Thread: лишь только translation

Hi,

I've been having trouble finding the meaning of this little phrase...
A lot of dictionaries have it as 'as soon as', but I'm not sure of its meaning in some contexts. For instance, the song '


Лишь Только Одна Она (Одна Она)' by Найк Борзов. Is this a typical use of these two words? What does the title mean?

Thanks!

Rich B

'

Same here! This expression has confused me too in the past. I am still not sure.

I think, that I can translate it in English so: only she. Лишь только means "only".
For example: лишь только один человек вернулся домой - only one man come back home.

That's what I thought... it's so different from 'as soon as' which is the translation that makes sense in other contexts. When 'лишь только' means 'only', it gets confusing because 'только' means only, so why is 'лишь' there?! Is it an intensifier? Would it sound a bit bookish or even overdramatic if used in spoken russian? Now I know I'm not the only one who is confused on this one

Rich

Thanks, SPZenA.

C
ould 'Лишь Только Одна Она' be translated as 'she is the only one?' Or maybe 'the only one is she/her'?
I can understand some russian words as concepts in their own right, but this one (and a few others...) are so diverse in their translated meanings that I can't let them settle... they keep jumping up and surprising me!

Rich

Originally Posted by grafrich

Is it an intensifier?

Yes, it is.

Would it sound a bit bookish or even overdramatic if used in spoken russian?

I don't know exactly, but I mean, that would sound a little bit overdramatic. I've never heard it in spoken russian, I think. Or I just can not remember this.

Could 'Лишь Только Одна Она' be translated as 'she is the only one?' Or maybe 'the only one is she/her'?

I think, that it could be translated as second variant.

Ta, that makes sense.

Only one question remains... when I next see 'Лишь Только' in a sentence, how will I know whether to translate it as 'as soon as' or 'only'...? I can imagine situations where either would fit, but choosing the wrong one could make me lose the thread of a story very quickly.

Rich B

"Лишь только" can be translated as "the only", when it is used in sentence like "Лишь только что(кто)-то является чем(кем)-то" "The only something(somebody) is something(somebody)".

Also "лишь только" can be used as synonym for "как только". For example: "Что-то произошло, лишь(как) только она вышла." "Something happened as soon as she went out"

I think 'лишь только' is a colloquial expression, since it is a tautology, that is used for intensifying though. I did hear the expression in speech and it could be found out in poetry, but you must remember that it is not a literary expression.

I can imagine situations where either would fit

I don't think so; the senses 'as soon as' and 'only' are different enough to be told one from the other, but only based on context.
If you know such an ambiguous sentence, you may write it here and we'll try to examine it.

I was thinking of something like 'Лишь только Король умер';- 'As soon as the King is dead' which would be a different meaning from ''Only the King is dead". Although I imagine that the second sentence may not usually be translated with 'лишь только'...

Originally Posted by grafrich

Hi,

I've been having trouble finding the meaning of this little phrase...
A lot of dictionaries have it as 'as soon as', but I'm not sure of its meaning in some contexts. For instance, the song '


Лишь Только Одна Она (Одна Она)' by Найк Борзов. Is this a typical use of these two words? What does the title mean?

Thanks!

Rich B

Одна она повсюду, где бы не скрылся я
Во всех глазах и лицах только одна она
Лишь одна она

Ищу я лишь её, мечту мою,
Лишь она одна мне нужна.
Ты, ветер, знаешь всё,
Ты скажешь где она, она, где она. ...

Я прошу тебя сумей забыть
Все тревоги дня
Пусть они уйдут и может быть
Ты поймешь меня
Все что я скажу не знаешь ты
Только ты тому вина
Понял я что мне нужна
Нужна одна лишь ты
Лишь ты одна

It’s just her and her alone and nobody but her – that’s the idea.

And now the other extreme you said your dictionaries keep telling you about:
Лишь только подснежник распустится в срок,
Лишь только приблизятся первые грозы.
На белых стволах появляется сок, ...

Лишь только солнце развеет печаль
Я вижу в небе необъятную даль,

Лишь только бой угас,
Звучит другой приказ,
И почтальон сойдет с ума, Разыскивая нас.

Thanks, I like that, all very poetic. And clear. I like the bit about the postman... I didn't expect that.
Do you think my sentences about the king would have ambiguous meanings on their own? Are they just bad Russian?! Probably the latter, I expect.

Yes, they would. You’d have to be more elaborate to make them mean what you want them to mean.
I could say for example:
Лишь только король умер, все остальные, слава богу, пили вино из другой бочки и поэтому уцелели.
And that would mean Just the king and nobody else. )

When are you publishing your first novel then?!
I think I understand now, it's only a useful expression when you can expand it's context enough to make it unambiguous.

Thanks, this has been entertaining!

You are welcome.

Originally Posted by alexB

...And now the other extreme you said your dictionaries keep telling you about:
Лишь только подснежник распустится в срок,
Лишь только приблизятся первые грозы.
На белых стволах появляется сок, ...
...

Лишь только бой угас,
Звучит другой приказ,
И почтальон сойдет с ума, Разыскивая нас.

http://masterrussian.net/f52/незабыв...html#post88117

http://masterrussian.net/f52/незабыв...329/#post35783