The English language has more than 1 million words. Nevertheless, it’s difficult to find an exact translation for certain Russian words, especially if the meaning is related to the enigmatic "Russian soul."
1. Poshlost
Russian-American writer Vladimir Nabokov, who lectured on Slavic Studies to students in America, admitted that he couldn’t translate this word, which every Russian easily understands.
What is poshlost (пошлость)? Nabokov gives the following example: "Open any magazine and you’ll certainly find something like this - a family just bought a radio (a car, a refrigerator, silverware, it doesn't matter), and the mother is clapping her hands, mad with joy, the children gathered around her with their mouths agape; the baby and the dog are leaning towards the table on which the `idol’ has been hoisted… a bit to the side victoriously stands the father, the proud breadwinner. The intense "poshlosity" of such a scene comes not from the false exaggeration of the dignity of a particular useful object, but from the assumption that the greatest joy can be bought and that such a purchase ennobles the buyer."
"This word includes triviality, vulgarity, sexual promiscuity and soullessness," added the late Professor Svetlana Boym from Harvard University.
2. Nadryv
German Wikipedia has an entire article dedicated to the word nadryv (надрыв). This is a key concept in the writings of Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky. The word describes an uncontrollable emotional outburst, when a person releases intimate, deeply hidden feelings.
Moreover, Dostoevsky's nadryv implies a situation in which the protagonist indulges in the thought that he can find in his soul something that may not even exist. That's why the nadryv often expressed imaginary, excessively exaggerated and distorted feelings. One part of the novel, Brothers Karamazov, is called "Nadryvs."
Soviet émigré writer Sergei Dovlatov wrote about this phenomenon in the article "This Untranslatable Khamstvo," commenting that "Khamstvo is nothing other than rudeness, arrogance and insolence multiplied by impunity."
In Dovlatov's view, it’s with impunity that khamstvo(хамство) outright kills us. It's impossible to fight it; you can only resign yourself to it. "I've lived in this mad, wonderful, horrifying New York for ten years and am amazed by the absence of khamstvo. Anything can happen to you here, but there’s no khamstvo. You can be robbed but no one will shut the door in your face," added the writer.
4. Stushevatsya
Some linguists believe stushevatsya (стушеваться) was introduced by Fyodor Dostoevsky, who used it for the first time in a figurative sense in his novella, The Double. This word means to be less noticeable, go to the background, lose an important role, noticeably leave the scene, become confused in an awkward or unexpected situation, become meek.
This Russian word can be translated as "emotional pain," or "melancholy," but this does not transmit all of its depth. Vladimir Nabokov wrote that, "Not one word in English can transmit all the nuances of toska (тоска). This is a feeling of spiritual suffering without any particular reason. On a less dolorous level, it’s the indistinct pain of the soul…vague anxiety, nostalgia, amorous longing."
6. Bytie
This word comes from the Russian byt'(to exist). In Russian-English dictionaries this philosophical concept is translated as "being." However, bytie (бытие) is not just life or existence, it’s the existence of an objective reality that is independent of human consciousness (cosmos, nature, matter).
7. Bespredel
Eliot Borenstein, professor of Slavic Studies at New York University, explains that bespredel (беспредел) literally means "without restrictions or limits." Translators often use "lawlessness" (bezzakonie). In Russian, however, the meaning of bespredel is much broader, and refers to the behavior of a person who violates not only the law, but also moral and social norms.
8. Avos'
It’s rather difficult to explain to people of other nationalities what this means. Interestingly, many people believe that avos' (авось) is the main Russian national trait. Hoping for the avos' means doing something without planning, without putting in much effort, counting on success.
Yurodivys (юродивые) in ancient Rus' were people who voluntarily renounced earthly pleasures in the name of Christ. Such people looked like madmen, and led a wandering lifestyle with the aim of obtaining inner peace and defeating the root of all sin - pride. They were valued and were considered close to God. Their opinions and prophecies were taken into consideration and they were even feared.
10. Podvig
This word is often translated into English as "feat" or "achievement," but it has other meanings. Podvig (подвиг) is not just a result, or the achievement of an objective; it’s a brave and heroic act, an action performed in difficult circumstances. Russian literature often mentions military, civilian podvigsand even scientific podvigs. Moreover, this word is a synonym for selfless acts, for example, a podvig in the name of love.
There’s no equivalent in other languages for the Spanish mañana, German doppelgänger, or English privacy. Russian language is definitely not an exception to the rule.
We have already written about some barely translatable words like ‘toska’ or ‘bespredel.’ The article attracted much comment with readers suggesting other words they consider exist only in Russian. Let’s have a look at them.
1. Soviest’
This word comes from the old Slavic language and copies the Greek “syneidesis” (conscience, sense of duty). However, in Russia the meaning of soviest’ is much broader and refers to the deep personal interpretation of good and evil and the feeling of responsibility not only before society, but before God and yourself.
Russians consider soviest’ as a vivid notion, saying “soviest’ tortures” («испытываю угрызения совести» - if you’ve done a bad thing), “done by soviest’” («сделано на совесть» - good-quality, well done).
2. Zapoy
There is a widespread belief that Russians are big drinkers. Undoubtedly, plenty of words connected to the Russian drinking culture can be found in the language.
For example, there is no direct translation for the word “zapoy”. It’s not just a lengthy bender, but a recurrent condition sometimes lasting for more than a week. Some historians claim that merchants in tsarist Russia were legally prescribed taking a rest cure due to "soul illness".
Nowadays there are not many Russians who believe zapoy is a reboot required from time to time. There's also an expression "to do something by zapoy," (for example, to read by zapoy – «читатьзапоем») which means to do something for a long time without interruption, to be fully immersed in the process.
3. Pogrom
The term pogrom has multiple meanings as a riot or massacre. However, mostly it describes the act of organized cruelty or killing that is done to a large group of people because of their race or religion. The act should be approved or condoned by the local authorities, too.
The term is usually applied to anti-Jewish violence in the Russian Empire in the late 19th and early 20th centuries according to Encyclopædia Britannica. The characteristics of a pogrom vary widely depending on the specific incidents, at times leading to, or culminating in massacres.
Later the term entered the English language in order to describe mass violence in other countries, for instance, in Germany (“Kristallnacht” also called Night of Broken Glass or November Pogroms).
4. Baba
Originally this word had a specific meaning – an old woman, a female witch doctor. Some linguists believe the combination of the sounds "BA BA" is a child’s reaction to another woman who lives in the family home.
One version claims this word transformed into famous babushka (grandmother). In the 18th century this term got another meaning: the wife of serf (peasant) and became a synonym for a plain, uneducated woman.
The embodiment of the Russian baba is well-known due to Nikolai Nekrasov’s poem Who Is Happy in Russia?: baba is a woman who can stop a horse at full tilt and enter a burning house!
Nowadays the word will sound offensive to a Russian woman.
5. Muzhik
Originally this word meant “a married peasant man”. After the Russian revolution in 1917 the status muzhik made their holder proud of being the opposite of bourgeois. It was at that time when the idiom "real muzhik" entered the Russian language and it remains well known to this day.
Who is a real muzhik? It's a man in possession of a wide range of qualities: he's not just strong, but patient, what you see is what you get, and he uses his smekalka (see next paragraph) every now and then.
However, the word is not so unequivocal: it may also signify an uneducated, boorish man.
6. Smekalka
Smekalka is one of the typical features of the "mysterious Russian soul": it’s not just being savvy, ingenious or inventive - it’s the skill to solve problems quickly and simply in imaginative ways.
In Russian folktales, good characters always have a lot of smekalka. It helps them to overcome difficulties and win over bad characters.
Smekalka helped honored Russian commanders achieve great and miraculous victories. When military general Alexander Suvorov had to cross a broken bridge in the Alps, he made his soldiers knit the logs with their scarves, which enabled them to fix the bridge!
