Category: "Uncategorized"

Череп

by Janell  

The word for head in Russian is голова. But the word for the major bone structure that makes up head, or the skull, is the череп. This word declines this way:

SgPl
Nomчерепчерепа
Accчерепчерепа
Genчерепачерепов
Preчерепечерепах
Datчерепучерепам
Insчерепомчерепами

У него маленький череп. He has a small skull.
Она родилась без черепа. She was born without a skull.
Она сломала себе череп. She broke her skull.
Это моя любимая чашка из черепа прадедушки. This is my favorite cup [made from] the skull of my great-grandfather.

The skull, like all the other bones, is there to protect the organs behind it and in this case the brain. The skull is made up of minor bones connected by sutures and joints. The two major parts of the skull are the mandible (the jaw) which is part of the facial bones and the cranium. In English we have a lot of terms that incorporate the word skull. The word numbskull is an example which translates into Russian as тупица. We all know someone who has acted like a numbskull once in a while. Usually a numbskull is someone who did not quite think something through and did something or said something that was stupid or mean. I know when I have to work on a school project with a group there might be someone that isn’t quite competent and we have to talk to that person to help them pick up the slack.

Бездельник

by Janell  

бездельник is the word for slacker in Russian. It declines as such:

SgPl
Nomбездельникбездельники
Accбездельникабездельников
Genбездельникабездельников
Preбездельникебездельниках
Datбездельникубездельникам
Insбездельникомбездельниками

Он бездельник. He is a slacker.
Мне не нравятся бездельники. I do not like slackers.
В группе у нас нет бездельников. In the group we do not have slackers.
Я был бездельником, но уже нет. I was a slacker, but no more.

We all know a slacker or two and usually are not bothered by them unless we have to work on a project with them or are in a serious relationship with them. You can usually find them in school because jobs usually fire the slackers a lot faster than they are expelled from school. I am also sure we have all been a slacker about something at one point in our life. But for the most part we usually try to be on time about turning in an assignment and being efficient in the work as well. We are taught to do our best but sometimes things get in the way such as stress from a fight at home, a break up or just having a bad day that can cause us to delay in doing an assignment or doing it well. The etymology of the word is broken down as such без (without) + дело (work) + ник =suffix to make it into a pronoun. I remember having to work with one for a group project, and they were barely there, our group could not get a hold of him and he could not do the work. We were able to talk to the teacher and she talked with him and removed him from the group so we did not have to lose grade points on his behalf. For those that know that they tend to slack they need to try extra hard to not especially when working in a group because it makes it harder on everyone else. If they are not normally slacking but something came up they need to keep in touch with the group to let them know if they can help or not and if not ask to be removed from the group.

Глухой

by Janell  

In a perfect world everybody would be healthy and fully functional without disease ailments or mutations that cause deformities or impediments. But because we do not live in a such a world here are those that have disabilities such as blindness, deafness, the inability to speak and so forth. The word to describe a person who is deaf in Russian is Глухой. This word declines this way:

Чувство

by Janell  

Humans are both logical and emotional creatures. This is how this word declines:

SgPl
Nomчувствочувства
Accчувствочувства
Genчувствачувств
Preчувствечувствах
Datчувствучувствам
Insчувствомчувствами

У неё нет чувств. She has no emotions.
Не скрывайте ваши чувства. Do not hide your emotions.
Она покраснела. Она не привыкла к таким чувствам. She blushed. She wasn't used to such emotions.
У него было всего лишь одно чувство. He only felt one emotion.

For some these attributes are exclusive of each other but others argue they intertwine. Logic is rationalizing something without a bias based on facts and evidence. Emotions or Чувство in Russian is how we feel about something which can be affected by our environment, events in our lives, or simply our personality. For some feelings are strongly felt and expressed, while others do not relate them as well, or relate to some better than others. Most people like to moderate their emotions because if someone becomes too emotional about something they find it hard to function which explains why some believe that logic and emotions are exclusive of each other; that one cannot be rationally thinking if they are emotionally unstable. On the other hand there are many examples of why emotions such as passion have driven people to do great things, such as the mothers who have lost their children to drunk go out and speak to schools about drunk driving to try to reduce its frequency. Emotions are powerful and can be positive if utilized and controlled correctly.

Помощь

by Don  

The Russian word помощь is a noun that means ‘help.’ It is a third declension noun. One doesn't encounter the plural forms all that often, but they do theoretically exist.

SgPl
Nomпомощьпомощи
Acc
Genпомощипомощей
Preпомощaх
Datпомощaм
Insпомощьюпомощaми

The word is often used with нужна:

Мне нужна помощь. I need help.
Мне не нужна ваша помощь. I don't need your help.
Борисy нужна будет твоя помощь. Boris will need your help.
Тане нужна была помощь брата, чтобы заменить дверь. Tanya needed her brother’s help to replace the door.

When you do something without help, the preposition без is used; it requires the genitive case.

Я бы не смог путешествовать по Сомалии без помощи переводчика. I wouldn't have been able to travel through Somalia without the help of an interpreter.
— Помоги мне заменить лампочку.
— Ты сможешь это сделать без моей помощи.
“Help me replace the light bulb.”
“You’ll be able to do that without my help.”

When you do something with the help of something, you can use either the preposition при + prepositional or the preposition с + instrumental.

Я перевёл статью с помощью словаря. I translated the article with the help of a dictionary.
Я нашёл тот адрес при помощи смартфона. I found that address with the help of my smart phone.

The phrases при помощи and с помощью are part of higher style Russian. So although one could theoretically say,

Я заменил унитаз с помощью брата.
Я заменил унитаз при помощи брата.
I replaced the toilet with my brother’s help.

in common conversation one is more likely to say,

Брат помог мне заменить унитаз. My brother helped me replace the toilet.

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