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Nothing like it
3 min read
There's interesting quirk in russian language in the matter of item quality (and quantity).
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When you want to say that something is passable / Ok / tolerable, you say: "[it's] nothing" – (ничего).
– This new keyboard is nothing. I was expecting less.
You can also use it to describe feelings or health condition.
– How are you?
– [I'm] nothing. [= I'm Ok]
It can approximate to the english "it's nothing", but not quite. For example, when the hero is injured, he says: "It's nothing", in russian it's usually translated to: "It's a small thing".
You can combine two "nothings" and get consolation "nothing, nothing", which means "it will be ok" xD.
– I lost my legs!
– Nothing-nothing.
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When you want to say that something is pretty good, you say: "[it's] quite nothing" – (вполне ничего).
– How's the soup?
– Oh, it's quite nothing.
But this "quite nothing" description might point to the fact that you had low expectations right from the start and you're somewhat surprised to be mistaken. Or, depending on your tone, it's barely passable by your high standards.
– I think Nintendo Switch is quite nothing [but PS4 is better].
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When you want to emphasise the quality of the object, you exclaim: "[it's] a thing!" – (вещь!).
– These jeans are a thing!
It doesn't meen that it's trendy or stylish (but it well might be), it means that the thing is of utmost quality.
It's almost of some religious veneration and not quite used today, but it was pretty common in late USSR, when "Вещь!" was all you need to now about the item.
There's also (original?) more full description: "[It's] the real thing" (настоящая вещь). It refers to the brand quality, like:
– These "legos" are the real thing, they won't poison your child or kill you in your sleep, like the other plastic bricks do.
I'm not sure about it's origin, it sounds like a plain calque from the english and I can't remember anyone using it.
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It's interesting that we don't use "вещь" all that often. In conversations it's almost always used in plural form and refers to clothes (she wears brand вещи) or belongings (don't touch my вещи). The "вещь" as the "item" we call "предмет" and it's very close to the "subject" by it's meaning. Come to think of it, we don't have "the thing" analogue. "The thing" movie is translated to "The something" (Нечто) and the Thing from the "Fantastic Four" is a "creature" (существо).
The closest thing we have to the "thing", I think, is "штука". It's an old-fashioned vernacular that sounds kinda funny. It comes from the german "stücke", which means "a piece". But in russian it also might refer to a thousand (of some currency usually), it comes from the packages of tens 100-bills that were called "a piece" (кусок) or "штука".
Yeah, it's all quite confusing.
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When you want to say that something is passable / Ok / tolerable, you say: "[it's] nothing" – (ничего).
– This new keyboard is nothing. I was expecting less.
You can also use it to describe feelings or health condition.
– How are you?
– [I'm] nothing. [= I'm Ok]
It can approximate to the english "it's nothing", but not quite. For example, when the hero is injured, he says: "It's nothing", in russian it's usually translated to: "It's a small thing".
You can combine two "nothings" and get consolation "nothing, nothing", which means "it will be ok" xD.
– I lost my legs!
– Nothing-nothing.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
When you want to say that something is pretty good, you say: "[it's] quite nothing" – (вполне ничего).
– How's the soup?
– Oh, it's quite nothing.
But this "quite nothing" description might point to the fact that you had low expectations right from the start and you're somewhat surprised to be mistaken. Or, depending on your tone, it's barely passable by your high standards.
– I think Nintendo Switch is quite nothing [but PS4 is better].
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
When you want to emphasise the quality of the object, you exclaim: "[it's] a thing!" – (вещь!).
– These jeans are a thing!
It doesn't meen that it's trendy or stylish (but it well might be), it means that the thing is of utmost quality.
It's almost of some religious veneration and not quite used today, but it was pretty common in late USSR, when "Вещь!" was all you need to now about the item.
There's also (original?) more full description: "[It's] the real thing" (настоящая вещь). It refers to the brand quality, like:
– These "legos" are the real thing, they won't poison your child or kill you in your sleep, like the other plastic bricks do.
I'm not sure about it's origin, it sounds like a plain calque from the english and I can't remember anyone using it.
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It's interesting that we don't use "вещь" all that often. In conversations it's almost always used in plural form and refers to clothes (she wears brand вещи) or belongings (don't touch my вещи). The "вещь" as the "item" we call "предмет" and it's very close to the "subject" by it's meaning. Come to think of it, we don't have "the thing" analogue. "The thing" movie is translated to "The something" (Нечто) and the Thing from the "Fantastic Four" is a "creature" (существо).
