Everyday Slang from 'What's Up' Read online

  E-to SU-per-ska-ya i-DYE-ya!

  That’s genius!

  E-to ge-ni-AL-na-ya misl!

  Cool threads!

  KLASS-ni-ye SHMOT-ki!

  I really dig...

  ya PRO-sto bal-DYE-yu ot…

  Note that this phrase is fol owed by the genitive case.

  your groovy style.

  tvo-ye-VO KLYO-vo-vo STIL-ya.

  your rad hairstyle.

  tvo-YEI o-bal-DYE-nnoi pri-CHO-ski.

  your trendy jeans.

  tvo-IKH MOD-nikh JINS-ov.

  your slick new murse.

  tvo-YEI shi-KAR-noi NO-voi bar-SYET-ki.

  In other words, a man purse.

  your amusing (eye)glasses.

  tvo-IKH pri-KOL-nikh och-KOV.

  You have awesome taste.

  u te-BYA o-fig-YE-nnii vkus.

  You look really cool.

  ti KLASS-no VI-glyad-ish.

  You’re dressed real snazzy.

  ti a-TAS-no o-DYET.

  You look fly in that dress.

  ti KRU-to VI-glyad-ish v E-tom PLA-tye.

  She’s a really cool chick.

  on-A KLASS-na-ya dyev-CHON-ka.

  He’s an awesome guy.

  on SLAV-nii PAR-en.

  I envy you.

  ya te-BYE za-VID-u-yu.

  In Russian, there are two kinds of envy:

  (BYELA-YA ZA-vist), or “white envy,” and

  (CHORNA-YA ZA-vist), or “black

  envy.” White envy is the good kind of envy where ultimately you are genuinely happy for the person and their good fortune. Black envy, on the other hand, is the kind where you secretly wish the person would spontaneously combust right in front of you so that you could witness their suffering and death and then confiscate the object of your envy so that it can be yours, al yours.

  Cool!

  KLASS-no!

  Klassno is stil the most common, basic way of saying “Cool!” It is also often shortened to

  ( klass). Here a few others:

  Rad!

  a-TAS-no!

  Groovy!

  KLYO-vo!

  That rules!

  RUL-no!

  Tight!

  KRU-to!

  Fuckin’ sweet!

  piz-DA-to!

  Phat!

  o-fi-GYEN-no!

  That’s a hoot!

  pri-LOL-no!

  Super!

  SU-per!

  Awesome!

  ZDO-ro-vo

  As already mentioned, remember this is stressed ZDO-ro-vo, distinguishing it from the greeting zdo-RO-vo.

  Now you’re talkin’!

  vot E-to da!

  It doesn’t suck.

  nye khren-O-ven-ko.

  Time for a little romance

  po-RA dlya ro-MAN-ti-ki

  Those long Russian nights can get a little lonely, so why not find someone who’l make the time fly by. Keep in mind that dating in Russia is a bit like dating during the Eisenhower years, but with more sex. Guys general y make al the moves and are expected to foot the bil . They’re also expected to hold open doors, help put on coats, and offer a hand to assist their female companions out of cars—so be prepared to work if you’re looking for a payoff. Oh, and if you decide to bring your girl flowers, make sure you buy an odd number—even-numbered bouquets are only for funerals, and that’s probably not quite the message you want to send before an evening of romance.

  To flirt

  flirt-o-VAT

  I am really sick of guys always hitting on me at parties.

  mnye na-do-YELO, kak PAR-ni po-sto-YA-nno pri-sta-YUT ko mnye na vecher-IN-kakh.

  Where can I pick up a chick/guy around here?

  gdye tut MO-zhno snyat TYOL-ku/PAR-nya?

  Could I get your number?

  MO-zhno tvoi te-le-FON-chik?

  What’s your sign?

  kto ti po zo-di-A-ku?

  Do you believe in love at first sight?

  ti VYER-ish v lyu-BOV s PYER-vo-vo VZGLYA-da?

  I think we’ve met somewhere before.

  po-MO-ye-mu, mi GDYE-to u-ZHE vstre-CHAL-is.

  My friend thinks you’re really cute.

  moi drug schi-TA-yet te-BYA O-chen sim-pa-TICH-noi.

  Can I buy you a drink?

  MO-zhno te-BYA u-go-STIT chem-ni-BUD VI-pit?

  Hey, pretty lady, wanna get to know each other better?

  pri-VYET, kra-SA-vi-tsa, KHO-chesh po-zna-KOM-it-sya po-BLI-zhe?

