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1500 questions
31
votes
9 answers
"Руки не доходят посмотреть" - what does it mean?
Could you please explain what this means, and why?
Руки не доходят посмотреть.
Dav
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31
votes
11 answers
What is the Russian translation of "excited about something"?
I find it very hard to translate "excited" to Russian. Dictionary says "взволнованный, возбуждённый" which doesn't fit in most cases. For example how would you translate the following sentences:
I'm very excited about my new job.
My trip to Europe…
serg
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31
votes
4 answers
If a Russian girl calls herself a thawing pike (тающая щука), what could it mean?
I recently had a video call with a Russian girl, and in the middle of the conversation she called herself тающая щука. That made no sense in the context, so I used a mirror to try to understand what she meant:
Russian girl: Так что я тающая…
Mitsuko
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31
votes
5 answers
Why do Russians add -то behind a word?
Just watched a Russian show today (The Road To Calvary), and I noticed they frequently add -то behind a word.
For example:
«Когда ж это будет-то»
«А потом-то вернетесь»
What does adding -то mean?
If I were to remove the -то from the word, is the…
universe
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31
votes
6 answers
Genitive plural of "башка"?
What is the genitive plural and nominative plural of башка?
My search returned a lot of contradicting information. Is there any authoritative source with a single concrete answer?
Philip Seyfi
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29
votes
13 answers
How to address people in the street?
Suppose you want to ask someone for directions or to attract someone's attention. What is the appropriate way to address this person?
Context:
..., подскажите, как выйти на улицу Чехова?
or
..., вы платок уронили.
In English it would be "mister"…
Olga
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29
votes
4 answers
Why do Russians call some women a dynamo (динамо)?
In English, you call a person a dynamo to say that he or she is extremely energetic (e.g., she was a dynamo in London politics), but Russians mean something entirely different when they call someone a dynamo (spelt in Russian as динамо or, more…
Mitsuko
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29
votes
8 answers
How can I finally understand the confusing modal verb "мочь"?
The verb мочь is one of the most basic words, actually a central modal verb, but I am so much confused about it. I am often at a loss as to how to interpret it in particular sentences, and I avoid using it when I write and speak in Russian. I am…
Mitsuko
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29
votes
10 answers
In Russian, do vehicles walk? And can one walk across the city using the bus?
It's commonly taught that the difference between ходить/идти and ездить/ехать (and between their prefixed derivations) is that the former connotes movement by foot and the latter connotes movement using a vehicle as the means of…
Chill2Macht
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28
votes
4 answers
What is correct: "их" or "ихний"?
My wife always corrects me when I say ихний or ихних instead of их. However, I've seen these pronouns in classical literature many times (Chekhov, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky).
Which form is correct in speaking and writing?
VisioN
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28
votes
3 answers
Are there words that can be spelled with both т and ф?
Some words of Greek descent use ф as corresponding to the Greek θ, while some use т. The former I think tend to be loaned earlier. However, in "Brothers Karamazov" I have found Mitya using the word "эфика". The footnotes stated "He probably meant…
zefciu
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28
votes
3 answers
What Russian letter is this?
Is the 4th letter a valid russian character?
When I copy the above word it is automatically converted to "сведения".
swayamraina
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28
votes
5 answers
Elementary understanding of the concept aspect
First, for the aim of this question I must say that I am not familiar with the Russian language, but I read a bit about it and am curious. I've never learned Russian before and just able to say a handful of sentences.
Thus the intention of this…
Em1
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27
votes
2 answers
Слово "дно" во множественном числе
Как выглядит слово "дно" во множественном числе?
Одно дно
Два дна
Три дна
Четыре дна
Пять ???
Я знаю правильный ответ, но не знаю почему так. Хотелось бы услышать аргументированный ответ, подкрепленный цитатами и ссылками на весомые источники.
k06a
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27
votes
9 answers
Why do Russians call their women expensive ("дорогая")?
My question is in the title of this post, and I do not know what else to say. I am just puzzled.
Okay, to avoid my post being put on hold for being too succinct, I will add a couple of naive thoughts of mine.
I originally thought that "моя дорогая…
Mitsuko
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