Лист (часть первая)

by Tatiana  

Just recently I have been thinking about the things that I miss since I moved to Phoenix. I was going though the pictures I took on my fall trip to the East Coast. The first thing that catches the eye is gorgeous trees dressed in their colorful gowns: red, yellow, green, and anything in between. While adults enjoy the pretty view and romantic walks in the park, the kids have the best time running around and diving in a huge pile of leaves... at least in Russia they do :D

The word leaf in Russian is «лист». It can be any tree leaf as well as fig, cabbage, laurel, currant, or a oak leaf. We have a rather well used expression with the latter:
Пристал, как банный лист! "He follows me everywhere like a puppy dog!"

This expression is used when one person constantly follows the other to ultimately express his or her affection for them without the subject’s consent or reciprocation. It literally means “He has stuck to me like a sauna leaf.” This saying comes from the famous Russian bathhouses, where hitting oneself with a bundle of green birch twigs while steaming is considered a great cleansing procedure. The repeated thrashing eventually breaks the leaves off the twig, and they stick as flat as can be on your sweat-soaked body. Now that is a great image.

The plural form of the word «лист» is «листья».

Я люблю гулять по осеннему парку, усыпанному золотыми листьями. "I love walking in the park in the fall when it is covered in golden leaves."
Дворник собрал опавшие листья. “The street sweeper gathered the fallen leaves.”
— Какой лист является символом Канады?
— Кленовый, конечно! Ты разве не видел их флаг?
“Which leaf is a symbol of Canada?”
“Maple, of course! Haven't you seen their flag?”

Do note carefully how the noun is declined in the plural:

SgPl
Nomлистлистья
Acc
Genлисталистьев
Preлистелистьях
Datлистулистьям
Insлистомлистьями

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