The determinate verb for “to carry” in Russian is нести:

This is a determinate imperfective verb which means it is used to describe motion heading in a single direction. Although it means “to carry,” it is often best translated with variations on ‘take’ and ‘bring’:

The Russian word for ‘there’ in the sense of motion ‘to there’ is туда.

Recently I wrote about bugs and how their little legs can make us shudder uncontrollably. That made me think about something even more horrifying: caterpillars. Even though some of them are really pretty with their perfect little geometrical figures on their skin, I can hardly bring myself to get near one… and as for touching them — forget it!

In Russian caterpillar is гусеница. It is a noun of feminine gender that incidentally has nothing to do with гусь “goose” that seems to have the same root.

Some dream interpretations suggest that seeing a caterpillar in your dream means getting involved with something undesirable, causing you distress. A caterpillar on your clothes that can’t be shaken off means some unpleasant encounters in the future. However, if you squish a caterpillar in your dream, good luck won’t leave your side. (source)

I remember when I was little, my friends and I were playing on the swing we had in our garden. That swing was big enough to fit several people. Being a good girl, I took my shoes off and climbed onto the swing ready to have fun. Little did I know what my friends were plotting. They found a big fuzzy caterpillar with a green body and a bright orange head and placed it carefully in one of my shoes. When I finally put my shoes back on, I could feel that my foot was not alone in there. As soon as I realized what it was, I jumped so suddenly that the swing jerked and folded in half, dumping us all on the ground. I remember shrugging and screaming but the joke was on my friend who pulled the prank — he landed on the caterpillar!

Do you ever think about how you learn certain words? You grow up using some of them without even stopping for a second to think of their meanings or how you came to know them. For example for me, apart from the obvious books and movies, my parents have always been a great source.

One of the words that I am sure I have learned from my mom is «колоритный». It is an adjective that means “vivid” or “colorful” and mostly appears in literature. It can be used to describe a painting that catches the eye with its bright colors and a special attention to details.

Also, this word is used figuratively to describe a person’s distinctive style and originality or a writer’s lively manner, in which one expresses his or her thoughts on paper.

The nouns formed from the same root are «колорит» and «колоритность» and the adverb is «колоритно».

As teenagers we all go through different stages of trying new styles. More often than not they fail and we inevitably move on to something else. Likewise, I was experimenting with my hair color and outfits. Luckily, I had a mother who, instead of laughing in my face or getting mad, would just call my look «колоритный», no matter how weird it seemed to her. That is not to say she didn’t try to change it later… As they say, “mother knows best”...

Bugs gross out many people. However, very rarely you can find a person who is afraid of ladybugs. There is something so cute about them that even when their little legs touch your skin you don’t want to shake them off. Well, at least I wouldn’t. I remember playing with my friends as a kid, trying to get ladybugs to land on our palms. However, the bugs were smart enough to choose flower tops over us… I guess I shouldn’t take it personally; they were probably just hungry

Interestingly enough, in Russian a ladybug is called «божья коровка», which is literally “God’s little cow”. I guess the “little cow” part is plausible because of the black spots on the bug’s back. Also, it turns out that ladybugs secrete special orange milk that comes from the insect’s joints when they are in danger. It has a bitter unpleasant taste, which makes animals and other insects change their mind about eating a ladybug. But what about «божья», what does this bug have to do with God? One possible reason is that the word «божий» used to be used as “nice”, “peaceful”, and “harmless”. This bug is traditionally considered an herbivore, whereas in reality it feeds on plant lice (source). So I bet the latter would not be too fast to call a ladybug cute or harmless…

Also, there is a band in Russia called «Божья коровка». It was formed in the 90's and and still active today. They don't really have a single style, so for lack of a better word we might call it soft pop; however they also sing блатные песни (a style of songs based on prison camp themes and criminal life), and sometimes they do little parodies. Here, I would like to share one that they did in response to Mambo Number 5 by Lou Bega. They called it «Мамбо по-русски», "Russian Mambo".

I wouldn't be surprised if there aren't many people who have heard of this band. I came across their name only when doing my research on ladybug. But I hope that this video will make you smile, just like it did me!

PS. If you would like to see the video along with words & translation, simply click here.