Recently I came across some really pretty pictures of sea waves that inspired me. In those pictures I could see the white foam tongues slowly go up and down the shore. I could almost feel a light breeze go through my hair. In Russian that white foam is called «пена» and just like in English this word has multiple meanings.

For example, “shaving foam” is «пена для бритья» and “bath foam” is «пена для ванн».

Interestingly enough, the verb «пениться» in Russian slang is formed from the same root but means to get "angry”, “annoyed” or "worried".

However, when we talk about foam in cappuccino, or any other hot drink we call it «пенка», “little foam”. Speaking of which, I think the most disgusting thing you can try is молоко с пенкой, “milk with foam”. That’s that little skin that forms on milk when you boil it. It’s so gross, I’m shuddering even now as I type. I remember when I was at kindergarten, they would make us drink it… one of the most horrifying experiences of my childhood! Luckily, my mom soon came to my rescue and protected me from the evil пенка, “foam”! Thanks, Mommy!

The Russian word for “here” in the sense of motion “to here” is сюда. For instance, if your little brother still has trouble tying his shoelaces, you might say:

The word combines fairly naturally with words that indicate bringing things or people somewhere:

It can also combine with verbs of arrival, but just as in English it can be left out of those sentences as well:

When you make a phone call to a location, that's conceived as a motion phrase in Russian, thus in «Я позвонил ей на работу» “I called her at work” the noun работу is in the accusative case, which makes it a motion phrase; thus the prepositional phrase can be replaced by сюда in sentences about phoning:

Last weekend I was invited to my friend’s wedding. It was a great celebration with lots of dancing, delicious Russian food and… wait for it… drinking! Being there made me think of a great word to write about — «горько». No Russian wedding can go without people yelling «горько» to the bride and groom. Literally translated, this word means "bitter”. According to the tradition, people say it at the end of their toasts or just surprise the newlyweds with it at any moment during the wedding to make them kiss. The idea behind this tradition is that the guests want to see the bride and groom kiss. By yelling «горько», people let them know that they can’t stand the “bitterness” in the air and ask them to make it sweeter by kissing each other.

Sometimes the guests play it trickier and instead of just yelling «горько», they start saying that the wine is bitter or the food is bitter; thus, indirectly asking the newlyweds to sugar it up. Once they made them kiss, everybody begins counting very slowly to see how long the kiss will last. It is generally considered that the more the guests yell, «горько», the happier the couple’s life will be. Therefore, when you are at a Russian wedding, don’t hesitate to use it!

Russian has two words for “here” in the sense of location “at here”: тут and здесь. They mean exactly the same thing; the only difference is that тут has a more conversational tone, so if you are writing a formal essay, stick to здесь. Sample sentences:

One mistake English speakers make in Russian is to use these words when trying to say “Come here,” and they produce something like «Приходи здесь». The sentence is completely awful in Russian. The first problem is that здесь/тут can only be used to mean location “at” a place, not motion “to” a place. The second problem is that if you are talking to someone in person, then they have already arrived, so приходить/прийти “to arrive/come” just doesn't make sense. The right way to say it is «Иди сюда». We'll discuss сюда in the next few days.

The Russian word for paw is лапа. It is a perfectly regular second declension noun:

Just as in English, we can use this word when talking to a dog to make him perform tricks:

Unlike English, Russian can produce a bundle of diminutive forms to say the same thing:

Sometimes the word is also used as a derogatory word for human hands as well. For instance, if man makes an unwanted advance, a woman might say:

But the place where this word gets a lot of mileage is in the diminutive лапушка, which is roughly the equivalent of “a sweetie” or “a cutie” in American English. For instance, if your neighbor shows you a boxful of newborn kittens, you might say:

Tanya, who occasionally writes for this blog, has a little dog named Wiggles. Sometimes she will say to him:

And sometimes that form is even used with people: