Thread: аккуратный

I was scanning through the list of 3500 most common Russian words and
found some definitions that require explanation.

аккуратный tidy adj
Accordning to Rambler, this means "punctual".
Which is the correct definition? Can somebody give an example?

няня nurse n.f.
I thought this meant nanny.
"медсестра" means nurse, and this word is not in the 3500 list.

здание house  n.n.
Does not this mean building.
House is дом.

There is no one-to-one mapping between words of different languages. All definitions you listed can be correct or not depending on context.

Аккуратный can mean both tidy and punctual.
He is very punctual at work - Он очень аккуратен в работе.
Он очень аккуратный и привлекательный человек - He is a very tidy and attractive person.

Няня is usually a (hired) person who looks after the child.
Медсестра (f) / медбрат (m) is a doctor's assistant.

Здание usually means building. But since every house is a building, здание can mean house too.

Which is the correct definition?

You really expect this word, or any word, for that matter, to have just one definition? There is no "the" correct definition, because there are several that are equally correct.

Аккуратный does mean "tidy", that is probablн the most frequently used definition of this word, at least in common speach. But it also may mean "careful, punctual, thorough".

"Он очень аккуратный человек" will be understood in most contexts as "He is a very tidy person" (but it really depends on the context/situation).

But "Он очень аккуратный работник" will be understood as "he is very thorough/punctual employee", meaning that he does everything just as it should be done, with care and exactness. Get a good dictionary, it's a must for any language learner.

"Няня" - yes, it mostly means nanny (or a babysitter). Someone who takes care of children/babies, in other words. I don't think it is used in the other sense any more, but it was in the past, and in books you can find phrases like "«Няня, пить...» — прохрипел раненый.".

Здание -- this one is pretty straighforward, and you are right in thinking that it means "a building".

Thank you very much for your help.

I agree that some words do not have 1-to-1 mapping between languages. In fact, some Russian words do not even exist in English and vice-versa.

"Няня" (often "нянечка") is still used to mark hospital employee who aids patients, mops the floor sometimes, etc. They are low-paid and don't need special education.

Thanks for all your help.

What is the difference between the following phrases?

distant shores
далёкие берега
дальние берега

delicate dish
изысканное блюдо
изящное блюдо

holy duties
святой долг
священный долг

Originally Posted by kwatts59

distant shores
далёкие берега
дальние берега

Just a shade of stylistical difference. "Дальние" sound a bit more poetical/romantic, but both phrases have this romantic connotation anyway.

Originally Posted by kwatts59

delicate dish
изысканное блюдо
изящное блюдо

Изысканное блюдо is something a gourmet would relish. Изящное блюдо is a beautiful piece of tableware on which изысканное блюдо can be served .

Originally Posted by kwatts59

holy duties
святой долг
священный долг

Both mean pretty much the same. "Святая обязанность" would work too. But "обязанность" is usually perceived as something less important than "долг", so it really depends on the context.

Thanks for all your help everyone.
Here are a couple of words I am having problems with.

satisfactory
удовлетворительный
Can somebody tell me where to put the accent(s) on this word, give me an example of the use of this word, and how am I supposed to memorize such a monster? Is this a common word?


Is my interpretation of these words accurate?

бессодержательный
senseless, without substance, without purpose

бесчувственный
senseless, without feelings of emotion, coldhearted

бессмысленный
senseless, without meaning

Thanks in advance

The accents falls on "и".

Remember Benni benassi pres. The Biz? "Push me and then just touch me till I can get my satisfaction"? Maybe it will be helpful.

The intepretation is OK.