Russian Word of the Day

The Russian word for chicken is курица. My great-grandmother had a henhouse by her home where she kept many chickens. Although the henhouse required many hours of cleaning every week, my great-grandmother enjoyed caring for her chickens and was happy doing the work. Primarily she raised the chickens for the eggs «яйца» and meat «мясо».

Occasionally my great-grandmother killed a chicken to make dinner for the family. She owned a small ax «топор» which she used to behead the chickens. She would tell me «сейчас мы будем готовить ужин» “now we will cook dinner”. She would choose the oldest chicken and carry it to the butchering table by its neck while it screamed and scratched. With one quick strike, she executed it and I watched with sadness as the beheaded chicken began running quickly around the yard for a few seconds before dropping dead. Afterwards, my great grandmother cleaned and plucked the chicken before she prepared dinner with it. Although, I sometimes felt sad when eating the chicken that was once alive, I could never resist my great grandmother’s cooking. I told her all the time «бабушка, ты вкусно готовишь курицу» “grandmother, the chicken you cook is tasty”.

A student with four identical sisters asked how he could say 'quadruplets.' He had looked in a bunch of dictionaries and couldn't find the word anywhere. Let's dig into that a bit.

First off, Russian has a word близнецы (singular близнец) which can mean twins, triplets, quadruplets, or larger multiple births; thus you can say У нас родились близнецы and mean "We had twins" or "We had triplets" etc. A similar word is близняшки, which sometimes sounds better in examples with girl-children for reasons that would take to long to go into here. Examples:

Since English doesn't have a commonly used word that covers twins and triplets and quads, when translating близнецы you will usually use "twins." Of course, you'll have to determine from context whether triplets or quadruplets or larger sets are in mind, but twins are much more common than the larger sets.

In Russian twins and triplets are often discussed with the words двойня and тройня, which are feminine singular words meaning a set of twins or triplets:

From those words a clever student might predict words like четверня, пятерня, шестерня for quads, quints, and sextuplets, but there you run into a problem. The words двойня and тройня are part of the Russian literary language; that is, they are considered “real words” that you can write in essays or pronounce in official speeches or hear from an educated TV announcer. But the word четверня is not a part of the literary language. Oh, sure, if you say it, everyone will understand you, and some people won't think twice about it, but most will consider it conversational, and some people will consider it “not a real word.” And when you get to the other words, they have nothing to do with children. Пятерня means “hand (not including the arm)”, and шестерня is a team of six-horses hitched together.

In conversational Russian there are also the words двойняшка and тройняшка, which mean a member of a set of twins and triplets respectively. But again here, once you reach the “quadruplet” idea, people don't really say четверняшка very often, and you won't ever hear пятерняшка and шестерняшка, except maybe in a joking sense.

Note: if you'd like to read a Russian website with information on twins, go to bddb.narod.ru.

The word прошлый means 'last' in the sense of «В прошлом году я перестал чистить зубы» "Last year I stopped brushing my teeth" or «В прошлом месяце у меня выпали все зубы» "Last month all my teeth fell out." Прошлый means last in the sense of time but not in the sense of "last one of the batch." In other words, you can use it to say 'last week' but you can't use it to say 'I bought the last tomato.'

We particularly find this word in the following time phrases:

Notice that years and months are used with the preposition в and the prepositional case (году is an irregular prepositional form), seasons are used in the instrumental case with no preposition, weeks are used with на and the prepositional case, and days are used with в and the accusative case.

On occasion people will say «прошлой субботой» in the instrumental case with no preposition to mean 'last Saturday,' but that's considered uneducated. Never write it in a composition.

Last but not least, if you are discussing American academic life, you will need the phrases:

The Russian word for mineral water is минеральная вода. Before coming to America, I lived in a city called Минеральные воды which means mineral waters in English. The city is close to the Black Sea and my family visited the sea often during holidays and summer vacations.