  Are you free tonight?

  ti svo-BOD-na se-VOD-nya VE-che-rom?

  Could you set me up on a blind date?

  yi bi nye mo-GLI mnye u-STRO-it svi-DAN-i-ye vslyep-U-yu ?

  Let’s make a plan, Fran (or Stan).

  da-VAI za-BYOM STRYEL-ku.

  Hey, honey, wanna go...?

  eh, kra-SOT-ka, nye KHO-chesh po-i-TI…?

  on a date

  na svi-DAN-i-ye

  back to my place

  ko mnye do-MOI

  to the movies tonight

  se-VOD-nya v ki-NO

  to a dance club

  na dis-KACH

  to a new club with me

  so mnoi v NO-vii klub

  Characters

  per-so-NA-zhi

  It takes al kinds, and Russia is ful of ’em! Here are of some of the many people you run the risk of meeting on the wild streets of Moscow.

  He thinks he’s a total badass because he rides a motorcycle.

  on schi-TA-yet se-BYA kru-TIM PAR-nyem, po-to-MU chto YEZ-dit na mo-to-TSI-klye.

  That moocher always shows up around dinnertime.

  E-tot kha-LYAV-schik vseg-DA pri-KHO-dit k U-zhin-u.

  I know that gigolo is just using her for her money.

  ya ZNA-yu, chto E-tot al-FONS ye-YO i-SPOL-zu-yet PRO-sto RA-di DYEN-yeg.

  That jezebel ruined his life.

  E-ta di-na-MIST-i-ka is-POR-ti-la ye-MU zhizn.

  That old geezer spends his pension on vodka.

  E-tot sta-ri-CHOK TRA-tit svo-YU PYEN-si-yu na VOD-KU.

  Because of these old farts, there’s nowhere to sit on the tram.

  IZ-za E-tikh star-PYOR-ov v tram-VA-ye NYE-gdye syest.

  Those old biddies are always gossiping about me in the stairwell.

  E-ti sta-RU-khi po-sto-YA-nno SPLYET-ni-cha-yut obo MNYE v pod-YEZ-dye.

  I’m looking for a sugar daddy.

  ya i-SCHU se-BYE SPON-so-ra.

  Even though he’s married, he’s still an incurable skirt chaser.

  nye-smo-TRYA na TO, chto zhe-NAT, on BAB-nik nye-izle-CHI-mii.

  That old maid still lives with her mother.

  E-ta STAR-a-ya DYE-va do sikh POR zhi-VYOT so svo-YEI MA-ter-yu.

  In Russia, an old maid is basical y any woman who’s over 25 and stil single.

  Thirtysomething woman

  ZHEN-schi-na bal-ZA-kov-sko-vo VO-zrast-a

  If you want to know more about what this is, there’s actual y a popular Russian TV show of the same name. It’s basical y a takeoff of “Sex and the City,” only Muscofied.

  I would never marry a mama’s boy.

  ya bi ni-kog-DA nye VI-shla ZA-muzh za MA-min-kin-a si-NOCH-ka.

  .

  That daddy’s girl always wears Gucci.

  E-ta PA-pin-kin-a DOCH-ka vseg-DA NO-sit GU-chi.

  My little brother is such a snotty kid.

  moi MLAD-shii brat—MA-lyen-kii chpok.

  I almost shat myself when I found out that she’s jailbait.

  ya chut ne ob-o-SRAL-sya kog-DA uz-NAL, chto on-A ma-lo-LYET-ka.

  .

  My teenage friends are always slacking off after school.

  mo-I dru-ZYA-ti-NEi-je-ri vseg-DA byez-DYEL-ni-cha-yut PO-sle SHKOL-i.

  This energizer bunny goes jogging every morning. E-tot e-ner-JAi-zer KAZH-do-ye U-tro na pro-BYEZHKYE.

  That computer geek is always wrapped up in his programs.

  tot kom-PYU-ter-schik po-sto-YA-nno za-vi-SA-yet za pro-GRA-mma-mi.


  That gamer never leaves his comp.

  E-tot GEI-mer ot komp-A nye ot-KHO-dit.

  There were a bunch of drunk rockers at the concert last night.

  BI-lo SBOR-i-sche PYAN-ikh RO-ker-ov vche-RA na kon-TSER-tye.

  Do you know where I can meet some local punks?

  ti nye ZNA-yesh, gdye MO-zhno po-zna-KOM-it-sya s MYEST-ni-mi PANK-a-mi?

