[Brodiaga]

More or less
Более-менее

[DVY]

@Roosh- zadat is used a context of authority- Like the czar ordered this task to be done. The connotation is too strong- Zadal ukase (gave an edict).

Sprociit is to ask. Very common word.

@Roosh- Are you using the phrase more or less in a literal meaning? Like more or less sugar in this recipe? (phrase suitable is более менее sugar). Or a slight connotation of its almost there/almost right--- более менее tam(almost there) or более менее xorosho (almost good)

Or "I am doing OK today"- The phrase commonly used is "пo мaленьичkky". Literally, it means little by little.

The thing about Russian is that you need to forget all your idioms and learn theirs. English (which is in many ways a derivative of Latin) has similar idioms to Spanish, but this doesn't necessarily apply to other languages.

[Papi Rico]

(09-10-2013 07:16 AM)Akula Wrote:  

(09-10-2013 06:23 AM)Roosh Wrote:  

How do you say the phrase "more or less"? In Spanish it's "mas o menos".

(09-10-2013 06:55 AM)Menace Wrote:  

I think: приблизительно.

Menace I know your Russian is fluent and a lot better than mine but isn't there another form (whch I hear a lot here) which is "более менее?"

As an aside, "Nevertheless" is "тем не менее." For me it was easy to remember these two little phrases together.

Russian is a beast, especially compared to Spanish. более менее often means "almost", whereas приблизительно is "approximately".

I think Roosh may have been thinking of a context in which 'more or less' means "so-so" (i.e. neither bad nor good, high nor low")

Q: Are you interested in that girl? / Estas interesado en esa chica?
A: "eh, more or less" / "mmm, mas o menos"

In Russian, the equivalent response to "эта девушка тебя интересует?"
would be "так себе", or a long, drawn-out "нуyyyy...так себе"

Another closely related phrase is "..Ничего". While it literally means 'nothing', check out the following context:

Q: Do you like London? / Te gusta Bogota?
A: More or less / mas o menos

Q: как тебе нравится Москва?
A: Ничего (with shrug) or again "нуyyyy...Ничего"
--This version of more or less / mas o menos connotes "nothing special"

[Papi Rico]

(09-10-2013 10:32 AM)DVY Wrote:  

The thing about Russian is that you need to forget all your idioms and learn theirs. English (which is in many ways a derivative of Latin) has similar idioms to Spanish, but this doesn't necessarily apply to other languages.

I really could not agree more. This will seem apparent if you to read a Russian classic in its original - something I really recommend that you do. There really is not too much of a change when you read Vargas Llosa or Garcia Marquez in English. Try comparing a Chekhov translation side-by-side with its original. Like comparing a feminine Russian beauty to, well, whatever it is that you want to call her counterpart in the US.

I will go so far as to say that to learn American English, the best strategy is to watch American TV - that is where you will pick up on the nuances necessary to learn modern English. In Russia, though there's a lot of slang these days, people are generally very well-read, and there's no better way to learn the Russian language than through those whom are responsible for its presently high level of sophistication (Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Bulgakov, etc).

[Brodiaga]

(09-10-2013 10:32 AM)DVY Wrote:  

@Roosh- zadat is used a context of authority- Like the czar ordered this task to be done. The connotation is too strong- Zadal ukase (gave an edict).

Sprociit is to ask. Very common word.

@Roosh- Are you using the phrase more or less in a literal meaning? Like more or less sugar in this recipe? (phrase suitable is более менее sugar). Or a slight connotation of its almost there/almost right--- более менее tam(almost there) or более менее xorosho (almost good)

Or "I am doing OK today"- The phrase commonly used is "пo мaленьичkky". Literally, it means little by little.

The thing about Russian is that you need to forget all your idioms and learn theirs. English (which is in many ways a derivative of Latin) has similar idioms to Spanish, but this doesn't necessarily apply to other languages.

I don't mean to sound like a smart ass, but let me make a few corrections. Feel free to correct my English, btw)

Задать - to assign. Задать задание - to assign a task
Спросить - to ask a question
Задать вопрос - to ask a question
Попросить - to ask for something

More or less sugar (in this recipe) - больше или меньше сахара (по рецепту)
Good, more or less - более-менее хорошо

I agree about using idioms - they are very different. I am usually very careful with English idioms even if my English sounds rather dry.

Just to illustrate how Russian is different from English:
Balls (testicles) are called яйца (eggs) in Russian
To have big balls - no equivalent idiom in Russian
Balls deep - по самые яйца
To bust a nut - слить баллоны

[one-two]

This talk about idioms reminded me of one. "Да нет наверное" translates as "yes no maybe", if you look up one word at a time, but it actually means "Probably not"

[HD668B]

(09-09-2013 02:15 PM)Roosh Wrote:  

Let's say I'm in a library studying Russian and there is a cute girl next to me. How do I say, "Can I ask you a question about Russian?"

My guess: "Я могу српосить вас вопрос о русске?"

Why do you use the formal form "vas" instead of the casual "ti" or "tebya" ?

I know you dont have this in english but many other language the formal form is used for groups, or people who deserve respect (professor, eldery,etc)

[Brodiaga]

The polite form vy, vas, etc. is the right form to use with people you don't know, inlcluding girls. Only low class people and children use ты in this case.