One of the most famous attractions in Минеральные воды is the Mineral Water Park. This park is famous for its mineral water which comes straight out of the ground from a springhead «источник». Many people come to this park to drink the healthy mineral water and enjoy the green scenery. Every time my grandmother said to me «мы едем в парк Минеральных вод» “we are going to the Mineral Water Park”, I became very excited because many other children came to the park with their families and I always found children to play with. I especially loved to run around where the huge trees grew on both sides of the grassy walkway and arched over each other making it difficult for the sun to shine through. I often brought blankets with me and took naps under the tree arches. When I woke up, I would look up at the beautiful green arch and feel as if I was in a huge green tunnel. It was truly a heavenly experience.

The Russian word for rain is дождь. As a child, I enjoyed rain because it made me feel relaxed when I listened to the rain drops falling. Sometimes it would rain all day long, and during this time I enjoyed drinking hot cups of tea with cookies and taking naps by the open window. My mom watched the forecast regularly, and I was thrilled when she told me, «кажется как будто завтра будет дождь» “it seems like it’s going to rain tomorrow”.

One day I decided to go outside and play in the rain with my sister. We both enjoyed jumping in the puddles and getting wet. I would say to my sister «давай играть под дождём!» “Lets play in the rain!” and she would answer «Да! Давай прыгать по лужам» “Yes! Let’s jump in the puddles!”

The Russian word for cow is корова. Cows are an important addition to the food supply because they provide meat мясо, milk молоко, and milk products молочные продукты. Russians who live a village деревне often own cows. A person who owns many cows might say «в нашей деревне много коров» “In our village we have many cows.” А person who owns only one cow might say «в нашей деревне одна корова» “In our village we have one cow.”

Many years ago, my grandmother bought a calf телёнок. My grandmother milked this cow regularly and soon became very attached to it. After many years, the cow became old and my grandmother needed to give it away to the meat factory мясокомбинат. My grandmother told me that it was very difficult for her to give the cow to the meat factory.

Many people in the village cried that day because so many of them became attached to it just like my grandmother.

I was searching for the best phrase to get a little more room at the table, something like "Could you move over?" or "Could you scoot over a bit, please?" My first thought was to use the verb отодвигаться-отодвинуться, but that's more like "move away" as in «Отодвинься, урод! От тебя воняет, как от последнего бомжа!» "Get away from me, you freak! You reek like a hobo!" I stole that last sentence from an article on things not to say to your children. Talk about good advice. You can read the article yourself here.

The better way to say "scoot over" is «Можешь немного подвинуться?» Variations are:

Of course, sometimes the opposite situation occurs, in which case you can use a different verb: «От тебя хорошо пахнет. Придвинься поближе.» "You smell nice. Move a little bit closer."

The Russian word for raspberry is малина. Raspberries are commonly used in Russia to treat sick throats and fevers during the chilly months of winter when colds are very common. As a little girl, I caught colds often and my grandmother made me hot black tea and added fresh raspberries to calm my throat. Sometimes she would add raspberry jam right into my tea which gave it a fruity sweetness. When I lay sick in my bed, my grandmother would come to me and say «ты хочешь чай с малиной?» meaning, “would you like some tea with raspberries?”

If I had one raspberry, I would say «у меня одна малина» "I have one raspberry". However, if I have more than one raspberry, I would use the plural term for raspberry (малины) and say «у меня две малины» "I have two raspberries".

One of the most traditional Russian dishes is борщ. This is a soup primarily made from beets, potatoes, cabbage, meat, and carrots. This dish is commonly served with a dollop of sour cream and rye bread. This soup dates back to the 18th century and is commonly served in Russia, Ukraine, and Poland. Growing up, I can distinctly remember having борщ for dinner a few times a week. As a child, I remember helping my mother in the kitchen as she made this delicious soup. Today I make this soup for my family; it continues to be part of our family tradition.