7. Brodyaga
This Russian word can roughly be translated as hobo – a person who has no home and wanders constantly. But a brodyaga is not homeless in the traditional sense. He just likes to live in different places, sort of a downshifter. As Russians say about brodyagas: he's a rolling stone, here today - and gone tomorrow.
8. Dukh
This is a philosophical cornerstone of Russian literature and culture in general. According to religious beliefs, dukh is an immortal immaterial basis close to the word dusha (soul).
Besides, dukh is related to the inner condition of the human – “the strength of dukh” («сила духа») means the individual moral strength. “Dukh of freedom” («дух свободы») means a spirit.
9. Khalyava
This word is often used in the expression "nakhalyavu" which means to get something completely free, without any effort. This untranslatable concept, similar to the concepts of “freebie”, might help to get the philosophy of the Russian collective unconscious (Russians say: vinegar is sweet if you get it “nakhalyavu”).
Khalyava is the complete opposite of the typical American dream in which you become successful as a result of a hard work. Russian happiness includes wealth obtained by pure luck or a rich relative who suddenly appears, immediately dies and leaves you a fortune.
A day before exams, students who didn’t succeed in their studies try to attract " khalyava" (which is supposed to help them) by opening their textbooks and shouting out of the window of their dorm " khalyava, come here!"
10. Zapadlo
The word comes from prison slang, but today you can hear many Russians using it. It was derived from the word "padla" which means a sneaky, bad man.
When Russians say zapadlo, it implies they don't want to be like this bad man. “Mne zapadlo” (For me it’s zapadlo) means the person doesn't want to do something because he considers this action humiliating, beneath his dignity.
Keep in mind that the word has an expressive negative subtext. Being among decent people, you’d rather say “nikaknemogu, izvinite” (I would rather not do it, sorry).
If using any of Russia Beyond's content, partly or in full, always provide an active hyperlink to the original material.
You’ll have to forgive us for being a nostalgic mood these days. The Moscow Times is celebrating its 25th anniversary, and we’ve been walking down memory lane. In my case, I’ve been walking down Linguistic Lane, pulling up words that are emblematic of various years. Here are the first 13 years of Russian words for your first blast from the past.
1992 Хозрасчёт: for-profit — the totally revolutionary concept of making a profit from a company’s business activities, introduced in the late Soviet period in either special divisions of large, otherwise loss-making companies or in independent businesses; in most cases, these profit-making entities were used as cash cows for the “red directors” at the top, starting a great new tradition of outrageous wealth disparity
1993 Подворовывать: to steal a little on the side, especially from your employer; may range from tucking a half-used roll of toilet paper into your briefcase to working with the bookkeepers to skim profits; considered fair play at the bottom when asset-stripping at the top was rampant (see 1992: хозрасчёт)
1994 Пирамида: a financial scheme in which people invest money at extremely high returns — returns that are funded solely by new investments — until the entire pyramid collapses; one of the favorite ways to bilk citizens in the 1990s; the most famous pyramid scheme, MMM, crashed in August 1994, contributing to the population’s growing skepticism of capitalism
1995 Наличка: cash, something the legislation did not permit companies to have much of; most of the 1990s were spent employing 10 bookkeepers whose entire job was to make up fake receipts so cash could be withdrawn from company bank accounts
1996 Пальцевать: show off, play the big shot; from палец (finger) and the gesture of extending index finger and little finger as a sign of being a tough guy in the criminal world
1997 Тусовка: crowd, party, bash, get-together — both a group of friends and any kind of get-together; also тусоваться: what you do at a party, mingle, hang out, be seen; also тусовщик: someone who does the rounds of parties, a generally derogatory term for a party animal, socialite, a hanger-on; all of this was the new incarnation of the post-Soviet social scene, where money and flash counted more than party membership
