Quote Originally Posted by iCake View Post
First and foremost, what I said is not about learning words from associations... not really. It's more about creating a mental imprint of what the word represents.

This is where the magic starts. Most of the time having only one "imprint" of the word is enough to understand the other meanings the word might have and therefore learn them very easily. Why? Because most of variations in a single word's meanings are created just by using a word figuratively. The "core" meaning is still the same, it's just used creatively.

Just a fresh example of how this "mental imprint" helped me understand something I might have had troubles understanding otherwise.

When I heard "sore loser" for the first time, I immediately understood what it meant. Even so if we go word for word and translate it into Russian we'll get "больной проигравший". That actully gives you an idea of a loser who's sick with something like an actual illness. Nothing can be further from the truth.

Instead, "sore" has a mental imprint of something red and swollen and painful in my mind. Combining that with loser gave me a clear idea what those two words actually meant. Someone who can't get over their defeat.

You see, the other benefit of this is that now I can't imagine what can make me forget these two words. I heard them once and it was enough to make me remember them for good. Moreover, I know exactly the situation when to use them in the future.

P.S. If you want to know how to properly say "you're such a sore loser" in Russian there you go.

Ты не умеешь проигрывать

Couldn't be more different from the original, could it?
Hmm, I consider that a type of association. You're associating a foreign word with a mental image of that idea that practically transcends the language barrier. I guess that's what I was referring to. When I see the word "машина," I of course think of "car," but an image of my own car is associated with that as well. When I hear the word "придурак," I know it's an insult because when used, I noticed the user's body language and how it correlated with the context of the situation. It's really with new words that I get confused easily. I look it up, see there are 30+ definitions and prompty close the browser and cry in my hands... okay, maybe that last part is a lie. :P

Hmm, "ты не умеешь проигрывать" is loosely "You don't know (how) to lose." => "You're a sore loser." - and it makes perfect sense! When I see the words alone without translation, I have nothing to base it off of. No mental images of what these things could mean - how could I without knowing them? Therein lies the mental contradiction. I know what "Ты не умеешь" means just by looking at it, but the new word for me here is "проигрывать."

I recently learned "уметь," but not necessarily where and how to use it. It means "to know," but so does "(у)знать..." so then what's the difference?


Quote Originally Posted by iCake View Post
If words mostly have multiple meanings, how is one supposed to learn them through association? - Если у слов имеется много различных значений, как я должен учить их по ассоциациям?

Your translation was pretty good. Соединения didn't make any sense there though. The other words are alright.

Я так думаю потому что послышался наибольше слов раньше и знаю наибольше их смыслов. This doesn't make much sense. Sorry. I can only assume that you meant something like:

I think so because I've heard most of the words before and know most of their meanings.

If so: Я так думаю потому, что уже слышал многие эти слова и знаю большинство их значений.
Ugh, it's funny y'know? I was going to choose ассоциация initially, but then turned back on it due to doubts in its meaning. I thought it meant an official association of people, ie. a gathering of sorts. I need the definitive dictionary that has only the proper meanings (of what I'm looking for at the time. )

Thanks! No need to be sorry. I really appreciate the help. I write these things knowing there will be issues. Prior to this, I wouldn't even try because I knew it would be wrong anyways.

Ah! The word choices and oh how they're just so wrong (mine)... I chose послышаться because I figured it was the perfective verb and this is something that has happened already and most certainly completed. Наибольше and самый большой are what I know to mean "most" and while I've heard большинство in a song, I made no connection with it meaning "most." Смысл vs значение - why use one over the other? How do you know which to use and when?