I have noticed that in almost every Russian household in America, борщ continues to be a traditional soup and is made regularly by many of my Russian friends. I feel very happy when I visit my Russian friends and they offer me борщ. They say, «Ты хочешь борщ со сметаной? » “Do you want some borscht with sour cream?” I love it that a simple soup can bring family and friends together and help them stay connected and close.

Many Russian people have a чайный гриб (tea mushroom) in their home. Tea mushrooms are especially useful in lowering blood pressure, regulating the digestive tract, and promoting general wellbeing. Tea mushrooms are placed in a large glass container after which the container is filled with cold tea (usually black tea). Sugar is added to feed the tea mushroom because the mushroom uses the sugar to make yeast which is an important part in the brewing process. After five days of brewing, the tea beverage is ready for use. Because of the brewing process, this tea has a slightly sour taste which many people seem to enjoy particularly in the summer.

As a child, my mother made this tea beverage very often during the summer because it was refreshing, tasty, and healthy for the body. I remember telling my mother, «я люблю пить чай из чайного гриба! » “I love drinking tea from the tea mushroom!” and my mother would answer «да, чай из чайного гриба очень вкусный и полезный» “yes, tea from the tea mushroom is very tasty and healthy”.

The Russian word for strawberry is клубника. Another word for strawberry is земляника. Земляника grows in forests and is smaller in size than a store-bought strawberry but it still has the same taste and texture. As a child, I enjoyed picking strawberries with my grandmother and parents. We took large baskets with us and spent many hours picking strawberries and enjoying ourselves. At the end of the day, we walked home with baskets full of strawberries and at home my family used some of these strawberries to make strawberry jam.

Today, I tell everyone «Я любила делать варенье из земляники» “I loved making jam out of strawberries.” I enjoy shopping for strawberries today because it brings back memories of me picking strawberries with my family.

The Russian word for pepper is перец. It means table pepper, which is the ground fruit of piper negrum, a plant of the Indian subcontinent, and it also means peppers like the bell pepper, the jalapeño, and the poblano, which are cultivars of capsicum annum, a plant native to the Americas. The latter are sometimes called chiles (or chilis or chilies or chillies).

The second е in перец is a fleeting vowel. The declension of the noun turns out like this:

In English we might say "Do you like hot peppers?", but like most food items in Russian, you use перец in the singular when speaking abstractly: «Мама не любит острый перец, а я острое люблю» “Mom doesn't like hot peppers, but I love hot stuff."

The phrase “two peppers” nearly got me into trouble last week. I wanted to verify that one could use перец after numbers to count individual peppers, so I googled the phrase «два перца» “two peppers” and, lo and behold, «у меня на экране появилась всякая порнушка» “all sorts of porno appeared on my screen.” What the devil? It turns out that перец also has slang meanings of “hot guy” or “male reproductive organ.” Oh, dear. That means I accidentally used university resources to… “А вдруг меня уволят?» “What if they fire me?” If you think that's paranoid, you obviously haven't read Kafka's “The Trial.”

Sometimes the slang meaning of the word is simply “guy,” and the phrases "клёвый перец" and "классный перец" simply mean “cool guy.” Here's a non-pornographic joke that uses the word, along with a loose translation. [source]

So why is this funny? It's funny because the first was so drunk he rowed the boat on land, plus he couldn't remember doing so the next morning, plus the second was so drunk he threw fishing nets on land without objection.

Also part of my new urban garden is basil, which in Russian is базилик.

The Russian word for spoon is ложка. If someone were using the word spoon in plural terms (spoons), they would say «ложки». When I eat dessert, I say “I need a spoon” «мне нужна ложка» and if I am serving dessert to a group of people, I would say, “I need spoons” «мне нужны ложки». Just like in America, Russia has a different word for teaspoon and tablespoon. The word for teaspoon is чайная ложка which comes from the word чай (meaning tea) while the word for tablespoon is стoловая ложка which comes from the word стол (meaning table).