1998 Кинуть: slang word used by Deputy Prime Minister Anatoly Chubais to describe what Russia did to the IMF when the country defaulted on its debt; the word, which meant an intentional scam in criminal slang, had come to mean unintentional failure to do something among the general population; unfortunately, the change in meaning hadn’t reached all the translators, and the U.S. Congress held hearings on why Russia “conned the IMF” out of several billion dollars
1999 Бардак: total mess, a brothel; how бардак began as a house of ill repute and came to mean a mess has been lost in the mists of time, but it is the ubiquitous description of anything disordered, from a bedroom and an analytical report up to a political leader’s thinking processes
2000 Замочить в сортире: to wipe 'em out in the outhouse, what President Putin said should be done to Chechen bandits; uttered at a press conference, this was the first of Mr. Putin’s Russian Lessons, a series of helpful language learning classes he held during the first years in office
2001 Вообще, pronounced вааааааще: yowza, wow, golly gosh darn, i.e., any exclamatory phrase that expresses astonishment, either good or bad; of unclear provenance — how a word that means “in general” came to mean “can you believe it?” is at present unexplained; conveniently used in the phrase “ну ты вообще,” which means either “you are great” or “you are horrible” and is therefore applicable to anything your spouse ever says or does
2002 Как бы: kinda, a parasitic phrase that for several years was uttered constantly by everyone in every situation in Moscow, then St. Petersburg and for all we know — eventually every nook and cranny of this great, vast land; for several years when it was at its peak use, it seemed that people did not do things, they kinda did things; they kinda read books, they kinda felt well, they kinda went to work — as if they lived in a virtual reality; in retrospect, they kinda did
2003 Пофигист: someone who doesn’t care about anything, especially elections but also politics, economic indicators, climate change, clothing styles, or cleaning up the kitchen and changing the sheets; from the expression мне по фигу (I don’t give a hoot); the typical пофигист has good and bad qualities: he is hard to live with but very easy to rule
2004 Экзит-пол: exit poll, what was used in earlier elections to determine the outcome of the elections after people voted — I know, right? what a concept!; annoying term for Russian-speaking people in Russia who did not spend their youth working the primaries on the Jersey shore; not used in over a decade because: Why?
This week I begin my trek through time in a traffic jam. The place: Moscow. The year: 2005. From there I make my way through the glamorous early ‘oughts toward the fraught teen years of this century, when politics began to shape everything, including the way we talk. Better fasten your seat belts — it’s a bumpy ride that no urban improvement program can fix.
2005 Пробка: cork, traffic jam; in Moscow the kind of traffic jam where you turn off the engine, do your taxes, give yourself a manicure, and finish an audio book to the accompaniment of 659 drivers hysterically honking their horns; пробки are worse in summer and when it rains or snows — that is, they are almost always worse than yesterday but not as bad as tomorrow
2006 Гламурный: any vulgar display of high fashion and wealth, often with sexual innuendo; also used to describe anything expensive and “in” among the rich and anonymous crowd; improbably used to describe anything attractive or fun, from kitchen tile to pre-Lenten Fast parties
2007 Олбанский: Olbanian, aka Albanian, but actually an incredibly annoying form of writing in online forums that uses exaggerated phonetic spelling so that автор (author) is the barely recognizable аффтар and гыгыгыгыгыгыгыгы means LOL which is sometimes also ЛОЛ; not practiced or understood by most people over the age of puberty (physical or emotional)
2008 Пиндос: an American in derogatory slang of obscure origins; originally a hearty Greek pony, пиндос was once used to describe the Greek settlers in the Black Sea region, but the sound of the word — half comical and half obscene — made it an insult looking for a subject; one story has it that the Russian soldiers in Kosovo started using пиндос to describe the American soldiers bristling with equipment, packs, and weaponry because they looked like overburdened trail ponies; in any case, now пиндосы live in Пиндостан (Pindostan, aka U.S.A.)
