются простые,арпеджионные фигурации с альбертиевыми басами.Вроде мысль понятная,средства минимальные,гомофонная фактура,графическое письмо.
I understand everything but the last two words. Graphic text? The musical score? I'm lost...

Big thanks in advance! :-)

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The world is build on... what?

Mon, 09 Feb 2015 22:59:00 GMT

Posted by: barbarisotschka.livejournal.com

Dear all!
I read that Tsvetaeva wrote that "мир построен на созвучиях" and I'm trying to make sense of that. Does anybody know what sozvuchiye means in this context? The dictionary says assonance, consonance, accord...

Thank you! :-)

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Translation of зелень ?

Tue, 03 Feb 2015 19:25:00 GMT

Posted by: upthera44.livejournal.com

Dear all,

What do you think is the best American equivalent for зелень? The dictionary gives "greens, herbs," but I am wondering if зелень in Russia usually refers to a specific type of herb (e.g., green onion, celantro, etc.?) or the general category of green herbs? Thanks!

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Searching for a saying or aphorism

Tue, 23 Dec 2014 10:56:00 GMT

Posted by: upthera44.livejournal.com

Dear all,

I think I heard a good aphorism in Russian once that meant, essentially "Don't worry about trying to transform society, but just take care of your own personal situation and society will improve" -- maybe something about one's own огород or двор, but I'm not sure. Is there any aphorism or krylatoe vyrazhenie that means something like this?

Happy Holidays.

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translation difficulties

Sat, 20 Dec 2014 13:52:00 GMT

Posted by: barbarisotschka.livejournal.com

Hi! :-)

I'm translating a text about an musician & there's a phrase I don't really get:
(In the sentences before the author states that the artist for several reasons doesn't belong to a certain style of music):
Об артистизме как игре своим искусством ― и речи быть не может!

What does the first part of the sentence mean? Something like L'art pourt l'art? Thank you so much for your help in advance!!
Barbara

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Wed, 17 Dec 2014 22:13:00 GMT

Posted by: oh--tsarevich.livejournal.com

Hi all!

I posted this in linguaphiles, and it was suggested I cross-post it here, too. :)

I have a Russian oral exam coming up, where I'm supposed to reproduce five short texts from memory that I've written on themes I've been assigned.

While the texts obviously have to be grammatically correct, we've been given to understand that we can basically do whatever we want to arrive at that end result, like taking entire sentences from Wikipedia or other Russian websites, asking for corrections from native speakers, and so on. The idea is to be sure that what you have is correct and then memorise it, so you'll have a small mental database of correct grammatical constructions, I guess.

As such, I'd be super grateful if any of you would be willing to take a look at what I've written and let me know what mistakes I've made, suggest more authentic sounding ways to phrase things, and whatnot.

( Read more... )

Thanks so much in advance for any corrections or advice you can give me! :)

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материк?

Sun, 23 Nov 2014 15:28:00 GMT

Posted by: upthera44.livejournal.com

Is there a slang word материк that means something like 'the big city' or to the capital?

In a recent film, Комбинат надежда, which takes place in the industrial town Norilsk, they keep saying something like "На материку улетаешь?" which I assume means, "Are you leaving for the big city?" What is this word? Is it slang? In 12 years of speaking Russian I haven't heard it...

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Translation help

Wed, 19 Nov 2014 09:54:00 GMT

Posted by: upthera44.livejournal.com

Dear Community,

Could you give me feedback on my translation below? I am mostly concerned with the difficulties of translating 'петляя по ухабам безвременья':

Much thanks!

Понадобилось двадцать лет, чтобы наше кино, петляя по ухабам безвременья, наконец-то избавилось от синдрома стыдливого страха перед «социалкой», каковая считалась меткой совкового мышления, и вслух заговорило об этом — о постсоветском социальном устройстве

“It took twenty years for our cinema, dodging along the potholes of timelessness, to finally rid itself of the syndrome of shameful avoidance of “social cinema,” which was considered a mark of Soviet thinking. Our cinema has finally spoken out about these things — about the post-Soviet social order.”

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Tue, 11 Nov 2014 18:03:00 GMT

Posted by: olydiagron.livejournal.com

Hi!
Please help me with this text (it is a part of a longer text)! I learn so much from you guys!

В 2014 я начала переводить повесть "Спуск под воду" Лидии Чуковской (1907-1996). Я эту повесть перечитывала, наверное, раз десять, и его герои стали мне родными. Я давно хочу познакомить их со шведскими читателями, но долго не верила, что я смогу перевести такую качественную литературу. А в 2014 году начала, и теперь у меня осталось совсем немного, несколько странниц. И кажется, издательство будет ее издавать. Конечно, одна я не справлюсь, у редактора будет много работы. В повести еще и выдержки из стихов Пастернака, Ахматовой и Блока - там где я не нашла хороший перевод, я даже не пробовала сама... Ну, если честно, пробовала, но сразу сдалась и решила не трогать, болели глаза и уши от того, что я сочиняла... Но остальное было не так сложно, как я думала.

То читала вслух и наслаждалась, то читала вслух и плакалa....

Увлекательно, интересно. Было такое, что ОДНО русское слово превратилось в одиннадцать шведских! "Напровожалась!" стало "Nu har du fått följa med en bit, nu räcker det!".

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one more question .-)

Mon, 10 Nov 2014 16:24:00 GMT

Posted by: olydiagron.livejournal.com

Ok, just one more question.
I am choosing between читать and перечитывать:
Я повесть этот читала/перечитывала наверное десять раз и его герои стали мне родными.

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Improving and correcting

Mon, 10 Nov 2014 14:00:00 GMT

Posted by: olydiagron.livejournal.com

Dear friends!
Would anyone like to give me example of the usage of исправить and попрaвить?
As far as I understand, исправить is when you make a wrong right, when you straiten something out, and попрaвить is when you make something better by adjusting it a bit?
I am thinking of "исправительная колония" (поправительная колония sounds funny.. :), and "поправить шарф".

But when it comes to ошибки, can they be both исправленные and поправленные? And when I have corrected all misstakes in a text - has it been popravlen or ispravlen?
I usually say that I "исправляю" if it is simple grammatical mistakes or spelling, but "поправляю" if somebody recommended to improve the syntax, did I get it wrong?
/Amanda

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Help me with my text?

Sun, 09 Nov 2014 16:31:00 GMT

Posted by: olydiagron.livejournal.com

Hello! I use my Russian blog to improve my Russian, I would be super thankful If somebody could take a look at my text here, just to point out the most annoying mistakes. For example, am I using the terminology for knitting right?
http://olydiagron.livejournal.com/221344.html

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