Thread: my кофта and me

i wanted to get some feedback on the word кофта. this is a word i use a lot and that i hear a lot but my friend's russian teacher said (when he used it in a lesson) that nobody used this word at that it is устаревшое.

so do you russians use it? maybe it was unused and then the vibrant russian youth brought it back into fashion???

Я в одежде не разбираюсь. Ту вязаную штуку, которая одевается сверху на рубашку, я называю «свитер».

"Кофта" is a sweater which front side can be opened and closed with buttons or zip like a coat or jacket. See Cardigan.

Originally Posted by Lt. Columbo

i wanted to get some feedback on the word кофта. this is a word i use a lot and that i hear a lot but my friend's russian teacher said (when he used it in a lesson) that nobody used this word at that it is устаревшое.

so do you russians use it? maybe it was unused and then the vibrant russian youth brought it back into fashion???

Well I am not sure exactly what кофта is but women sometimes mention it (or "кофточка") when speaking about some female problems... Seems to be a kind of dress...

so do you russians use it?

yes, sometimes I hear people use it.

Commonly it's some type of sweater with buttons or a zip. But my wife, for example, calls so any type of clothing that could be weared directly under winter coat.

Originally Posted by Basil77

Commonly it's some type of sweater with buttons or a zipper. But my wife, for example, calls [s:2tsdyq1o]so[/s:2tsdyq1o] any type of clothing that could be [s:2tsdyq1o]weared[/s:2tsdyq1o] worn directly under a winter coat a кофта.

I just wanted to say that I hear кофта all the time in Kazakhstan and like your wife, people seem to use it in a somewhat ambiguous manner.

When women discuss their shopping experience they seem to refer to whatever they bought as either "маечка" or "кофточка".

There is something about this кофта, it reminds me of kaftan.
Some kaftans were worn by men, below, from Peter the great. see wikipedia kaftan.

Possible etymological derivation?
Women also wore kaftans, in various countries.

Thanks for corrections, почемучка!

Originally Posted by Basil77

Thanks for corrections, почемучка!

Of course, you have the perfect signature. You could always claim that you never make mistakes and anybody who tries to correct you simply has no sense of humor.

Originally Posted by почемучка

Of course, you have the perfect signature. You could always claim that you never make mistakes and anybody who tries to correct you simply has no sense of humor.

That's exactly what I meant.

Originally Posted by Crocodile

When women discuss their shopping experience they seem to refer to whatever they bought as either "маечка" or "кофточка".

Exactly right. It's much more common than "блузка/blouse". Then there is also "топик"/top but that one is reserved for something really small, open and sleeveless.

Just type "кофточка" in yandex.ru and you'll see all sorts of stuff http://images.yandex.ru/yandsearch?t...87%D0%BA%D0%B0

How funny - Swedish has the same word (kofta). It means cardigan.
Wonder what the origin of the word is.... There was nothing about it in Wiktionary.

Originally Posted by Crocodile

When women discuss their shopping experience they seem to refer to whatever they bought as either "маечка" or "кофточка".

Agree totally)) And I think it's used not only during shopping... Actually I (and my family and many friends of mine.. maybe we are out-of-date but I doubt it) use this word кофта, especially кофточка - to name almost all types of (how to call il?? ) top clothes.. How to call it?? I mean everything I put on my trunk))
This word is often used with the word вязаная (knitted).

Originally Posted by silicium

use this word кофта, especially кофточка - to name almost all types of (how to call il?? ) top clothes.. How to call it?? I mean everything I put on my trunk))

The English word is simply "top". Can mean anything from blouse to t-shirt or jumper. But it is usually only used for womens' clothes.

I second CofeeCup.
This word is not outdated in my opinion, but it's mostly applied to women's clothes.
A typical "kofta" (I would not call this thing anything else):


So almost any warm knitted top with buttons is "kofta", if it doesn not have buttons or zip - it's a "sweater"/"свитер".
"Turtleneck" is often called "водолазка", though it depends on where you live (there are other words for it as well).

well i guess nobody seems to have a problem with the word, other than my friend's Russian teacher.
thanks for the feedback guys

Originally Posted by Johanna

How funny - Swedish has the same word (kofta). It means cardigan.
Wonder what the origin of the word is.... There was nothing about it in Wiktionary.

I checked my Etymological Dictionary, and it says that we borrowed this word from Poles in 18th century, and Poles borrowed it from Scandinavians (namely Swedes and/or Norwegians)!
It's really unexpected and interesting, I always thought that this word had some Tatar roots and was borrowed in the early Middle ages along with other Russian words, like "kaftan" (of Turkish origin).

I guess one needs to check Scandinavian dictionaries to find out, how this word was invented in the first place.