Russian vocabulary: Twilight vampires and werewolves

  Twilight: Breaking Dawn 2 is in theaters now, so finally this “saga” is over. For those of you learning Russian who like Twilight stuff, here is a bit of useful vocabulary.

Белла Свон

Эдвард Каллен

Джейкоб Блэк

вампир - vampire

кровь - blood

клыки - fangs

кусать - to bite

яд - poison, venom

чтение мыслей - mind reading

читать мысли - to read someone's mind

оборотень - werewolf or were- anything

индеец - an Indian

стая - pack

вожак (стаи) - leader (of a pack)

запечатление - imprinting

скучная героиня - boring heroine

Спайк гораздо лучше Эдварда — Spike is so much better than Edward

Books' titles in Russian:

Celebrities speaking Russian

  Some foreign celebrities have Russian roots or lived in Russia, so they speak Russian a bit. Some learned a few words for their visit to Russia or to play a Russian character. Below are a few videos of famous actors speaking Russian. If they are not afraid to speak sometimes not so perfect Russian in public, why should you be? ;)

Mila Kunis

Milla Jovovich

Turn the subtitles on by clicking CC. Some fun insights into Russian weddings and drinking of alcohol :D. The video ends with everyone performing a song in Ukrainian.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

The Voices of Russian Women

  A small collection of Russian songs for you :).

Flëur


Linda


Melnitsa


Zemfira

Japanese words in Russian language

  With Japanese culture now being so popular in many countries including Russia, it's no wonder that other languages borrow words from Japanese. Below are a few Russian words of Japanese origin.

Some such words are quite common. Most Russians know what kimono and karate mean. Others are better known amidst people who like Japanese culture, for example tanka and shamisen.

кимоно, сакура, икебана, бонсаи/бонсай, суси/суши, васаби, дайкон, мисо, соба, саке, цунами, катана, самурай, сёгун, харакири, камикадзе, ниндзя, банзай, боккэн/бокен, айкидо, дзюдо, джиу-джитсу, карате/каратэ, сэнсэй, сумо, тануки, кицунэ, гейша, сямисэн, кото, тайко, оригами, го, тамагочи, хокку, хайку, танка, синтоизм/синто, дзэн

Young Russians are often familiar with words related to manga and anime. Even those who don't watch anime usually know what kawaii and nya mean. Below are words mostly from young people's slang.

манга, аниме, анимешный (adjective: anime-related, like in anime), анимешник (a fan of anime), косплей, косплейщик (a cosplayer), отаку, сэйю, кавай/кавайи/каваий (adverb or noun?), кавайный (adjective), кавайно (adverb), кавайность (noun: kawaiiness), ня!, няшка (noun: something cute), няшный (adjective: cute), покемон, гайдзин, гайдзинка (female gaijin)

Sentences:

Viktor Tsoi – a Soviet rock legend

  It's been so many years since Viktor Tsoi died, but he and his songs still live in the hearts of fans. He was – well, he still is – a legend. Of Russian and Korean origin, he formed a band called Kino, and became an icon for people of so many nations in USSR and beyond. I like his songs, and my friends in Moscow would often play them on acoustic guitar and sing. Below are just a few bits of Viktor Tsoi's heritage.

Печаль

(Pechal' - Sadness)

Группа крови

(Gruppa krovi — Blood type)

Кукушка

(Kukushka - Cuckoo)

8 Russian songs you may like

…well, at least I like them already :). I don't listen to Russian music often, but there are a few songs in Russian that I really like, so today I want to share them with you.

Би-2 и Чичерина – Мой Рок-Н-Ролл
Bi-2 feat. Chicherina – My Rock'n'roll


Lyrics.


Мельница — Королевна
Melnitsa — Princess


Lyrics.


Линда — Танец под водой
Linda — Dance under water
(with a bit of Japanese)


Lyrics.


Ария — Осколок Льда
Aria — Splinter of Ice