Russian Language Stack Exchange
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3 answers

Using written е instead of ë

Sometimes I see е written instead of ë. Is this actually a common occurence in written Russian, or an acceptable version of the word? For example, even Google Translate will not use the diacritical character.
N romaai
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The meaning of verbs with prefix "раз-\рас-" and postfix "-ся"

Can the following words be used in any context? I even doubt that some of them exist, but I cannot think of any reason why they shouldn't: разработаться расчитаться (from читать) раздуматься On the other hand, words like the following are…
Olga
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What does the phrase пойти в разведку mean?

I assume that in casual usage, it doesn't really mean to serve in an intelligence agency, or to reconnoiter an enemy position, right?
Young
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3 answers

Singular or plural verb after a singular noun denoting a quantity?

Sometimes you use a word-combination of 2 nouns to denote a quantity of entities: «большинство людей». Should a singular or plural form be used for a verb after that? I.e., «большинство людей не знает» or «большинство людей не знают»? Why?
Mirzhan Irkegulov
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3 answers

Is there a difference between "порадовать" and "обрадовать"

When someone is about to tell you some long-awaited news: Угадай, что мне сказал шеф сегодня. Guess what my boss told me today. you may ask him y saying one of these phrases: Давай, порадуй меня. or Давай, обрадуй меня. both meaning Come…
Olga
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Where can I find a list of the 1000 most frequent Russian words?

Oftentimes to communicate in a language one only needs a limited repertoire of words. Is there a list of the most frequent Russian words - even if it's only a few hundred? I find the book "Roots of the Russian Language" quite intriguing and useful,…
0xC0000022L
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Sergei Rachmaninov or Rachmaninoff

I am writing a novel in English. My transliteration novel uses -ov for surnames (Danilov, Kirilov). For consistency sake I would like to spell out Sergei Rachmaninov as such, though he is more traditionally spelled Rachmaninoff. Is the -off simply…
user3839
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Is it true that the spelling reform changed the meaning of 'War and Peace'?

I've seen copies of War and Peace with the old orthography. Does the old form carry a different connotation or meaning than the new? Is there a nuance in pronunciation that indicates awareness of this?
luser droog
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1 answer

What is the meaning and origin of "The grand piano in the bushes"?

There is a saying "The grand piano in the bushes" ("рояль в кустах"). What does it mean precisely, how to correctly use it in speech, and what is its origin?
Mirzhan Irkegulov
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4 answers

Etymology of "Пошел в Баню!"

Given the meaning of the phrase ranging from benign "Go away" to the rude "Пошел на ..." I am curious of the origins of this form?
Karlson
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What does водолазовой mean?

My text editor tells me that водолазовой is wrong and suggests me водолазов ой or водолазной or водолазкой or водолазный or водолазка. Using Google Translator I was not able to decide what could be the right one. That word comes from the…
Sigur
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радиус-вектор vs. вектор-строка

Yesterday I came across the term радиус-вектор in physics, which surprised me because the order of the two parts is reversed by comparison with the terms вектор-строка and вектор-столбец in linear algebra, which I knew earlier. Does anyone have a…
KCd
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3 answers

What part of speech is 'на!' when used for 'take!'?

Not sure what part of speech 'на!' is when used in the meaning of 'take!'
Trident D'Gao
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Why does the phraseme "души не чаять" have positive meaning?

OK, this question has been asked many-many times on the internet, and yet I can't google any reliable and constructive answer with a bit of documented proof. How come the meaning of this phrase - "души в ком-то не чаять" - is "to love somebody very…
petajamaja
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To be confused about something

How would one express that one is "confused about something"? I was once told that no direct translation exists, as in Russia no one is confused, but jokes aside, I wonder how I would say it.
JAM
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