The closest thing we have to the "thing", I think, is "штука". It's an old-fashioned vernacular that sounds kinda funny. It comes from the german "stücke", which means "a piece". But in russian it also might refer to a thousand (of some currency usually), it comes from the packages of tens 100-bills that were called "a piece" (кусок) or "штука".
Yeah, it's all quite confusing.
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Namesake
2 min read
It always seemed peculiar to me that we have a word in russian for a person that has the same name as you do. Like, it's something that makes you relate. «Look, everybody, we have the same name, we are "тезки"!» «Yes, I know him, he's my "тезка"». Sounds almost like "auntie" – "тетка".
And this special word is assigned to the quite common situation, there are plenty of people, who named just like you, what's so special about it? Though, I must admit I've met my "тезку" only once, in a kindergarten.
It'd be more rational to have a name for the people who have the same surname it seems. And yes, we have one – "однофамилец", but it's not that elegant, clearly stitched from two bases: один (homo-) & фамилия (surname), while the "тезка" comes from Church Slavic "same".
"Однофамилец" sounds cold and formal, while "тезка" is kinda frisky, I might say. Shouldn't it be the other way around?
And while we're on the subject of relation not by blood – very cool word "земляк" for the person that comes from the same area as you do (homeboy?). You can't call someone "земляк", just 'cause you live in the same city, there must be some distance present. Like if there's a writer, who spent his youth in the same town as you did and then moved somewhere else, he'd be your "земляк", but if he stayed, he'd be just another neighbor. But if you move to the other place, you can call him your "земляк", and even when the writer moves to you, he still be your "земляк". I wanna stress that "земляк" is not your friend, his relation to you is purely geographical. But it's the relation none the less.
And this special word is assigned to the quite common situation, there are plenty of people, who named just like you, what's so special about it? Though, I must admit I've met my "тезку" only once, in a kindergarten.
It'd be more rational to have a name for the people who have the same surname it seems. And yes, we have one – "однофамилец", but it's not that elegant, clearly stitched from two bases: один (homo-) & фамилия (surname), while the "тезка" comes from Church Slavic "same".
"Однофамилец" sounds cold and formal, while "тезка" is kinda frisky, I might say. Shouldn't it be the other way around?
And while we're on the subject of relation not by blood – very cool word "земляк" for the person that comes from the same area as you do (homeboy?). You can't call someone "земляк", just 'cause you live in the same city, there must be some distance present. Like if there's a writer, who spent his youth in the same town as you did and then moved somewhere else, he'd be your "земляк", but if he stayed, he'd be just another neighbor. But if you move to the other place, you can call him your "земляк", and even when the writer moves to you, he still be your "земляк". I wanna stress that "земляк" is not your friend, his relation to you is purely geographical. But it's the relation none the less.
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Hey, you might have spoken russian withoout realizing it! Beware!
Бой [boy] – fight
Брат [brut] – brother
Гриб [grip] – mushroom
Дом [dome] – house
Клин [clean] – wedge
Клок [clock] – clump
Кол [call] – stake
Край [cry] – rim
Рок [rock] – doom
Рот [rot] – mouth
Крест [crest] – cross
Плот [plot] – raft
Стог [stock] – stack
Стол [stall] – table
Труппа [trooper] – troupe
Щит [sheet] – shield
and the last one for the sakes of gigglies:
Факт [fucked] – fact
Бой [boy] – fight
Брат [brut] – brother
Гриб [grip] – mushroom
Дом [dome] – house
Клин [clean] – wedge
Клок [clock] – clump
Кол [call] – stake
Край [cry] – rim
Рок [rock] – doom
Рот [rot] – mouth
Крест [crest] – cross
Плот [plot] – raft
Стог [stock] – stack
Стол [stall] – table
Труппа [trooper] – troupe
Щит [sheet] – shield
and the last one for the sakes of gigglies:
Факт [fucked] – fact
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The things gossip does to you
2 min read
Touchy stuff, so no names :-|.
Well, I've never actually gossiped, 'cause always thought it's not worth to trust some info about someone that someone can use against you if you catch my drift
. So I prefered to speek my mind to set the record straight and decided not to talk about others when they are absent. The people I didn't like – I just moved away from them as far as possible with the sweetest smile on my face. But recently I got into the situation in which I can't separate from the person I don't like and the friction between us polished my grinds to flat circles (everything with supreme neutrality with one little dent). So I boiled and boiled, storring my frustration, until I have the moment to splash almost all out of it to the persons I trust. And after all this gossiping I felt realy grreat and to my amazement I've started to see the person I dislike in the better light, – like I realy want to build a bridge and make some positive progress in the relation, despite this little things that irritate me. Is it guilt? Is it the new level to the detachment so I don't realy care about "it"? Is it the stuff you do with shrink? Or may be I just needed to deconstruct the character to breake it to pieces and find some redeeming quolities? As I was typing this, the person in the question dropped the line that just summed all that I hate about "it". Meh, I can deal with it. There'll be no victory, only endless struggle to stay positive. Heck, I'm like level 40 diplomat or the witch from Terry Pratchett book.
Feel a little uneasy about the secret now I need to keep about talking behind someone's back, but It feels 100 times lighter than when I was silent behind someone's back.
Well, I've never actually gossiped, 'cause always thought it's not worth to trust some info about someone that someone can use against you if you catch my drift
. So I prefered to speek my mind to set the record straight and decided not to talk about others when they are absent. The people I didn't like – I just moved away from them as far as possible with the sweetest smile on my face. But recently I got into the situation in which I can't separate from the person I don't like and the friction between us polished my grinds to flat circles (everything with supreme neutrality with one little dent). So I boiled and boiled, storring my frustration, until I have the moment to splash almost all out of it to the persons I trust. And after all this gossiping I felt realy grreat and to my amazement I've started to see the person I dislike in the better light, – like I realy want to build a bridge and make some positive progress in the relation, despite this little things that irritate me. Is it guilt? Is it the new level to the detachment so I don't realy care about "it"? Is it the stuff you do with shrink? Or may be I just needed to deconstruct the character to breake it to pieces and find some redeeming quolities? As I was typing this, the person in the question dropped the line that just summed all that I hate about "it". Meh, I can deal with it. There'll be no victory, only endless struggle to stay positive. Heck, I'm like level 40 diplomat or the witch from Terry Pratchett book.Feel a little uneasy about the secret now I need to keep about talking behind someone's back, but It feels 100 times lighter than when I was silent behind someone's back.
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...put too many effort just to throw it in the bin, so it'll be displayed here. And now's the letter:
«
I'm not a hateful man, i'm as tollerable as you can imagine (the one who dies for your right to speak whatever nonsence you wish to), but there's one thing i can't stand and it's religion in any form. This institution's based on lie, death and suffering. So little good it has to offer is overshadowed with its greed, hate and ignorance. It has no place in any society.
I'm not the one who wants to hang all gays, i'm not the one, who beats women with stones, i'm not the one, who scams naive people, i'm not the one who kills in the name of god. I'm not the one, whose actions are dictated by the fairytale book.
I'm not a hateful man, but religion brings the worst of me and this is when i'm torn apart: on one side, i must be accepting, tollerable and forgiving, but on the other, the sword is mightier than a pen, whatever is said, and i'm the one holding the pen.
---
I don't want to paint all people with one color, 'cause there's happen to be armies based around their belifes. But, may i remind you, that holy books often justify murder of unfaithful ones. It's logicaly understandable - religion tries to eliminate rivals, 'cause discieples of "wrong" god present threat to the "true" belivers. Like i said, religion's a virus and it needs hosts to exist. Ancient gods are dead, 'cause noone holds the fire of faith towards them in their hearts. But islamic plague's mighty roaring now. On the last week over million people in Russia took part in demonstration justifying the murder of journalists. Tsarnaev brothers hasn't come from far east, they immigrated from Russia. Kouachi brothers hasn't come from far east, they were born in Paris. Islamic threat is right at the corner. I'm feeling myself llike Hitler throwing accusations, fearing that my prejudices may cloud my view. I'm trying to be sceptical, i'm trying to question myself. But true beliver mustn't.
Terrorists achieved their goal – anti-religion cartoons are prohibited in Russia now. Hell yeah, we invade other countries, support terrorism, sell weapons all over the world. I'm just scared. Because i'm the one holding the pen.
Petr
»
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