  That hippie walks around barefoot all day.

  E-tot KHI-ppi KHO-dit TSE-lii dyen bo-si-KOM.

  I think that skin is a follower of Barkashov.

  po-MO-ye-mu E-tot skin DRU-zhit s bar-ka-SHOV-im.

  Alexander Barkashov is the former leader of the radical nationalist political group RNE (Russian National Unity), which attracted a lot of skinhead fol owers based on its agenda of ridding Russia of “foreigners and Jews.”

  Those damned bikers are causing problems again.

  E-ti pro-KLYA-ti-ye BAI-ke-ri o-PYAT pro-BLYE-mi sozda-YUT.

  That hick has never seen nothin’ but dung.

  E-tot kol-KHOZ-nik KRO-mye na-VO-za ni-che-VO v ZHIZ-ni nye VI-dyel.

  Literal y, this means “col ective farmer” but can describe any country-bumpkin type.

  Posers really annoy me.

  PO-ze-ri me-NYA O-chen raz-dra-ZHA-yut.

  Another variant of this word is

  (po-ZYOR).

  That slacker just goofs off all day.

  E-tot byez-DYEL-nik TSE-lii dyen za-ni-MA-ye-tsya ye-run-DOI.

  I can’t believe how many bums there are in Moscow!

  nye mo-GU VYER-it, STOL-ko yest bom-ZHEI v mosk-VYE!

  Не могу

  He’s a three-time loser.

  on TRIZH-di nye-u-DACH-nik.

  OH

  Although the English word “loser”

  has also arisen in recent years.

  That hooligan jacked my wallet!

  E-tot khu-li-GAN SPIZ-dil moi ko-shel-OK!

  This is the general Russian term describing anyone from a loudmouthed drunk to a gangbanger.

  No one respects the cops in Russia.

  ni-KTO nye u-va-ZHA-yet myent-OV v ro-SSII.

  Only in Russia

  TOL-ko v ro-SSII

  New Russian

  NO-vii RU-sskii

  These are the guys who made a whole lotta dough on dubious business ventures and now drive around in expensive inomarki, own sweet dachas in podmoskovie, vacation in Ibiza, and yet stil talk like the Russian version of Rocky Balboa. Their offspring are sometimes referred to as the ( zo-lo-TA-ya mo-lo-DYOZH), or “Golden youth.”

  That New Russian has a bitchin’ black Beemer. u E-to-vo NO-vo-vo RU-ssko-vo kru-TOI CHOR-nii BU-mer.

  Bandit

  ban-DIT

  Bandits are pretty much the same as New Russians, just less successful and with fewer pretenses of respectability.

  Odessa used to be known as a bandit’s city. o-DYE-ssa RAN-she bi-LA iz-VYEST-na kak ban-DITskii GOR-od.

  Russian intellectual

  in-tye-lli-GYENT

  There’s real y no exact English equivalent for this word. It’s similar to an intel ectual, but one with particular interest in moral and social issues, often devoted to defending against the degradation of high culture and placing great importance on behaving in a proper manner. They are the polar opposite of the noviye russkiye and tend to feel a smug sense of moral superiority that is heightened by the abject poverty in which they often live.

  Nevertheless,

  ( in-tye-lli-GYENT-nii) is just about the highest compliment you can give to a Russian over the age of 25.

  That intellectual likes to sit in the kitchen all night and discuss philosophy.

  E-tot in-tye-lli-GYENT LYU-bit si-DYET vsyu NOCH na KUKH-nye i ra-ssu-ZHDAT o fi-lo-SO-fii.

  There’s this whole thing in Russian culture, sometimes cal ed “kitchen talk,” where people (most often intelligyenti) sit in the kitchen al night and pontificate on the il s of society.

  Sovok

  so-VOK

  This term refers to someone with a Soviet mentality, and general y not in a complimentary way. These folks tend to spend most of their time complaining about capitalism and waxing nostalgic about Russia’s former glory as a superpower. You can usual y find them eating shproty under a portrait of Lenin in some rundown kommunalka, or complaining about the price of bread at any Soviet-style produkty store.

  That sovok thinks that all foreigners are CIA secret agents.

  E-tot so-VOK DU-ma-yet, chto VSYE i-no-STRANTSI—TAI-NI-YE a-GYEN-ti tse-er-U.

