Thread: How to say "really" as in "I really need to"....

So we use "really" in English to stress the importance of something. "I really need to go". "I really could use a drink". "I am really tired".

What word do I say in Russian to be the equivalent of "really" in these scenarios? There are so many to choose from:

adverb
действительно
на самом деле
уж
в самом деле
впрямь
разве

interjection
право
разве
вот как
не может быть
вы так думаете



So which one do I choose?

очень/действительно

Well, I never used that "действительно" one, sounds fancy. Thanks for the feedback.

+ реально/в натуре (slang!!!)

I get "реально", but "в натуре" appears to mean "in nature"..

So it's legit to say

"я в натуре нужно уезжать"

?

Originally Posted by Valda

"я в натуре нужно уезжать"
?

Мне, в натуре, нужно уезжать.
or
Я, в натуре, должен уезжать.

Originally Posted by BappaBa

+ реально/в натуре (slang!!!)

I am afraid it's not enough to mention it's (slang!!!). Реально is used mostly by teenagers, в натуре is used by criminals. Valda, i believe you don't want to sound funny or impolite. So it's useful to know such words to never use them. 

Use "на самом деле" - this is neutral and sounds natural. I really wanna drink - Я на самом деле хочу пить. (Я в натуре хочу пить sounds like prisoner talk). "Действительно" is a bit formal.

 BappaBa, чему научим человека? Говорить на быдлячем наречии?)))

Thanks Alex! Duly noted.

Originally Posted by alexsms

BappaBa, your advice to use в натуре is very strange.

Имхо, ты слишком серьезно к этому относишься. Русские только повеселятся услышав "в натуре" от иностранца. =)

Originally Posted by BappaBa

Имхо, ты слишком серьезно к этому относишься. Русские только повеселятся услышав "в натуре" от иностранца. =)

О, а я уже отредактировал пост))

да, я серьезно отношусь.... согласен)))

 но , все равно, лучше, чтобы они знали оттенки таких слов....

 PS насчет "посмеяться", .... мне было очень смешно, когда француз произносил на русском слово из трех букв... при этом, во французском нет звука "х"..... 

Originally Posted by alexsms

при этом, во французском нет звука "х".....

Есть нечто весьма похожее. Обозначается буквой "R".

Originally Posted by it-ogo

Есть нечто весьма похожее. Обозначается буквой "R".

?? пример слова есть?

Любое французское слово, содержащее эту букву. Просто прислушайтесь.

Транскрипция "Пахле ву Фхансе" гораздо больше похоже на оригинальное произношение, чем "Парле ву Франсе".

Originally Posted by alexsms

I really wanna drink - Я на самом деле хочу пить.

it depends on the meaning
I'm really wanna drink (I'm thirsty) - Я очень хочу пить.
I'm really wanna drink (wanna get drunk) - Я очень хочу выпить.

What about "actually"? Could you give me some examples with it? =)

Originally Posted by fabriciocarraro

What about "actually"? Could you give me some examples with it? =)

if "actually" is in the middle of a sentence and not surrounded by commas then
фактически, на самом деле, в действительности
if "actually" surrounded by commas then
как ни странно, как ни удивительно

Транскрипция "Пахле ву Фхансе" гораздо больше похоже на оригинальное произношение, чем "Парле ву Франсе".

Interesting -- it had never occurred to me that the French word for улица, namely rue, might sound a little bit like the слово из трех букв, to a Russian's ears!

Technically, the "R" sound in rue is voiced, and so it must sound closer to the г in Господи or не дай Бог, than to the sound х. But I suppose that in some contexts (к примеру, когда шепчешь), the "R" in rue would be voiceless... and therefore the word would sound "funny" to Russians!

To Valda, I would say: If by "really" you mean "majorly; very very much; in a big way", then use очень. Or, if you get tired of using очень, you can say дюже, which literally means something like "robustly", and is comparable to English "majorly".

But if you mean "really" in the sense of "in reality; honest and for true; seriously; I'm not joking", then use на самом деле or действительно.

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

you can say дюже.

it's a word from "19th century village" (I don't know how to describe its usability more precisely)
I think you got it from a classic book but this word is barely used now. I suggest to avoid using this word in regular conversations

Valda
Please do not overuse "really" in Russian (I know this word is very popular in US) it doesn't have exactly the same meaning in Russian culture as it is in US(or maybe some other countries)

I guess the most popular sentence with this word in US will be "Really?" Just one word. It is a cultural thingy but it won't be the same in Russian. Russians don use it this way(to support/continue conversation)

Interesting -- it had never occurred to me that the French word for улица, namely rue, might sound a little bit like the слово из трех букв, to a Russian's ears!

Technically, the "R" sound in rue is voiced, and so it must sound closer to the г in Господи or не дай Бог, than to the sound х. But I suppose that in some contexts (к примеру, когда шепчешь), the "R" in rue would be voiceless... and therefore the word would sound "funny" to Russians!

French "r" is voiced and does not sound like "x". "Rue" does not resemble "хуй" at all. The vowel is also different and there is no any й in "rue". Господи is usually pronounced with "г" in Northern Russia (in Moscow too). Бог is pronounced like бох. Voiced consonants cannot appear at the end of words.