2009 Перегрузка: Not reset; what someone with poor Russian skills stuck on a button so that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov could push it, smile, and welcome in new era of cordial cooperation; unfortunately, the button should have been labeled перезагрузка (reboot) and перегрузка means an overload of the system; very unfortunately, Clinton and Lavrov pushed the перегрузка button anyway, causing relations to completely short-circuit and giving the alt-right another thing to blame Hillary for
2010 Полиция: police, the new name of the vast law enforcement agency once called Полиция in pre-Revolutionary Russia, then called Милиция (militia) in Soviet Russia to distinguish it from the Полиция, and now once again called Полиция to distinguish it from the Милиция — a process, perhaps endless, that entails changing every station name, every stamp, every bit of stationary, every badge, every uniform, every vehicle marking and so on in 89 regions across 11 time zones; that is, a very profitable endeavor
2011 Рокировка: castling, job swap at the top, in particular, the decision announced at the United Russia party convention in September 2011 for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to run for president and President Dmitry Medvedev to revert to the role of prime minister; if instituted as part of the system, the Medvedev-Putin and Putin-Medvedev tandem may rule Russia until the end of time
2012: Оккупай: Occupy! what a few hundred protesters did in Moscow after a series of demonstrations against electoral falsification and for President Putin’s resignation, first near the monument to the Kazakh poet Abai Kunanbayev — giving the world the melodious slogan Occupy Abai! — and then in various spots around the city; after a few arrests and the unlikelihood of any demands being met — as well as the oncoming cold weather — the movement activists quietly went home to occupy their warm apartments
2013 Чмо: schmuck, weirdo, bum, jerk; of highly debated origins, this word is an all-purpose insult that can refer to stupidly gullible neighbors, smelly drunk people by the metro station, dorky science majors at institutes and, apparently, every American president in history, but especially Barack Obama, who has been declared a чмо on thousands of Russian cars, fences and toilet walls
2014: Крымнаш: Crimea is Ours, turned into one word and a meme that means: We took back our land from the fascist junta and NATO and in the process showed the whole world that we’re back in prime fighting form, up off our knees, and happy to push anyone out of the way of our national interests
2015 Ватник: a good ole boy, Russian style — the kind of fellow who gets all his news from Russian television and believes it, thinks Ukrainians are fascists and Americans are the devil incarnate, and generally thinks that everything Russian is the best — except for his car, sneakers, jeans, cell phone, contact lenses, computer, computer programs and apps, which were all Made in the U.S.A. but don’t count because the Americans stole them from someone anyway
2016 Русиано: Rusiano — what Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev thinks Americano coffee should be called in Russia and anywhere in the world except the U.S. Down with American-style coffee! Er, no, that should be: Up with American-style coffee, down with calling it American-style coffee
2017 Благоустройство: beautification, as in urban beautification — the process of ripping up all the outdoor urban beautification done the previous year and spending the entire three summer months — i.e., the only time Muscovites can enjoy the beautified outdoor urban environment — on replacing it, typically with badly installed tile blocks (all the better to catch your high heel on); 40-meter wide sidewalks (for strolling in bad weather); and specially imported trees that cost their weight in gold and die before ever sprouting a leaf; an urban project that has eliminated virtually all parking in the city center, caused daily 10-on-a-scale-of-10 traffic jams; and has the distinction of being the only urban project that has made Muscovites long for snow, slush, and freezing weather in which no благоустройство can be carried out
Michele A. Berdy is a Moscow-based translator and interpreter, author of “The Russian Word’s Worth,” a collection of her columns. Follow her on Twitter @MicheleBerdy.
About Russian Everyday Language and Usage in English
Sputniknews.com:"Today we’ll be expanding on the peculiarities of Russian and English languages and the correlation between the two languages. Joining me in the studio today is Michele Berdy, one of the best known English speaking writers in Moscow
Michele A. Berdy has lived and worked in Moscow for 30 years. She is an accomplished translator and interpreter. After graduating magna cum laude from Amherst College, she did post-graduate work at the Pushkin Institute in Moscow and then worked as a translator and editor at a Soviet publishing house (1979 to 1982). In addition to working as a simultaneous and consecutive interpreter, she has translated several books, hundreds of articles and short stories, and sub-titled over 50 feature and documentary films. She has taught at the Department of Translation and Lexicography at Moscow State University and currently conducts master classes and workshops on various aspects of translation and intercultural communication.
