[Vinny]

(10-26-2016 10:50 AM)crudeloyalist Wrote:  

Just seen the first episode of Кухня.
Vinny, you said being able to understand 2 for every 5 words in your lazy language thread is good enough. That's probably where I'm at. This show seems fun so I'll give it a try.

The benefit is that you will pick up some food lingo. Girls like to talk about food.
Back when I was learning English I watched a lot of series about hospitals - MD House, Scrubs and even Gray's Anatomy (was this beta?). So I ended up learning shit loads of organ names, deceases and various medical equipment names. I am pretty sure I know more medical terms in English than I know in Russian
Sorry can't assist you with checking youtube translation. I don't have access to youtube here at work.

(10-26-2016 12:06 PM)reverze41 Wrote:  

что это значит "майченка"?

It is a diminutive from "майка" mayka - shirt.
Mayka (shirt) - maychenka (little shirt)
Yubka (skirt) - yubchenka (little skirt)

(10-26-2016 11:17 AM)Going strong Wrote:  

Но есть ровная мазуля пацанятам раскрутиться

This is not Russian any more. This word "мазуля" is from феня (fenya). Cryptolanguage created by criminals in GULAGS to avoid being understood by guards. Later on parts of this language penetrated common Russian.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenya

[Going strong]

(10-26-2016 12:06 PM)reverze41 Wrote:  

(10-26-2016 11:17 AM)Going strong Wrote:  

(10-25-2016 12:29 PM)Vinny Wrote:  

(10-25-2016 10:44 AM)The Man w/ the Golden Gun Wrote:  

I am new to Russian and have been using Duolingo as suggested by Vinny in his datasheet.

Noticed that the words for "please" and "you're welcome" are the same (пожалуйста), a multi-function word like "ciao" in Italian?

Спасибо Vinny!

Пожалуйста, человек с золотым пистолетом.

Forget about golden handguns, try those:

Some actually funny lyrics, Moscow suburbs are no Ibiza, and gopniks no glamourous aesthetes lol:
Столица конечно не Ибица
Но есть ровная мазуля пацанятам раскрутиться
Может я и не гламурный эстет
Белая майченка, черный пистолет

что это значит "майченка"?

edit: I stand corrected, thanks Vinny.

[Going strong]

(10-26-2016 12:27 PM)Vinny Wrote:  

(10-26-2016 11:17 AM)Going strong Wrote:  

Но есть ровная мазуля пацанятам раскрутиться

This is not Russian any more. This word "мазуля" is from феня (fenya). Language created by criminals in GULAGS to avoid being understood by guards. Later on parts of this language migrated to normal Russian.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenya

The Russian authorities have been engaged in a legal battle against Fenya, prohibiting at the beginning of this year its usage within prison walls...

[Vinny]

Tip of the day.

Use http://www.translit.net if you don't have a Russian keyboard. Pretty convenient thing, also saves you time on learning to type fast in Russian.

For example if you type in Zdravstvujte, menja zovut Vanja - you will get this - Здравствуйте, меня зовут Ваня. Which is totally correct.

[Sooth]

^ Nice tool. I bought some of these stick on letters for my keyboard.



Then enable the Cyrillic keyboard on the computer and switch between them by pressing Alt+Shift.

[Vinny]

(10-26-2016 01:28 PM)Sooth Wrote:  

^ Nice tool. I bought some of these stick on letters for my keyboard.
Then enable the Cyrillic keyboard on the computer and switch between them by pressing Alt+Shift.

Good option also. But requires you to learn different placement of the keys. Takes months to start typing with the good speed.
It is super convenient that on modern day smartphones you can just change language by hitting one button.


Tip of the day is inspired by this post
thread-58969...pid1427403

I will try to make a similar list in Russian.

Pet names, which women like:
Detka -baby, malishka - also baby, kroshka - something small - for example kroshka hleba is a bread crumb)

Commonly used for couples are diminutive of animal names. I know that must sound weird for an English speaker but there is a high chance your Russian girlfriend will call you zajchik - little rabbit, kotik - little cat or even solnishko - little sun. She will also not mind if you call her the same. More feminine versions are zajka, kotenok. Actually she will enjoy it.

Cheesy compliments will not do any good unless you are already dating. But a regular will appreciate something like that:

Ja tonu v tvoih glazah kak v omute - I sink in your eyes like in great depth
Tvoja ulibka zastavljajet moje serdce zamirat' - your smile makes my heart freeze

For a girl that you are dating with and have not banged yet it is more practical to compliment her on her style or her demeanor rather than her physical beauty:

Tebe ochen' idet eto plat'e/eti dzhinsi/eta jubka - This dress/these jeans/this skirt suit you very well.
U tebja shikarnije volosy - your hair is gorgeous
Ty idesh kak budto parish - you walk as if you are flying
Ti klassno/shikarno/otpadno/snogshibatel'no viglyadish. Use these words to describe that she looks good. Much more filled with emotion than played out horosho, krasivo etc.

If you are already banging you can say something about her body in a sexual manner:

Tvoja popka svodit menja s uma - your ass drives me mad
Detka ja tebja hochu - babe I want you (means I wanna have sex with you, but it is not rude and is acceptable if are close enough)

[Constitution45]

Has anyone here taken the Russian language tests ? Such as TORFL or something similar. I need to have verification of my proficiency and it gives me something to work towards. I'm wondering which one will carry the most weight so to speak.

[Vinny]

Unfortunately I can't help you with this one.
Try Duolingo placement test. It is quick, cheap and will give you some scope.

[Beijong]

(11-20-2016 09:53 AM)Vinny Wrote:  

Unfortunately I can't help you with this one.
Try Duolingo placement test. It is quick, cheap and will give you some scope.

Hey Vinny,

How would you say someone is acting like something?

EG: My friend is acting like he owns the place

She's acting like she's a 9 but she's a 4

He acts like he doesn't like it, but he does

I can't type in Cyrillic from here, but I'd appreciate the response in Cyrillic if you can. Much thanks in advance for the help. This is one of my sticking points in conversation.

[Vinny]

(11-24-2016 02:39 PM)Beijong Wrote:  

(11-20-2016 09:53 AM)Vinny Wrote:  

Unfortunately I can't help you with this one.
Try Duolingo placement test. It is quick, cheap and will give you some scope.

Hey Vinny,

How would you say someone is acting like something?

EG: My friend is acting like he owns the place

She's acting like she's a 9 but she's a 4

He acts like he doesn't like it, but he does

I can't type in Cyrillic from here, but I'd appreciate the response in Cyrillic if you can. Much thanks in advance for the help. This is one of my sticking points in conversation.

My friend is acting like he owns the place
Literal translation would be my friend behaves. So
Moj drug vedet sebja tak kak budto eto mesto emu prinadlezhit.
Мой друг ведет себя так как будто это место ему принадлежит.

Ona vedet sebja kak devjatka, hotja sama chetverka
Она ведет себя как девятка, хотя сама четверка
Although not many people use the numbering system we do with girls.

[Gopnik]

This website can be quite useful for intermediate and advanced learners, particularly the grammar exercises: http://www.russian.ucla.edu/vputi/studen...lementary/

[tobehero]

Great thread. I jumped on duolingo and was on it for 1hour - addictive! Hoping to keep this progress up!

[tobehero]

I've purchased some transparent keyboard stickers as a overlay to help with typing russian.

Anyone recommend some Russian streaming sites with english subtitles? I was thinking of watching shows that i like anyway but in russian to help get used to the language.

[Vinny]

Not sure about the subtitles but google kinogo. You can find all movies in Russian there.

[The Man w/ the Golden Gun]

Want to give Vinny's thread a bump, as well as an update:

I've switched over from watching Кухня to "The Dawns Here Are Quiet," both of which can be found on YouTube. Russian with English subtitles:

Vinny (or anyone else with Russian experience), what do you think of the following video on Russian cultural taboos? Accurate?

For convenience, I'll list some of the ones in the video below:
-When you finish your drink, place it under the table.
-Don't sit at the corner of a table. More importantly, don't let girls sit at the corner of a table.
-Make sure to wish farewell to everyone you met when you leave a venue.
-Don't whistle indoors.
-Remove glove before shaking hands.
-Take off shoes before entering.
-Never give odd # of flowers.

[crudeloyalist]

Can I use the words пойдём and давайте interchangeably?

For example, if I said:

давайте к у нее

or

Пойдем к у нее

Meaning, 'let's go to her', what would be the correct way to say this?

[Beijong]

Hey guys,

Anyone know which case is associated with "нет"?

Like, when you say "у вас есть яблоки?" and the answer is No, the case changes and you say "нет яблок"

What is going on here grammatically? It goes from nominative case to what?

I usually just say нет яблоки or whatever, just nominative case but I know thats not right. Anyone know? Vinny?

Thanks

[Beirut]

(02-12-2017 07:23 PM)Beijong Wrote:  

Hey guys,

Anyone know which case is associated with "нет"?

Like, when you say "у вас есть яблоки?" and the answer is No, the case changes and you say "нет яблок"

What is going on here grammatically? It goes from nominative case to what?

I usually just say нет яблоки or whatever, just nominative case but I know thats not right. Anyone know? Vinny?

Thanks

Genitive.

Logically you can think about it as a quantity word, which typically are followed by the genitive case as well.

[TigerMandingo]

(02-04-2017 05:36 AM)crudeloyalist Wrote:  

Can I use the words пойдём and давайте interchangeably?

For example, if I said:

давайте к у нее

or

Пойдем к у нее

Meaning, 'let's go to her', what would be the correct way to say this?

Neither.

"давайте к ней" or "пойдем к ней" are your two options.

I can't explain why this is grammatically correct, but it is.

Native Russian speaker

[Vinny]

(02-04-2017 05:36 AM)crudeloyalist Wrote:  

Can I use the words пойдём and давайте interchangeably?

For example, if I said:

давайте к у нее

or

Пойдем к у нее

Meaning, 'let's go to her', what would be the correct way to say this?

Both sentences are a bit wrong. No you can't use them interchangeably, without altering the endings of a following word. Here are the correct options
Давайте у нее
Давайте к ней
Пойдем к ней

[Vinny]

Both давайте и пойдем can be used as a call to action. But they are not exactly the same. Hard to really explain why. It is a kind of sense of language situation.

[Vinny]

As the spring is here and EE countries are slowly starting to warm up, some RVFers from all over the globe flock to Russian Speaking countries.

Thus I am reviving this thread. I will do this by translating my go to direct day game opener to Russian.

"Hi I was walking by, I saw you and I thought you were cute!"

Привет, я проходил мимо и заметил тебя, ты отлично выглядишь!(otlichno vygljadish'-look great)
or replace underlined part with any of the following:
красивая krasivaja - beautiful
очень красивая ochen' krasivaja - very beautiful
прекрасно выглядишь prekrasno vygljadish' - look amazing
классно выглядишь klassno vygljadish' - look great
милая milaja - cute
интересная interesnaja - interesing
etc.

[estraudi]

(04-23-2017 11:52 AM)Vinny Wrote:  

As the spring is here and EE countries are slowly starting to warm up, some RVFers from all over the globe flock to Russian Speaking countries.

Thus I am reviving this thread. I will do this by translating my go to direct day game opener to Russian.

"Hi I was walking by, I saw you and I thought you were cute!"

Привет, я проходил мимо и заметил тебя, ты отлично выглядишь!(otlichno vygljadish'-look great)
or replace underlined part with any of the following:
красивая krasivaja - beautiful
очень красивая ochen' krasivaja - very beautiful
прекрасно выглядишь prekrasno vygljadish' - look amazing
классно выглядишь klassno vygljadish' - look great
милая milaja - cute
интересная interesnaja - interesing
etc.

Hey Vinny. I appreciate all the work you do for helping those of us dedicated to learning Russian.
I have a question about this letter:я
From everything I have been learning that letter is pronounced "Ya".
When you spell it you use "ja". I know in different FSU countries they have their own pronunciations but in Russia do they use "ja"or "ya" for pronouncement? Tone & placement counts for a lot and the smallest nuance can mean different things and just had a concern.
Your feedback is greatly appreciated.

[Beirut]

The "j" that Vinny wrote is meant to refer to the "y" sound that you're using for ya.

So its "ya" and there's no confusion there.

[estraudi]

(04-24-2017 01:17 PM)Beirut Wrote:  

The "j" that Vinny wrote is meant to refer to the "y" sound that you're using for ya.

So its "ya" and there's no confusion there.

That works for me. Thanks.