Thread: Humor?

I need help to understand another russian one.

I can't find a good translation of упёртым. Спасибо!




В жизни надо быть упёртым, но не бараном. (демотиватор) | naFUNya

Originally Posted by Mordan

I need help to understand another russian one.

I can't find a good translation of упёртым. Спасибо!
В жизни надо быть упёртым, но не бараном. (демотиватор) | naFUNya

I think, упёртый = stubborn. At least, a dictionary says "stubborn - having or showing dogged determination not to change one's attitude or position on something, esp. in spite of good arguments or reasons to do so.", and this definition fits well.

By the way, there are three similarly looking words, that have similar meanings: упёртый, упорный, упрямый.
Упёртый often has negative connotations ("stubborn, not flexible").
Упорный has positive ones ("dogged, strong, persistent").
And упрямый is more or less neutral. Not so negative as упёртый.

The picture is related to Russian proverb: "Смотреть как баран на новые ворота"
The point is that sheep/rams usually walk along familiar routes and stand against any attempts of bringing them to unknown territory.
If a person is "showing dogged determination not to change his/her attitude or position", we can say: "Он на это смотрит как баран на новые ворота."