  Mazhor

  Ma-ZHOR

  The spoiled son of an influential and/or wealthy man. They pretty much get a free pass in life since papochka can always use his connections down at the ministry to get them out of any jam.

  He’s just a fucking mazhor whose daddy always pays his way.

  on YO-ba-nnii ma-ZHOR, ko-TO-rii zhi-VYOT za PA-PIN schot.

  Pofigist

  po-fig-IST

  Someone who just doesn’t give a shit about anything.

  That pofigist sleeps all day because he doesn’t see the point of getting up.

  E-tot po-fig-IST TSE-li-mi DNYA-mi spit, po-to-MU chto ne VI-dit SMI-sla vsta-VAT.

  Thug

  GOP-nik

  A gopnik is the Russian version of a thug. He usual y spends his time drinking vodka out of plastic cups and spitting sunflower seed shel s al over the sidewalk on which he tends to squat. There seem to be fewer of them these days in Moscow, but believe me, there is no shortage out in the provinces.

  Only thugs party at that club.

  v E-tom KLU-bye tu-SU-yu-tsya TOL-ko GOP-ni-ki.

  Ex-con

  zek

  This is the former inmate of a prison camp, and the term comes from the abbreviation for

  . Probably the easiest way to spot a

  zek is by his tattoos: Although tats have become popular in recent years among young people, they were traditional y a part of prison culture in Russia. Prison tats, however, usual y involve coded symbols that, if correctly interpreted, can tel you which crimes the person has committed and what kind of time he served, among other interesting biographical facts.

  Judging by his tattoos, he’s an ex-con.

  SU-dya po ye-VO ta-tu-ir-OV-kam, on—zek.

  Student life

  stu-DYEN-ches-ka-ya zhizn

  The Russian academic year is divided into two parts, cal ed

  (sEssiya):

  (ZIM-nya-ya SYE-ssi-ya) and

  (vye-

  SYE-nya-ya SYE-SSI-YA). Each sessiya is fol owed by an exam period cal ed

  (ek-za-men-a-tsi-ONN-ay-a SYE-ssi-ya).

  Russian doesn’t real y have words for freshman, sophomore, etc.; instead, they just say

  (na PYER-vom KUR-sye), Ha

  (na vto-ROM KUR-sye), and so on.

  High school education through 9th grade

  nye-POL-no-ye SRYED-ne-ye o-bra-zo-VA-ni-ye

  After 9th grade you have the option of leaving school and learning a trade. Or just smoking pot al day.

  High school education through 11th grade

  POL-no-ye SRYED-ne-ye o-bra-zo-VA-ni-ye

  Russian secondary schools go through 11 grades, so this is someone who has completed his secondary education and actual y harbors some

  ambition in life.

  Any educational institute beyond high school

  VUZ

  This is the abbreviation for

  (VISSHE-YE u-CHEB-no-ye za-ve-DYE-ni-ye), which means something like institute of higher

  learning and refers to anything post–high school.

  Vo-tech

  peh-teh-U

  This stands for

  (pro-fye-ssi-o-NAL-no-tyekh-NI-che-sko-ye u-CHI-li-sche) and is usual y for the kids not real y cut

  out for schoolin’.

  Those vo-tech students just drink beer all day.

  E-ti pe-te-U-shni-ki TOL-ko PI-vo pyut TSEL-ii dyen.

  College

  KO-llej

>   A col ege is considered less prestigious than a

  (u-ni-vyer-si-TYET), or university.

  Uni

  u-ni-VYER

  This abbreviated form is often used informal y.

  Grad school

  a-spi-ran-TU-ra

  You’ll never get into grad school with those grades!

  ti ni-kog-DA nye po-STU-pish v a-spi-ran-TU-ru s ta-KI-mi o-TSEN-ka-mi!

  Getting a grade for a class without needing to take a

  final exam

  av-to-MAT

  I got an A without taking the final. ya po-lu-CHIL pya-TYOR-ku av-to-MAT-om.

  By the way, the Russian grading system is a five-point scale. A 5 is cal ed a

  (pya-TYOR-ka) and is the equivalent of an A. It goes down

  from there. A 4 is a

  (chet-VYOR-ka); a 3 is a

  (TROI-ka) and is the lowest grade you can get and stil pass. A 2 is a

  (DVOI-

  ka) and is a fal ing grade. A 1 is essential y never given unless a teacher has a real personal grudge against a student.

  Study nerd

  bo-TAN

  Short for

  (bo-TAN-ik).

  Total slacker student