The Voices of Russian Women

  A small collection of Russian songs for you :).

Flëur


Linda


Melnitsa


Zemfira

Russian superstitions.

  Superstitions and weird beliefs still thrive in Russia. How many times have I heard “Don't whistle in the house!” because otherwise there won't be any money in this house. Or “My ears are hot. Someone must be berating me!” And I'm not kidding, people actually believe in these kinds of things. Not everyone though – most of my friends are less superstitious than my aunts and uncles. Hopefully one day whistling inside of the house will no longer be forbidden, because these restrictions are quite annoying to me :).

There are tons of superstitions in Russia, some of them are regional and rare, some are more common. I'll list here only those that I heard constantly when living in Moscow.

• If you drop a fork, you'll have guests, probably male.
• Hiccups mean someone is thinking about you right now.
• It's a bad sign to give something over a threshold, both people should be either outside or inside.
• If you break a mirror, there will be seven years of misfortune.
• If you break dishes, something good will happen.
• But do not keep broken dishes – that would only bring misfortune. Even if there is a tiny crack on a cup, you have to throw it. Even if you really really like it...
• Rain before traveling means your trip will be safe.
• If a black cat crosses your path, something bad will happen. To protect yourself from it you should hold a button on your clothes when you meet a black cat.

Russian poetry read by a native

  Below are five Russian poems recited by Boris Vetrov. I linked to their texts as well, so you can read along if you want.

Alexander Pushkin “У Лукоморья”

Ivan Bunin “Настанет день - исчезну я”

Vladimir Nabokov “В полнолунье”

How to say you are for or against something in Russian

  If you want to say you're for something, you use за. If you're against something you use против. On to examples!

за - for

против - against

быть за — to be in favour

быть против — to be against

Ты за? - Are you in favour [of it]?

Кто за? - Those in favour?

Все против. - All against.

Ты не против? - You're not against it? Do you mind?

Ты не против, если я возьму это? - Do you mind if I take this?

Я за мир во всём мире. - I'm for world peace.

Я против войны. - I'm against war.

Russian adjectives turned into nouns

  Sometimes adjectives no longer want to play the roles assigned to them and become nouns. At least that's what happens in Russian once in a while. Such newborn adjective-nouns look and conjugate like adjectives but play the role of nouns in a sentence. I'll give you a few examples.

книжный - bookstore

Я купила журнал в книжном. - I bought a magazine in a bookstore.

столовая - dining-hall

В столовой было много народу. - There were many people in the dining-hall.

гостиная - living room

В их доме две гостиных. - There are two living rooms in their house.

парикмахерская - hairdressing saloon

Он пошёл в парикмахерскую. - He went to a hairdressing saloon.

слепой - blind person

глухой - deaf person

У слепых и глухих бывает много проблем. - Blind and deaf people face many problems.

немой - mute person

Немые учат язык жестов. - Mute people learn sign language.

русский - Russian person

Русская и американка позавтракали в кафе. - A Russian and an American girl had a breakfast in a cafe.

дорогой - darling, dear

Дорогой, принеси мне мой телефон. - Darling, bring me my phone.

военный - military man

По улице шли военные. - Military men walked down the street.

другой - other

Мы часто не замечаем проблемы других. - We often don't notice problems of others.

остальной - the rest

Остальное можно оставить здесь. - The rest can be left here.

Russian tongue-twisters – for the brave learners!

  One of the ways to practice pronunciation of foreign words is learning tongue-twisters. Russian tongue-twisters (скороговорки, from скорый - fast and говорить - to speak) might seem pretty hard, but it's a fun way to master all those weird sounds. :) Below are three videos from Russian natives. First two are easier, and the third one is for the bravest of you – even I cannot say all of those tongue-twisters. Good luck!

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: