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1500 questions
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11
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1 answer
The origin of ни пуха ни пера - к чёрту
Why do we say ни пуха ни пера wishing someone good luck?
The traditional response is also interesting. People are expected to say к чёрту.
What is the origin of the idiom?
Enguroo
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11
votes
8 answers
Good for you! in Russian
Somebody say: I took the full test score
And I answer: Good for you!
which one is correct in Russian:
"хорошо для тебя"
or
"повезло тебе"
And also we use "тебе на пользу" in another situation like: eating healthy food is good for you ?
WorldLover
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11
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2 answers
What's the 'present simple' form of the word "нашла́" in 3rd person singular female?
What's the 'present simple' form of the word "нашла́" in 3rd person singular female?
For example:
She finds a new toy every week.
I look for this word in a table of this verb and it's not obvious for me in which form of the verb I should use in…
Influx
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11
votes
2 answers
Idiomatic Signage: "No children", "Children not allowed on table", etc.?
Let's say you had a nice pool table. And some people were ruining it by putting their small children on top of it and letting them walk around and bang on it.
In American English, you might put a sign on it like, "No children on the pool table" or…
Johnny
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11
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1 answer
How to define a general pattern to choose between n-participles and t-participles?
In Russian, when we speak with past participle, there are either н-patterns (сделано/положено/доказано/разъяснено) or т-patterns (принято/сшито/открыто).
No verb, to the best of my knowledge, can have both p.pt. patterns at the same time.
What is…
Manjusri
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11
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3 answers
спускаться/опускаться, но подниматься
If a person goes up (e.g., on a staircase), then человек поднимается. If an elevator is going up, then лифт поднимается. That's the same verb for the person and for the elevator. However, if a person is coming down then человек спускается while if…
KCd
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11
votes
2 answers
Decimal Declension
I've always thought that the formal rules for declining decimals in Russian seem a little...unwieldy. For example, I gather that the correct way to say "pi is approximately equal to 3.14159" -- which isn't an uncommon thing to say, at least in some…
DET
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11
votes
3 answers
Difference between “нация” and “народ”
Given that народ is connected to род, and has to do with birth, and нация derives from the Latin natus, past participle of nasci (being born), is there any difference between the two terms?
I have been instructed that народ should be referred to…
astabada
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11
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1 answer
What is the meaning of "нигде так не любят русских туристов как нигде"
There are way too many negations for me to grasp the meaning of this phrase:
нигде так не любят русских туристов как нигде
Trident D'Gao
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11
votes
3 answers
"Скатертью дорога" - was it ever a positive thing after all?
There is a well known phrase "скатертью дорога" which is sort of caustic version of "good riddance". There's also a common knowledge that this phrase initially meant something exactly the opposite from what it means now, namely, it was sort of…
shabunc
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11
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6 answers
Is "глядя на нас, сразу понятно, что ..." grammatically valid?
I heard the following phrase in one media advertisement:
Глядя на нас, сразу понятно, что я ... , а он ... .
Subconsciously I doubt if it is grammatically correct phrase.
Could you clarify it please?
VisioN
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5 answers
How do I write a name of a person when it is called from far away
I know it sounds a stupid question but in English comics, if someone is calling a woman named "Laura" from afar, you write "Lauraaaaaaa", with the last letter repeated.
How do I do the same with "Катя" in Russian?
If I write "Катяяяяяяя" it seems…
Johannes Wentu
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4 answers
What is the different between "возвратиться" and "вернуться"?
I have two flash cards giving imperfective/perfective pairs corresponding to the meaning "to return":
возвращаться/возвратиться
возвращаться/вернуться
This was confusing me a lot, as well as making it difficult for me to remember how to best…
Chill2Macht
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11
votes
5 answers
What is the meaning of "напортачил" and "портак"?
What exactly do these words mean? How can you correctly use them in speech?
I know that "портак" is some sort of a prison tattoo, but then what does "напортачил" mean?
novchinnikov
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