Traditionally, Russian people use wooden spoons «деревянные ложки» to eat and play music with. Two wooden spoons were held in one hand back-to-back and the player would tap the spoons against each other thus, making a sound. Russian wooden spoons are elaborately painted with bright colors «яркие цвета» and detailed art work. These wooden spoons are truly works of art.

The other day I committed a linguistic sin in an e-mail and wrote that I had read something на вебе "on the web." I was immediately shot down like a clay pigeon at an NRA convention. "We don't say на вебе." Actually, you do say it sometimes: I first encountered it in an e-mail sent by a Russian. Still, just because one person said it doesn't mean it's a good idea for me to repeat it. I should double-check myself. I googled the various phrases that had been suggested and came up with the following stats (07 Sep 2008):

Conclusion? Very few people say на вебе. So few that I'd have to consider it “incorrect.” My bad. Henceforth I'll stick with «в интернете» or «в инете».

PS. There is also a bit of unsurety among some Russians whether they should say в сети в сети. I'm not touching that one.

The Russian word for people is «люди». Russia is a large country and therefore has many people of different ethnicities and backgrounds. The Russian word for person is «человек». People can say, “this person is very nice” «этот человек очень хороший» or, “these people are very nice” «эти люди очень хорошие». It is important to note that the singular word for person is «человек» while the plural word for people is «люди».

Many people from other countries like to visit Russia to see the country. These people are called tourists «туристы». Sometimes it can be easy to spot a tourist in Russia. For example, when Russian people attend church, they tend to dress in dark clothing which covers the majority of their body. However, a tourist may walk in a church wearing shorts and not realize that this is disrespectful attire. People may say, «посмотрите на эту женщину, она в шортах!» meaning, "look at that woman, she is wearing shorts!". Moscow is especially popular since it contains many historical Russian buildings. My family in Russia sometimes says «туристы часто приезжают в Москву» meaning, “tourists often come to Moscow”.

Warning! This entry is slightly vulgar.

Read more »

The Russian word for summer is лето. Over the summer, I like to visit my family in Russia and spend time out in the beautiful weather. I call my family and tell them, “this summer I will come to visit you” «этим летом я приеду к вам в гости». When I am with my family in Russia, I like to visit my grandmother’s огород, which means garden. I say to my grandmother «я люблю работать на огороде летом» “I like to work in the garden during the summer.”

In the summer, Russian people like to buy мороженое ice cream from the ice cream stands. When I want some ice cream, I come up to the ice cream stand and tell the lady «я хочу купить мороженое» “I would like to buy some ice cream.” Another thing I like to do in Russia during the summer is go swimming in the lake. I tell Americans «я люблю купатся в озере» "I like to swim in a lake.”

The Russian word for cat is кошка. Many people in Russia own cats and they are especially loved by elderly women. My great grandmother had a loving cat who lived with her for many years. She woke up early in the morning to feed her cat milk «молоко». During the day, her cat liked to sleep by the window and as a child, I would ask my grandmother, «почему кошка любит спать возле окна?» “why does the cat like to sleep by the window”? My great grandmother told me that the cat liked to sleep where it was warm so the window was a good place since the sunshine came through the window.

Many cats in Russia don’t have a home and are homeless «бездомные». My grandmother’s cat used to be a homeless kitten «бездомный котёнок» and she decided to take him in and give him a home.

Did you know it's the International Year of the Potato?

The formal Russian word for potato is картофель, a masculine first declension noun, which is identical to the German word for the same thing; that suggests that the Russians first learned about potatoes from the Germans. Картофель is a mass noun, which means it can only be used in the singular; you don't use it to say 'two potatoes.' A related word is картофeлина, which means 'a spud' and is a count noun, one that occurs in the singular and the plural, so that is the best way to say 'two potatoes' or 'five potatoes' «две картофелины» «пять картофелин».

But the word that is most often used in Russia to mean potato is картошка, which begins with the stem of the German word and then adds the dimunitive suffix -ошка. It's a count noun, so you can say две картошки two potatoes or пять картошек five potatoes. Although you can use картошка in the plural when specifying the number of potatoes, if you are talking about potatoes generically, you normally use the word in the singular. In other words, in English we say “Do you like potatoes?” (plural), but in Russian we normally say «Ты любишь картошку?» (accusative singular) to get the same idea across. Likewise when you are talking about potatoes by weight, you usually specify it in the singular «Я купил пять кило картошки» (genitive singular) not «Я купил пять кило картошек» (genitive plural). That's true for a lot of food words in Russian: they are used in the singular instead of the plural when discussing them generically.

Russians use potatoes fried, boiled, mashed, stuffed into Russian ravioli and calzones and crepes, and simmered in soups; oddly enough, I don't think I've ever seen a baked potato there. Although you can't imagine Russia nowadays without them, potatoes are not originally a European plant. Russian peasants mostly didn't eat or grow them much before the 18th century when Catherine the Great forced the peasantry to cultivate them. The peasants did not want to do it. They had survived on grains like buckwheat and rye and wheat that grew above ground and could be baked into bread. Who wanted to eat this grotesque misshapen tuber that grew inside the dirt instead of standing nobly above it like proper human food? Some Russian sects actually declared it a sin to eat the potato. In the 19th century Nicholas Ⅰ began to enforce Catherine's order more widely and potato cultivation finally began to spread significantly. The peasants eventually grew to love potatoes, particularly when they saw it took a lot less acreage of potatoes to feed a family as compared to acreage planted with buckwheat. The potatoes were also much more drought and disease resistant, grew more heartily than many plants in the cold Russian climate, and were much less susceptible to wind damage.¹

¹ “Indian givers: how the Indians of the Americas transformed the world,” by Jack Weatherford © 1988, pp. 64-66. Also see History Magazine for an interesting article on the history of the potato.

The Russian word for school is школа. If a little Russian girl wanted to complain in the morning in a very grammatical fashion, she might say to Mama «Но не хочу я сегодня в школу идти!» "But I don't want to go to school today!" But actually the little girl would usually leave the 'to go' verb out of the sentence and simply say, «Не хочу я сегодня в школу!» Russian children never win that battle. A boy who goes to school is a школьник schoolboy, and школьница is a schoolgirl. Some Russian schools require the kids to wear a school uniform школьная форма.

An American college student might say "I don't work. I'm going to school these days," but in Russian школа is never used to refer to college. Instead a Russian would say «Я хожу в университет» "I go to the university," or «Я учусь в университете» "I study at the university," or «Я студент» «Я студентка» "I'm a college student."

The common Russian word for Mexico is Мексика, while the official name is Мексиканские Соединённые Штаты ‘The Mexican United States.’ Russian Wikipedia defines Мексика as «государство в Северной Америке, граничащее на севере с США» “a state in North America that shares a border on the north with the USA.” A Mexican man is мексиканец and a Mexican woman is мексиканка. Notice that names of nationalities are not capitalized in Russian. The language of Mexico is not мексиканский язык but испанский язык. Gosh, I wonder if there are any other countries where the name of language does not match the name of the country…

The name of Mexico City in Russian is Мехико. Curious, eh? The country is a feminine noun and declines. The capitol city does not decline and, despite its ending in -о, is masculine in gender, as you can see in this sentence «Мехикo был основан в 1325 году индейцами-ацтеками» “Mexico was founded in 1325 by the Aztec Indians” (Russian Wikipedia).

One of the great things about living in Arizona is you can make quick trips to Mexico. «В субботу мы ездили в Ногалес» “On Saturday we went to Nogales.” «Смотри, какую крутую татуировку мне сделали в Ногалесе!» “Look at the cool tatoo I got in Nogales!”