ECTACO Info: 10 Words Everybody Needs to Know before Going to Russia. Part 4


An announcement in hospital: Больных в семь утра закапывать всех.
Direct translation: At 7 o’clock all patients must be filled up.
The speaker wanted to say: At 7 o’clock all patients must receive their eye drops.

It’s well known that the Russian language is rich in slang, pejoratives and vulgar words. Even the most common words can have a completely different meaning when used figuratively, which we wouldn’t encourage to you use. ..

In addition, two more Russian words are worth mentioning: виснуть/зависнуть , which means to hang in the air without any support.
We can use this word e.g. when describing UFO’s. As we say that UFO hangs in the air.

 And the second word is тормозить.

This word is related to transportation. E.g. to jam on the brakes.

In their figurative meanings, these words are synonyms. If you hear «Не тормози!» или «Не висни!», it means you seem to be a person who is too slow or not concentrated or not attentive enough.

There is a trick to distinguish the meaning of the words. If they are used in relation to a person, it is the figurative meaning which is meant. The direct meaning is more typical for machines.

Well, don’t висни!

The author - Natalia, blog - www.lexiophiles.com.

ECTACO Info

 

 
Electronic translators ECTACO
 

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