[Brodiaga]

To add to the previous post, there are exeptions, of course. Like, if you grab a girl's ass in a club or tell somebody to fuck off, you don't want to use вы)

[Virtus]

(09-11-2013 08:21 AM)Brodiaga Wrote:  

To add to the previous post, there are exeptions, of course. Like, if you grab a girl's ass in a club or tell somebody to fuck off, you don't want to use вы)

Unless you are trying to be nonchalantly sarcastic / trolling/tooling in case she responds poorly in the former case or exceptionally formally insulting in the latter.. i.e.

"а не пошли бы ВЫ на хуй", when there is only one person present

especially useful when a person would command the use of "ВЫ" due to formal reasons, like age or status

[Brodiaga]

(09-11-2013 02:06 PM)calihunter Wrote:  

(09-11-2013 08:21 AM)Brodiaga Wrote:  

To add to the previous post, there are exeptions, of course. Like, if you grab a girl's ass in a club or tell somebody to fuck off, you don't want to use вы)

Unless you are trying to be nonchalantly sarcastic / trolling/tooling in case she responds poorly in the former case or exceptionally formally insulting in the latter.. i.e.

"а не пошли бы ВЫ на хуй", when there is only one person present

especially useful when a person would command the use of "ВЫ" due to formal reasons, like age or status

Yes, it pisses me off when some old fuck tells me "ты" and expects to be addressed as "вы". One of the good things about English is that I don't have to worry about this shit.

[Wayout]

Just a little tip : always use "вы" when communicating regardless of age...especially with women. Something is so classy about that. The only time you should be using informal "ты" is when you are intimate with a girl.
For me, Russian and Spanish are very similar languages...but that's just me. Russian is probably the hardest language to learn because of all slang and different endings. On the other hand, you can probably communicate in Russian knowing only 20-25 slang words if you know how to use proper intonation.

[ladderff]

I don't understand the grammar of Russian auxiliary verbs.

Some of them take the speaker for a subject and some don't, compare
я должен работать
with
мне нужно врач

Also, in Pimsleur, no matter who is speaking or what is needed they always say "нужно" and never any other form of the verb; anyone know what's up with that? Is that right?

[BigDave]

(09-10-2013 08:30 PM)one-two Wrote:  

This talk about idioms reminded me of one. "Да нет наверное" translates as "yes no maybe", if you look up one word at a time, but it actually means "Probably not"

Another one: "да нет" translates as "of course not"

[RexImperator]

Not a native here, but you've run into the cases. I'll take a crack at it.

For the first person singular the nominative case pronoun is я whereas мне and меня are the dative and genitive case pronouns. If you think of

Я ="I"

Then those other two are more like saying "to me" or "me" since they indicate the pronoun receives the action as an object as opposed to acting like the subject.

Although often translated as "I need", Мне нужно would translate more literally as "to me there is a need for/to..." or "to me it is needing..." So the verb's subject is actually an understood "it" and the verb conjugation is third person singular.

[Brodiaga]

(11-11-2013 11:02 AM)ladderff Wrote:  

I don't understand the grammar of Russian auxiliary verbs.

Some of them take the speaker for a subject and some don't, compare
я должен работать
with
мне нужно врач

Also, in Pimsleur, no matter who is speaking or what is needed they always say "нужно" and never any other form of the verb; anyone know what's up with that? Is that right?

Я должен работать - I have to work
Мне нужен врач - I need a doctor (нужен - мужской род)

If they say "мне нужно врач", they are wrong. Нужно - средний род, нужен - мужской род. Врач - тоже мужской род.

Why some of them take the speaker for the subject and others don't is hard for me to explain. I'm sure there is a rule for that, it has a name and I had to learn it at school years ago.

These 2 sentences are very similar, though not the same, in meaning:
Мне нужен врач.
Я нуждаюсь в помощи врача.

[Brodiaga]

"Да нет" is informal and just means "no". I don't think it's common, because people understand it sounds kind of misleading.

Кончено нет - of course not
Да ну! - something like "no way!" or "I find it hard to believe".

[Roosh]

How do you say "shot of vodka"? рюмка водки?

[Brodiaga]

Yes, that's right. Рюмка is a shot glass, рюмка водки is a shot.

[Pizdetz]

Roosh,

Russian is one of the most descriptive languages in the world.

In computer terms it is like comparing 256 grey scale of English to 64K scale of Russian color.

This is why Russian literature is so highly studied.
To truly learn it, one has to COMPLETELY submerge oneself into it. Including History and Pushkin.

To use current example of 'shot of vodka' - it can mean a simple shot of vodka or everything else one can imagine as a stimulus to ones' thoughts or emotions - simply based on content of conversation, previous paragraph or a complte novel it is mentioned in.

Have Fun!

[Roosh]

Pizdetz: thanks for the encouragement..

[Menace]

You can also say: сто грамм (understood to be a shot of vodka)

[BigDave]

(01-12-2014 12:37 AM)Menace Wrote:  

You can also say: сто грамм (understood to be a shot of vodka)

This means two shots equivalent of vodka (100 grams=100mL), usually brought in a small decanter type glass.

[one-two]

(01-12-2014 05:15 PM)BigDave Wrote:  

This means two shots equivalent of vodka (100 grams=100mL), usually brought in a small decanter type glass.

Please, a unit of vodka consumption is always 100g. Three men to a bottle. Also, между первой и второй промежуток небольшой. That is the law

[one-two]

Hey Roosh, you know how you've got the big ass book challenge.
I dare you to read this story, http://www.anekdot.ru/an/an1401/o140112.html#12
It's kind of long, but interesting and it talks about the realities of Russian marriage.