Простуда

by Tatiana  

Weakness, cough and stuffed nose - we all have experienced these symptoms of the common cold. It ruins your plans and makes it so hard to get out of bed in the morning. Unfortunately, I feel very closely connected to today’s word right now. XX( I cannot wait to get over it!

In Russian, the common cold is called простуда. It is a noun of feminine gender.

— Ты не знаешь, что с Мишей случилось? Он опять не пришёл на урок.
— Наверное борется с очередной простудой.
“Do you know what happened to Misha? He was once again absent in class.”
“He is probably fighting another cold.”
Из-за моей простуды я уже четвёртый день не встаю с постели. Because of my cold I haven't got out of bed for four days now.
Что вы мне можете рассказать о своей простуде? Какие у вас симптомы? What can you tell me about your cold? What are your symptoms?

The adjective formed from простуда is простуженный.

— Как же ты лекцию читать будешь таким простуженным голосом?
— Ничего страшного, не в первый раз.
“How are you going to lecture with such a husky voice?”
“No big deal. It won’t be the first time.”

There are different methods of treating a cold. I can think of a few now that I remember from my childhood. I think the worst one had to do with garlic and onions. First, naturally, you had to eat a lot of garlic and then hold your head above a pot with fresh cut onions and breathe it in. After that the cold would most likely still be there for a few days, but all self-respecting people and/or vampires would choose to stay away... &#59;D

Here's a cute cartoon that shows other methods we treat the common cold with.

2 comments

Comment from: Pasha [Visitor]

A common Russian tradition/practice in treating a cold is somewhat similar to describe at the end of your post. You hold your head above a pot with just boiled potatoes and you are supposed to breathe in the host steam from the potatoes.

Whenever I got a cold in my childhood I would be treated this way. But I still doubt it helps much :)

05/25/10 @ 22:43
Comment from: Jay [Visitor]

These cartoons are nice to know about–I have the opportunity to study in St. Petersburg next fall, and something simple to listen to is going to help me keep my ear for the language.

Thanks!

05/13/10 @ 05:57


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