Following a decade-long career producing innovative public affairs programming for American and Russian television, since 1996 she has managed and consulted on communications programs in Russia and the region, specializing in health and public service promotion.
Ms Berdy writes a popular weekly column on language and translation for The Moscow Times and The St. Petersburg Times, as well as book reviews and feature stories about Moscow and Russian culture. Her articles on culture, current events and various aspects of intercultural communication appear in the Russian and English-language press. She was the lead or sole writer of four guidebooks about Moscow, St Petersburg and Russia, and co-author of a Russian-English dictionary.
This week in Russia has been colored by sorrow: Eldar Ryazanov, one of the country's most famous and beloved film directors, died at the age of 88. Since his death, television stations have been replaying his films from the 1960s through 1980s, and Russians — who are among the greatest quoters in the world — are slipping lines from his films into just about every conversation.
This is always hard on us foreigners. Someone says an odd little sentence like Он, конечно, виноват, но он … не виноват (Of course he's guilty, but … he isn't guilty) and everyone laughs. You stand there with an uncertain smile on your face until someone explains that it's a line from Берегись Автомобиля (Watch Out for the Car), said in defense of a 1960s Soviet Robin Hood by the great actor Oleg Yefremov. One more cultural allusion understood.
My favorite bit in that movie is when a fussy little car owner — a guy who made enough money to buy a Volga from selling electronics under the counter in a state commission shop — is describing some minor problems with his car to his enormous, laconic mechanic. He complains about a problem with steering. Поглядим (We'll take a look), the mechanic says. And it makes this ticking noise when you switch gears. Послушаем (We'll listen). And yesterday it smelled of gas. Понюхаем (We'll smell it.) Over the years when I would explain in excruciatingly boring detail some little glitch in one of my Zhigulis, my (big, laconic) mechanic would just say: Поглядим. Послушаем. Понюхаем. And laugh.
Another favorite Ryazanov movie with an automotive theme — cars, in their rarity, had particular meaning in the late Soviet period — is Гараж (Garage). It takes place in an organization called НИИ Охраны животных от окружающей среды (the Scientific Research Institute for the Protection of Animals from the Environment). Уже смешно! (It's funny already.) The institute's co-op has to eliminate several garages to allow for some road construction, and the party bigwigs think they can just kick out the least privileged employees. But at their meeting a young scientist locks them all in a building to force them to resolve the issue fairly. Over the long and hysterical night — Будь проклят тот день, когда я купил машину! (Cursed be the day that I bought a car!) — all the truth of misuse of authority, bribery, nepotism, and protectionism come out. Попрошу факт продажи Родины зафиксировать в протоколе! (I ask that evidence of selling out the Homeland be entered into the minutes!)
I also love Служебный Роман (An Office Affair), partially to watch the actress Alisa Freindlikh's transformation from "наша мымра" (our frump) to a knockout, but mostly because of the incredibly rich life of the staff. The office is like a big village, with the secretary Vera the town gossip and expert on all things feminine. From her I learned: Именно обувь делает женщину женщиной (It's shoes that make a woman a woman). Write that down.
In the film Вокзал на Двоих (Train Station for Two) you can learn about спекулянты (speculators, black marketeers) selling melons. In the Soviet era, speculation was a serious crime, but the vendors don't see it that way. They're performing a service: Я не спекулянтка! Мы посредники между землей и народом. (I'm not a speculator! We're middlemen between the earth and the people!)
Ryazanov was our middleman between reality and people, and I'm sorry he's gone.
Michele A. Berdy, aMoscow-based translator andinterpreter, is author of"The Russian Word's Worth" (Glas), acollection ofher columns.
Сообщения
