Thread: Diminutives

Originally Posted by Friendy

Originally Posted by Евгения(Женя)

But how would a mother usually refer to her child? For example if her son was named Sasha, would she regularily call him Sasha, and if he was upset or something would she call him Sashen'ka? Or would she always call him Sashen'ka? Or does it depend on the situation? (So sorry if I am confusing you) My mother in her letters calls me Zhenechka, but in another she called me Dochenka. How would a mother refer to her child? (Tell me if my question seems unclear)

A mother may call her child in different ways, like, one moment she calls him Sasha and an hour later she calls him Sashen'ka, though probably there are some mothers who stick to one particular name.

RE does 'Sashenka' have a particular meaning? I know someone who gets called that but their name isn't Sasha.

Originally Posted by Eve

RE does 'Sashenka' have a particular meaning? I know someone who gets called that but their name isn't Sasha.

As far as I know, it has no particular meaning, but people may have some weird reasons sometimes. Maybe there's a special story behind it. If it's not a secret, what is that person's full name?

Friendy, would a mother in speech talking to her daughter refer to her as, дочка, или доченька(Besides using her name). Or would that seem akward? What is the "son" equivilent? Can мамочка be used just for affection, rather than persuasion?

My ex-girlfriend's mother, I remember, often called her «доча» (very tender expression, I must add). Equivalents for «son» are «сын» and diminutives «сынок», «сыночек», «сына», «сынонька», «сынуля» (my mother calles me so and I hate when she does it among people).

Originally Posted by Евгения(Женя)

Friendy, would a mother in speech talking to her daughter refer to her as, дочка, или доченька(Besides using her name). Or would that seem akward?

Дочка is probably a little awkward (but possible), доченька is better, but it seems not very common to me, these words can be also used together with the name, for example:
Женечка, доченька, помоги мне пожалуйста накрыть на стол.

Can мамочка be used just for affection, rather than persuasion?

Certainly.

Originally Posted by Friendy

Originally Posted by Eve

RE does 'Sashenka' have a particular meaning? I know someone who gets called that but their name isn't Sasha.

As far as I know, it has no particular meaning, but people may have some weird reasons sometimes. Maybe there's a special story behind it. If it's not a secret, what is that person's full name?

Their name is Alexey/Alexei. Don't know them well enough to ask them about a nickname.

Originally Posted by Eve

Their name is Alexey/Alexei. Don't know them well enough to ask them about a nickname.

Probably it's because Alexey and Alexandr have a common nickname Alex. Maybe he called himself Alex and people thought that his name was Alexandr and not Alexey and so they called him Sashen'ka and somehow this name got stuck to him. Of course, it's just an assumption but I think it's rather probable.

Friendy, what is the diminutive version of Leonid? I know Lyonya is the nickname, but I dont know the diminutive one. Write it in cryllic please. Thanks!
(Как сказать по-русски- Write in script*as a command
Заранее спасибо

Originally Posted by Евгения(Женя)

Friendy, what is the diminutive version of Leonid? I know Lyonya is the nickname, but I dont know the diminutive one. Write it in cryllic please. Thanks!

Лёнечка (affectionate)
Лёнчик, Лёнька (these are rather informal)

Write in script - пишите (or напишите) от руки

Originally Posted by Евгения(Женя)

Friendy, what is the diminutive version of Leonid? I know Lyonya is the nickname, but I dont know the diminutive one. Write it in cryllic please. Thanks!
(Как сказать по-русски- Write in script*as a command
Заранее спасибо

As a command? As a command? How about as an order? Написал от руки! А ну написал от руки! Do you aprove of this, Professor Scotcher?

Спасибо Friendy, и Vending Machine, and who is Professor Scotcher? Напишите от руки- That means to write in cursive right? Sometimes I confused myself with the words I use, forgive me. Cursive and script mean the same thing, right?

Originally Posted by Евгения(Женя)

Напишите от руки- That means to write in cursive right? Sometimes I confused myself with the words I use, forgive me. Cursive and script mean the same thing, right?

Definitions from my Oxford and Longman dictionaries:
cursive:
handwriting with letters rounded and joint together
script:
1) handwriting
2) printed cursive caracters in imitation of handwriting
3) writing by hand with the letters of words joint

So mostly they are synonyms.

If in Russian you want your listeners to write with rounded and joint together letters you can say:
Напишите письменно (or письменным шрифтом)
or
Напишите письменно (or письменным шрифтом) от руки
If you want them to write by hand, but with the letters that look like typed you should say:
Напишите печатно (or печатным шрифтом) от руки
or
Печатайте от руки.

...and who is Professor Scotcher?

I think VendingMachine jokingly refers to scotcher, our fellow-forumer, but what does it have to do with script - no idea.

About diminutives:

I was once asked by a (female) friend from Moscow how I called my gf (who is Russian). I said: "Veronika." (Coz that's her name, duh...) And she looked at me quite strangely: "Simply Veronika?" Somehow, I had commited an horrendous crime by not using an affectionate diminutive... What a cold bastard must I have seemed to her!

After that, I started calling my gf Veronichka, although it took some getting used to.

Originally Posted by Gollandski Yozh

What a cold bastard must I have seemed to her!
After that, I started calling my gf Veronichka, although it took some getting used to.

Don't worry about the name Veronika is beautiful by itself. My wife's name is Veronika too, and she hates any diminutives so I call her Veronika all the time. Well, maybe not all the time but very often. When I'd just met her I tried to call her Veronichka and another diminutives but she told me that she hate it.

Originally Posted by JJ

Don't worry about the name Veronika is beautiful by itself. My wife's name is Veronika too, and she hates any diminutives so I call her Veronika all the time. Well, maybe not all the time but very often. When I'd just met her I tried to call her Veronichka and another diminutives but she told me that she hate it.

Yes, it is a beautiful name, but, since a Russian told me that diminutives were important, I decided to just ask my gf. She said she'd like it. Problem was, there are a lot of diminutives. I heard her grandmother say Veronya all the time. Now, of course, I didn't want to use the same diminutive her grandmother was using! So, I just asked her about the possibilities and she said her friends always used "Veronichka". Therefor, I decided on that. It also sounds better than Veronya, to me at least.

Originally Posted by Gollandski Yozh

It also sounds better than Veronya, to me at least.

Sure, it is much better, my wife especially hates "Veronya".

Originally Posted by JJ

Originally Posted by Gollandski Yozh

It also sounds better than Veronya, to me at least.

Sure, it is much better, my wife especially hates "Veronya".

Ha, that's nothing, ever heard of Веруньчик (Veroonchik)? Yuck!

Originally Posted by VendingMachine

Originally Posted by JJ

Originally Posted by Gollandski Yozh

It also sounds better than Veronya, to me at least.

Sure, it is much better, my wife especially hates "Veronya".

Ha, that's nothing, ever heard of Веруньчик (Veroonchik)? Yuck!

Yep. And yes, that is a big "yuck".

BTW, can someone tell me what's the deal with all these animals my gf uses as "ласковые имена" for me (and others for their boyfriends)? Why am I a "ёжик" or a "заяц"?

Originally Posted by Gollandski Yozh

BTW, can someone tell me what's the deal with all these animals my gf uses as "ласковые имена" for me (and others for their boyfriends)? Why am I a "ёжик" or a "заяц"?

lol I used to be "ёжик" (especially after not shaving couple of days) too now I'm most of the time "слоник" (no ne gollandsky for obvious reason ) I asked my gf why she used it and she couldn't explain. She said she just liked it

Are there any diminutives for the name Fyodor?