Thread: заниматься vs. изучать

Can anyone help me translate these into Russian?

How many months(years) have you been studying russian language?
Сколько месяцев(годов) вы занимался русским языком?

I studied russian language for eight months now.
Я занимался русским языком в восемь/восьми месяцев теперь.

Also, what is the difference between these words?
заниматься - to study (imperfective)
изучать - to study (imperfective)

Я занимался русским языком. I studied Russian.
Я изучал русский язык. I studied Russian.

Спасибо заранее

"... вы занимались..."
заниматься - occupy(yourself), buzy
It's kinda "How many months have you been occupied by russian language?"
я занимался восемь месяцев (no need в)

EDIT: I've noticed one more thing - not годов, but лет. один год, два года... пять лет... двадцать один год... etc.

Originally Posted by JJ

"... вы занимались..."

Chort. Why am I still making these simple mistakes.

Anyway,
So заниматься and изучать are similar in meaning but not the same.
The more correct translation of "I am studying Russian" would be "Я изучаю русский язык".

Also, how do you translate
You are silly/You are a silly person.
Вы глупы/Вы - дурак.

In English, "You are silly" is not an insult.
But in Russian "Вы глупы" or "Вы - дурак" is an insult.

You are a silly person = Вы pravit

Originally Posted by kalinka_vinnie

You are a silly person = Вы pravit

You're silly KV.

Originally Posted by kwatts59

In English, "You are silly" is not an insult.
But in Russian "Вы глупы" or "Вы - дурак" is an insult.

Interesting. I didn't know this. I don't see the way how to say it in russian without an insult. Technically "вы глупы"/"вы дурак" is a polite form of "ты глуп"/"ты дурак" but you can get a hook or an uppercut as an answer in both cases.

Every time I hear the word uppercut I think of that lovely video game called "street fighter" that was popular a couple of years ago. I think Ryu and Ken used to shout "tiger uppercut" or something like that whenever they made that powerful jump attack-thingy. Ah sweet memories

being a true street fighter pervert, i feel obligated to correct you: it was sagat who did the tiger uppercut!
(i was cool once, honest...)

"How many years have you been studying Russian?" = whoever it is is still studying Russian, right? So shouldn't it be "Сколько лет вы занимаетесь русским языком?"

Shouldn't the answer be the same - in the present tense?
More like "Я занимаюсь русским языком уже 8 месяцев" ?

Originally Posted by Moryachka

"How many years have you been studying Russian?" = whoever it is is still studying Russian, right? So shouldn't it be "Сколько лет вы занимаетесь русским языком?"

Shouldn't the answer be the same - in the present tense?
More like "Я занимаюсь русским языком уже 8 месяцев" ?

Exactly!

Originally Posted by JJ

Originally Posted by kwatts59

In English, "You are silly" is not an insult.
But in Russian "Вы глупы" or "Вы - дурак" is an insult.

Interesting. I didn't know this. I don't see the way how to say it in russian without an insult. Technically "вы глупы"/"вы дурак" is a polite form of "ты глуп"/"ты дурак" but you can get a hook or an uppercut as an answer in both cases.

Na, it's kind of a playful thing to say in English. If a man said "You're silly" to another man, depending on the other man he would either get punched or taken for a gay. This kind of thing is rare to hear even among close male friends. You usually hear this from a woman flirting with a man. In this case the best would probably be "ty smeshnoi." Why would you be calling a person you're on "vy" terms with "silly" anyway? Would you call your boss silly?

I've lost track of the number of times I've had the "silly" vs "глупый" discussion with Russians. In American English "silly" can be used as a complement or as a form of "cute", i.e. telling a child who does something or says something out of the ordinary but cute "You're so silly!" Also when used with a spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend it can be used as a teasing,loving, non-insulting form of mild disapproval. When my husband insists on polishing my shoes before I walk out the door even though I'm running late I usually say (with a smile on my face and in a sweet voice)"you're so silly!" This means I don't want him to make me late by polishing my shoes right now but I like and appreciate his love,care and attention to me. I'm not mad but mildly annoyed, and flattered and happy that he cares so much for me.
Even though dictionaries translate "silly" as глупый, "silly" (just like "fun"and "cute") really has no equivalent in Russian. Calling someone глупый is an insult and definately not "cute".

There's probably no exact translation but смешной can work, I think. If a woman tells a man "You're funny" after he does something weird, it's almost equivalent to "You're silly." I think "смешной" can be used as "funny " in the sentence above.

I think "глупенький" is a more close equivalent of silly. It often implies some cuteness.

Originally Posted by Friendy

I think "глупенький" is a more close equivalent of silly. It often implies some cuteness.

I agree that it could be, but it is of limited use for cuteness. It could sound cute when you say "глупенький/aя" to your own child or to your younger sibling. And it wouldn't if you say it to somebody not close to you.

Текстовая мелодия Чиж - Глупенькая песня.
Я хотела бы казаться им °прелесть какой глупенькой° = тогда жить проще и взятки гладки.
Это вы, глупенькие, не знаете!
...подчёркивал Ленин, люди всегда были и будут глупенькими жертвами обмана и самообмана в политике, пока они не научатся за ...

Originally Posted by JJ

"... вы занимались..."
заниматься - occupy(yourself), buzy
It's kinda "How many months have you been occupied by russian language?"
я занимался восемь месяцев (no need в)

Don't agree with that. "Заниматься" can be used as "learn" or more exact "be in process of learnig (something)".

Originally Posted by Pravit

Originally Posted by JJ

Originally Posted by kwatts59

In English, "You are silly" is not an insult.
But in Russian "Вы глупы" or "Вы - дурак" is an insult.

Interesting. I didn't know this. I don't see the way how to say it in russian without an insult. Technically "вы глупы"/"вы дурак" is a polite form of "ты глуп"/"ты дурак" but you can get a hook or an uppercut as an answer in both cases.

Na, it's kind of a playful thing to say in English. If a man said "You're silly" to another man, depending on the other man he would either get punched or taken for a gay. This kind of thing is rare to hear even among close male friends. You usually hear this from a woman flirting with a man. In this case the best would probably be "ty smeshnoi." Why would you be calling a person you're on "vy" terms with "silly" anyway? Would you call your boss silly?

"Ты дурачок/дурочка", "ты глупенький/ая" is an exact translation of, "You are silly", in this situation. In any other cases, "You are silly", to my feelings, which are not feelings of a native speaker, is an offence in English as well.

Originally Posted by JB

Even though dictionaries translate "silly" as глупый, "silly" (just like "fun"and "cute") really has no equivalent in Russian. Calling someone глупый is an insult and definately not "cute".

Глупенький/ая. Дурачок/дурочка...

You would say this to a child who did something cute and endearing?

Originally Posted by Lt. Columbo

being a true street fighter pervert, i feel obligated to correct you: it was sagat who did the tiger uppercut!
(i was cool once, honest...)

You