Сердце

by Timur  

Сердце is the Russian word for that muscular, blood-pumping organ ticking in your chest known as the heart. And, of course, in various cultures around the world it’s not simply an organ, but also a poetic symbol for love and the spiritual being of a person.

Here are a couple of words and a saying that derive from сердце:

Сердечный— This adjective can be used to describe a medical heart condition or warm feelings. When referring to a heart attack, say сердечный приступ, and when mentioning a close, good-natured friend, say сердечный друг. In medicine, cердечный is usually translated as cardiac.

Сердцеед— A perfect word to describe Casanova, Don Juan and other ordinary, skirt-chasing womanizers who constantly break some poor heart. The term is a combination of the words heart and eater, literally translated as “heart-eater”. Сердцеедкa is used to describe a female with the same qualities.

Сердце не лежит— The saying explains the feelings of someone who is resistant, objecting and just not in the mood for something. For example, “y него сердце не лежит к этой профессии,” can be translated as, “His heart is not really in this profession.”

SgPl
Nomсердцесердца
Acc
Genсердцасердец
Preсердцесердцах
Datсердцусердцам
Insсердцемсердцами

Here’s a short, vacuous dialogue about heartache between a sorrowful man and his doctor friend.

— Вадим, ты знаешь, мне нехорошо уже несколько дней. Эта боль не проходит ни на секунду. “Vadim, you know, I haven’t been feeling well for a few days now. This pain does not leave me for a second.
— А что у тебя болит? “What is troubling you?”
— Сердце, Вадим... у меня болит сердце. “The heart Vadim... my heart is in pain.”
— А от чего оно у тебя болит? Ты же еще молодой, сильный и здоровый. “And why is it in pain? You’re still young, strong and healthy.”
— Оно болит, потому что его разбила Света. Oна окончательно ушла. “It hurts because Sveta broke it. She has left for good.”
— Сожалею, Андрей, но ведь я кардиолог, а не психолог. К тому же, у меня много пациентов, которые ждут за этой дверью. А теперь, до свидания, и не вздумай опять просить меня достать антидепрессанты.” “I’m sorry, Andrei, but I’m a cardiologist and not a psychologist. Plus I have many patients who are on the other side of this door. So, goodbye now, and don't even think about asking for antidepressants again.”

1 comment

Comment from: Adam [Visitor]

I really enjoy reading your word of the day to help keep brushed up on Russian. I wanted to say what I liked about this post, especially: I like how, although сердце is a relatively common and uncomplicated word, you give a few derived words and a phrase that contains it. This is a great way to reach people with very different levels of Russian ability. My Russian is pretty good and сердце is not a new word to me, but the derived words and the phrase are. Nice to be able to revisit an old word like this and learn something a little further about it. Keep it up!

10/08/09 @ 16:53


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