Search by tag «Speak Like a Russian» 29 results

• Speak Like a Russian: Soviet Phrasebook

  This Saturday, May 1, was Labor Day – an internationally recognized holiday that was deemed one of the most important in this country’s predecessor, the Soviet Union. In today’s article, we'll take a look at some of the terms and phrases that were, and still remain, characteristic of those times.

  03.05.2021

• Speak Like a Russian: Phrases From Soviet Movies We Know by Heart

  Well, you alcoholics, idlers, hooligans… Who wants to work today? This is not us picking on you – it's a quote from a famous Soviet movie that every Russian knows by heart. These mind-boggling catchphrases and witticisms might have you scratching your head when you hear your friends use them, seemingly at random. But they're part of the Russian psyche, and you can get in on the game!

  09.11.2020

• Speak like a Russian: Cat Words

  It’s sometimes hard to come up with a new article idea, especially at times like these when all that comes to one’s mind has to do with either the risk of infection or the boredom of isolation. Today was different: the topic almost forced itself onto me. First thing in the morning, I find a whole rookery of cats lazing on my porch, and a half hour later, I learn that today is “International St. Petersburg Cats’ Day” - a new improvised holiday that I personally find rather odd, but still. So, it seems that there’s no way around it, and the language that we’ll be learning today will have to do with the purring little creatures that (almost) everyone loves!

  08.06.2020

• Swear Like a Russian: of the Fool and the Devil

  As I promised, this article will be about “safe” Russian swear words, and first off, we’ll take a look at two that are very simple and common, yet very special to the Russian culture. 

  18.05.2020

• Speak Like a Russian: Corona-Inspired

  Last time, I promised you to write about safe Russian swear words, which is a fun topic, indeed. However, as I watched everybody get so tense because of COVID-19 and self-isolation, I couldn’t really say what’s safe anymore! “Вот зараза!”, I mumbled as I scrapped yet another list of swear words, and this kind of inspired me to change the topic. But worry not - the swear words are coming next.

  20.04.2020

• Swear like a Russian (not): Russian Mat

  It's a common thing to ask someone to teach you a swear word in their native language: you think it’s funny and cool and wins you points. For some, knowing how to swear even helps build their confidence with a language. Then again, swear words and slang hold a special place in every culture, and are very easy to misuse. For this reason, we’ve decided to touch upon this topic, and start with Russia’s most notorious way of speaking: the infamous “mat”.

  23.03.2020

• Speak Like a Russian: the Unfathomable

  To tell you the truth, today started as a total disaster for me. Just yesterday, I had plans to post a nice winter-themed article, and the first thing that I didn't see this morning were any traces of snow. A few hours later, when I was working on a gloomier backup topic, the heavy morning rain gave way to some glorious sunshine, which messed up my plans once again. Needless to say, I was ready to burst out in anger! Then suddenly, I remembered one peculiar Russian expression which helped me calm down, contemplate on the situation that I got myself into, and recall the one word that you definitely have to learn in order to truly understand the Russian culture. 

  18.02.2020

• Speak Like a Russian: On Kvetching And How Things Go Wrong

  Since early December, I’ve been looking forward to see some real winter: sparkling white snow, chilling winds, lucid sunsets. Yet, all we get now are drizzling rain and cold mud. I don’t know about you, but I find this all very frustrating, which made me choose quite a specific topic for this article. Simply put, our today’s words will have to do with kvetching and bad things in general.

  20.01.2020

• Speak like a Russian: New Year’s Words

  The New Year is almost here, and tomorrow evening will be celebration time. There will be congratulations, speeches and toasts – so let's learn a few basic expressions that’ll help you join in on the fun! 

  30.12.2019

• Speak Like a Russian: 5 Ways to Describe Winter Cold

  Winter is finally here, and since the previous Monday’s article was dedicated to braving the cold, today we’ll focus on the Russian words that you can use to describe it!

  02.12.2019