Thread: смазливый

so the translations of this word look ok, but hearing it used it feels like there is a negative connotation to it, is there?
also, while im here, with the phrase будет на нашей улице праздник, can you say this even if you're saying to one person, your time will come etc or would you have to say будет на твоей улице праздник
thanks!

смазливый is always negative.
you can say нашей when you mean yourself and this person, and на твоей? when you mean only this person.

ok. so the trans of it is attractive, cute; pretty, which im guessing plain wrong. would sleazy be a better translation, or someone with shifty features?

I'd say "смазливый" is "приторно красивый". I failed to find the English equivalent. Sleazy doesn't seem to fit.

It seems, though, that this word changed it's meaning. Russian dictionaries define it as красивый, привлекательный, пригожий and so on which means that if you came upon смазливый in classic literature there would be a big chance that it ment just cute, pretty etc. I'm not sure myself.

interesting. i guess this is one ill just have to "feel" and not translate.
thanks!

I believe you hardly will meet any book , where this word will have the positive meaning.
красивый, милый, симпатичный attends to смазливый, as
угодливый, предупредительный, исполнительный to поддакивающий, подхалимский, подлизывающийся

No, for me смазливый is not negative! It's all about grey area. I think it could mean pretty without connotations. Like, for someone it's OK, and for someone it's not that OK.

Speaking of synesthesia, the word feels negative, no secret.

Смазливенький — this is what you call a person so cute that it makes him repulsive.

Смазливый is not that negative. I'd say it's a bit... disparaging (in most cases). It can be slightly vulgar in some cases. And, if you say that about a boy or a man it's far more negative than if you say that about a girl.

ok. Now I doubt that we can use the therms positive and negative in this case.
But for me it's completely negative, because you can't say the compliment with this word to anyone. It will anyway sound negative.
Ты красивая\Она красивая\ у неё красивое лицо\у неё красивая внешность.

Now let's try another word:

Ты смазливая\она смазливая\у неё смазливое лицо\у неё смазливая внешность.

Just remember you can not say смазливый about anyone to whom you say it because it would be negative. Which makes it (for me) negative in general.

Спасиб., Оль!

Originally Posted by Leof

Just remember you can not say смазливый about anyone to whom you say it_ because it would be negative.

tell someone
say to someone

I believe "смазливый" is negative, because even when it's used as a compliment it has a double meaning. Someone can say about a man "Он смазливый", and that isn't the same as "He's handsome", but more like "He's handsome, alright, but too girly (or too smarmy, or whatever). "Смазливая девушка" is not the same as cute or beautiful girl, it's more like "a pretty girl, but..." (but vulgar, for example).

Originally Posted by gRomoZeka

"Смазливая девушка" is not the same as cute or beautiful girl, it's more like "a pretty girl, but..." (but vulgar, for example).

Or "but brainless", rather... "Pretty, but empty girl".

Originally Posted by Оля

Originally Posted by gRomoZeka

"Смазливая девушка" is not the same as cute or beautiful girl, it's more like "a pretty girl, but..." (but vulgar, for example).

Or "but brainless", rather... "Pretty, but empty girl".

... but an airhead.