45 Russian words that cannot be translated into English

An interesting new thread has appeared on Twitter. In it a girl under the nickname @AAluminum gives a list of Russian words, the meaning of which cannot be accurately conveyed in English (at least in one word, not a whole phrase). Quotes Lifehacker, style - author's.

Photo: Shutterstock

The girl decided to talk about this in contrast to the popular belief that not everything in the English language can be transferred to Russian while maintaining the shade of meaning, but Russian is always translated. Next - from the first person.

1. Longing. The word cannot be translated into English, because it is sadness, and melancholy, and nostalgia, and boredom, and a million more concepts that are included in this one word.

2. Not enough. A state when a hangover seems to be there, but it is not so strong.

3. Binge. Does not translate. No way. Know. You can insert carouse, carousel, but these are still just fun or not so much parties, revelry. But don't get drunk.

4. Get drunk. There are a million ways to try to say it in English, but I tried it and they didn't understand me.

5. Rudeness. No, not boldness and not audacity, which imply behavior as bold as a bullet. The grandma in line at the store is hardly a cheeky lioness, is she? In one article, I discovered that a number of words do not have an exact translation, but they are somehow conveyed: impudence, rudeness - rudeness in a rough sort of way, impudence - impertinence, having nerve or gall.

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6. Thaw. I don’t use this word, but you must agree that there is an 80% chance that you are familiar with it if you are a Russian speaker. Someone explained that it’s like... disroad (dis = race, road - path).

7. Maybe.

8. Get excited. On the one hand, and flutter, and seemingly rouse from sleep, and a thousand different interpretations, but just not that. Thank you Fet, I send greetings.

9. Terrible. Yes, yes, Ivan the Terrible, that’s all. But you and I know that he is not Ivan the Terrible, he is... more related to the word “thunder”. And this is already creepy, don’t you think?

10. Conscience. They translate both the word shame and have a moral compass, and as soon as they are not mocked, but we have such an untranslatable concept: we are not talking about obeying the law or society, but more about the inner ability of a person to evaluate their actions.

11. Drummer (production). Not a very ardent hello to the scoop, well, they probably never did it like that anywhere. Shock labor is also a Russian invention.

12. Why and don’t know.

13. To lull. Lull and rock, of course, are about the same thing, but they do not involve humming songs and so on. This is the physical act of rocking a cradle, while rocking is the act of mumbling something.

14. Be in time. Yes, you can say manage to do smth, but it’s more like “I managed...” or “I made it on time,” but still that’s not it. I myself use the first structure.

15. Day. A day is our untranslatable everything.

16. Phrases like “wow!” "Wow!" "Wow!" “What are you talking about!” It will not be possible to translate adequately and in accordance with the original - it will just be an interesting play on words with holy cannolli, holy molly, holy cow etc.

17. Boiling water. Not “hot water”, not “boiling water in a kettle”, but “fill your doshirak with boiling water”.

18. Lawlessness: Mayhem would be the closest English equivalent, however, it does not describe the depth of this Russian word, which also means lawlessness, complete disorder and actions that go beyond any laws and moral principles (Mayhem would be the closest English equivalent, but does not describe depth of this Russian word, which also means lawlessness, complete disorder and actions that go beyond any laws and moral principles).

19. To love and stop loving. You can fall in love with smb and “fall out of love,” but not stop loving. In Russian there are two completely different words, and in English there is a change of particle.

20. Dry forest. There are no even comments.

21. vulgar. Vulgar, tasteless, what is this anyway? It's, well ... vulgar.

22. Tear. One day I was translating my own fanfic and realized that there simply is no such word in the English language. Talking with anguish, screaming with anguish... well, you must agree, her voice is cracked/broken - that’s not it at all.

23. Gut. No, not the insides, not the inner world, but something more mundane, maybe even base.

24. The buzz. I don’t know how much this is about the Russian language, because the word itself, it seems, came from Arabic, but it remained so.

25. Will.

26. Meaning. It's quite funny that this word is also untranslatable, because... combines both meaning and sense.

27. Faith, perhaps, also applies here: the Russian word combines faith and belief.

28. Tenderness. Tenderness/gentleness alright, but remember that this word comes from the word “nega”.

29. Roll up. This word also has no analogue. To pick up is to come up and throw a wretched pickup line (to start a conversation for the purpose of getting to know each other - ed.), and to roll up is to roll out of nowhere and hang on.

30. P *** c untranslatable. It is a fact.

31. Why. I read somewhere that this word is also not particularly translated, because it asks for the reason for an action, not the goal. But also something transitional, for me what for is very ok, although not often seen.

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32. Russian “feat” this is not an English feat. Feat - literally comes from factum (something done), and feat is to move something, to move something from a dead point.

33. Security officials. On foreign sites, you can see something like influential figures in law enforcement and security agencies, but this is an explanation, and not a single word, which gives a very comprehensive picture of the situation.

34. Scoop - meaning soviet Russia... Well, there is nothing surprising in this, of course.

35. Thief in law. Even at the university I was told that there is no such concept in other languages.

36. Party. Not a party, but a get-together. By the way, it comes from “shuffling the cards,” because at a party you will communicate closely with different people, like cards in a deck.

37. Concepts. "According to concepts." They say that this is some kind of ethical system of principles, but unfortunately, you and I know.

38. Beloruchka. No matter how they tried to transfer her, they ended up leaving her as a “lazy person.”

39. Genesis. I don’t know who in their right mind would need the word “being” in 2020, but it is also untranslatable.

40. Savvy not translated into English.

41. Freebie - also an original Russian invention, because freebies don’t come anywhere else.

42. “Automatic” in the exam.

43. Zapadlo.

44. Monogamous.

45. Disdain.

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