Thread: Russian wisdom - translation needed

The point is that most of these little cliches and sayings sound great but are not applicable in every single situation.
That said, they are fun little translation experiments perhaps

"Not one person in your life's journey is met in vain"?

Deborski -- напрасно and the synonym зря -- both mean "in vain; for naught" -- are heard in the classic Soviet-era pop song Разговор со счастьем. I would definitely call it a "must know" song because it's so famous and contains some useful vocabulary and grammar. Here's a version with karaoke lyrics:



"Всё на свете было не зря
Не напрасно было!"

PS. The song originally appeared in a 1973 comedy where it was performed by a bunch of dancing maidens in the court of Ivan the Terrible -- so the folk costumes and the crazy wig-spinning at the end of the video are a parody of the scene.

Throbert McGee, what about Баба с возу - кобыле легче? Any usable counterpart in English?

Originally Posted by sergei

Throbert McGee, what about Баба с возу - кобыле легче? Any usable counterpart in English?

"Баба с возу - кобыле легче" is a new expression for me! From Googling, it seems to mean more or less the same thing as Скатертью дорога -- is that right?

The most general equivalent in English would be "Good riddance!" -- which can be used in many contexts to express the idea "I'm glad that you're going away." There are other expressions, but right now I can't think of any that are as "colorful" as the Russian ones. I'll give it some more thought.

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

"Баба с возу - кобыле легче" is a new expression for me! From Googling, it seems to mean more or less the same thing as Скатертью дорога -- is that right?

The most general equivalent in English would be "Good riddance!" -- which can be used in many contexts to express the idea "I'm glad that you're going away." There are other expressions, but right now I can't think of any that are as "colorful" as the Russian ones. I'll give it some more thought.

The literal translation would be: It's easier for a horse to go if the broad falls out of the cart. ))) - i find it difficult to translate the Russian word баба (it has some cultural connotations), and using the word 'broad' which might be not exactly suitable.

The idea is somewhat like: "I'm glad that this broad is going away."

Скатертью дорога is the exact equivalent of "I'm glad that you're going away"(Good riddance).

Originally Posted by alexsms

The literal translation would be: It's easier for a horse to go if the broad falls out of the cart. ))) - i find it difficult to translate the Russian word баба (it has some cultural connotations), and using the word 'broad' which might be not exactly suitable.

The idea is somewhat like: "I'm glad that this broad is going away."

Скатертью дорога is the exact equivalent of "I'm glad that you're going away"(Good riddance).

So, in English we say "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink."
Maybe we should amend it to, you can lead a horse to water unless баба is in the cart?

Deborski -- напрасно and the synonym зря -- both mean "in vain; for naught" -- are heard in the classic Soviet-era pop song Разговор со счастьем. I would definitely call it a "must know" song because it's so famous and contains some useful vocabulary and grammar. Here's a version with karaoke lyrics:

Yeah, Throbert, I totally misread the word in the saying and translated as "написано" - written. It makes much better sense now. Thanks!

Баба с возу - кобыле легче
I think it means that when a cart gets stuck in mud or something everyone redundant should get off the vehicle so the horse could easily drag it out of the mud. The man can't go off because he is a driver.
but
I think it can mean a veiled thought that the woman can spoil a pleasure so if she's off it will be even better.
Imagine a peasant packs things like sacks with grain on the cart to go to the marketplace or to the landlord to sell it and get some money, part of which he can use first of all to buy some samogonka right away after he sells the load. But the woman will take all the money and destroy the dream. So if she stays home the man is happy but in order not to reveal why he is happy he thinks up the excuse

Научному исследованию вопроса от том, насколько же именно кобыле легче, если баба с возу, посвящена диссертация под названием "Оптимизация динамики работы гужевого транспортного средства путём устранения изначально деструктивной транспортной единицы".

Originally Posted by Medved

Баба с возу - кобыле легче
I think it means that when a cart gets stuck in mud or something everyone redundant should get off the vehicle so the horse could easily drag it out of the mud. The man can't go off because he is a driver.
but
I think it can mean a veiled thought that the woman can spoil a pleasure so if she's off it will be even better.
Imagine a peasant packs things like sacks with grain on the cart to go to the marketplace or to the landlord to sell it and get some money, part of which he can use first of all to buy some samogonka right away after he sells the load. But the woman will take all the money and destroy the dream. So if she stays home the man is happy but in order not to reveal why he is happy he thinks up the excuse

My poor husband returned just tonight with a jug of samogonka and I drank it all up before he even got one taste. Poor, poor husband.

На этот случай у нас есть поговорка - "В большой семье хлебалом не щелкают"

Хлебало = polite version of the swearing word "ебало"/"ебло" which means face.
щелкать ебалом/хлебалом = miss something important

Originally Posted by Medved

На этот случай у нас есть поговорка - "В большой семье хлебалом не щелкают"

Хлебало = polite version of the swearing word "ебало"/"ебло" which means face.
щелкать ебалом/хлебалом = miss something important

I've heard a more neutral version of it, "в большой семье клювом не щелкают"

Originally Posted by Eric C.

I've heard a more neutral version of it, "в большой семье клювом не щелкают"

"Кто первым встал - того и тапки".
Who got up first put the house slippers on.

Medved, shame on you. What are you teaching them, these maiden Americans?