Russian Slang & Colloquialisms

Introduction

Slang and colloquialisms ARE NOT accepted as formal or literary. Slang belongs to the most informal
register and characteristic of spoken language, often originating in the cult language of a particular socio-
cultural group. It contains newly coined words or regular words with different nonstandard meanings.
Colloquialisms are accepted in ordinary speech and familiar conversation, they gained great popularity and
are recognized by the majority of modern Russian population.
Slang and colloquialisms form a big part of Russian active vocabulary. As a rule, these phrases are
emotionally colored and used to give force to one's speech. Although they are mainly used in informal oral
speech, they are also often found in the press, frequently heard on popular radio and television programs.
Nevertheless, it can be risky for someone who is not a native speaker to use slang and colloquialisms.
Mainly because most of the expressions do have a tendency to be vulgar or offensive.
Short Forms and Labels
f feminine gender v phr phrase based on a verb
m masculine gender n phr phrase based on a noun
n neuter gender adj phr
phrase based on an
adjective
pl plural derog derogatory
not decl not declined interj interjection
adv adverb drug sl drug slang
adj adjective comp sl computer slang

Russian word or phrase Transliteration English equivalent(s) Explanation

m, derog alkash dipso drunk, alcoholic
f, comp sl as'ka ICQ



pl babki spondulicks, dough sum of money essential for
the owner (see also "
!')
m babnik womanizer,
philanderer
man who habitually pays
attention to many women for
sexual purposes
m bazar chitchap, bull session talk, conversation
m bardak disorder, mess, disarray
n phr bez bazara no problems
! interj Blin! Shit! expresses a wide range of
emotions from admiration to
dispair depending on
situation and intonation, a bit
milder than its English
equivalent
= m bratan = priyatel' man form of address to a man
v buhat' hit the bottle drink too much alcohol



v phr v zadnitze in a (ass) hole be in difficult/embarrassing
situation
adv v nature actually
! Vali otsyuda! F**k off! very rude phrase meaning
:"Get out of here!"
! Vsyo nishtyak! Everything is excellent!
v vtyurit'sya to fall in love
v v'ezzhat' to dig to understand
v vyrubit'sya 1)to fall asleep; 2) to lose
consciousness



m gemorroj big problem
m, comp sl glyuk snark, glitch
= n govno = der'mo shit usually used in literal
reference
m govnyuk bastard
adj goluboj gay guy homosexual man (literally:
"blue")
! Goni babki! Give me the money!(see also
"'')
v gudet' whoop it up to enjoy oneself a lot



! Da nu! You don't say!
. v
phr
Davaj otorvemsya. Let's live it up.

n phr
devushka po vyzovu call girl woman prositute who makes
her arrangements by phone
. Delo dryan'. The cake is dough. Things are looking bad.
= n der'mo = govno shit usually used in literal
reference
= f detka = kroshka baby tender or ironical form of
address to a girl or woman
f deshyovka el cheapo low price, bargain
. = . v Dostal. = Zakolebal. You pissed me off. I am annoyed with
you!(informal phrase
expressing annoyance)
f dura fool silly female person
m durak fool silly male person
v phr duraka valyat' 1)screw around 1)to do nothing; 2)play the
fool
m durdom loony bin, funny farm mental hospital



m zhmot miser, stingy person
m, ironical zhmurik corpse, dead person



. Za bazar otvetish'. You'll be held accountable for
what you've said.
v phr zabit' strelku to make a date/meeting
f, usu. ironical zadnitza ass, butt bad person
. v Zakolebal. You pissed me off. I am annoyed with
you!(informal phrase
expressing annoyance)
f zanuda killjoy, bore boring, uninteresting person
! v Zatknis'! Shut up! be or make quiet
f zelen' green bucks, spinach only US dollars



! v Ischezni! Get lost!



m kajf feeling of euphoria, great
pleasure, enjoyment
! n phr Kakaya zanuda! What a bore!
! interj Kakogo chyorta! What the hell!
f kalancha tall girl
f kapusta cabbage money
. v Katit. thats good, it suits
m kachok jock-strap body-builder, athlete
f, comp sl klava keyboard

n phr
klassnaya devchonka cool girl
adj klassnyj cool, kickin' first-class; top-level
adv klyovo ool very good, very pleasant, fine
adj klyovyj hot red, cool very good, very pleasant, fine
n phr klyovyj muzhik cool cat
v kleit'sya to try to get acquainted
m, derog kozyol ass very abusive word meaning a
bad man
m kolotun sharp frost
=
v, drug sl
kolot'sya = shiryat'sya knock up, fix to inject drugs
f kolymaga heap old vehicle, (referring
slightingly to a car)
m, comp sl komp computer
. Konchaj bazar. Stop talking.
. Krome shutok. No kidding.
= f kroshka = detka baby tender or ironical form of
address to a girl or woman
adv kruto cool, zero cool great
adj krutoj cool, number one great, strong, rich
,fashionable
n phr krutoj paren' tough guy
f krysha 1)head; 2)patron, protector;
3) protection
n phr krysha poehala to go crazy, turn one's head
? Kuda namylilsya? Where are you thinking of
going to? What did you get
ready for?



f lipa fake, imitation, forgery
adj lipovyj forged, false
m loh sucker, klutz

n phr
lyubopytnaya Varvara nosy parker nosy person
v phr lyasy tochit' chew the fat to have a long conversation
about many subjects



f mat' ironical form of address to a
girl or woman ( literally:
"mother")
not decl. noun macho macho sexual man
,

mezhdu nami,
devochkami
frankly speaking, between
you and me
m ment cop policeman/ policewoman
f mentovka cop-shop, fuzz station police station
! Menya naduli! I'm taken in! smb deceived me
. Mne v lom. I am too lazy (to do smth.)
. =
.
Mne do lampochki. =
Mne po barabanu.
I dont care.
,
. derog
Mne nasrat', chto ty
dumaesh'.
I don't give a shit what
you think.
I dont care whar you think.
. =
.
Mne po barabanu. =
Mne do lampochki.
I dont care.
. Mne po figu. 1)It's all the same to me. 2) I
do not care.
f mobila cellular phone
f mymra unpleasant woman



na svoih dvoih go on foot
=
adv
navesele = na ushah in the pink a bit drunk
( -
) v
naezzhat' (na kogo-libo) sail into someone to express dissatisfaction, to
blame
adj naryadnyj well-heeled rich
. Ne beri v golovu. Take it easy .
. =
.
Ne goni purgu. = Ne
svisti.
Do not tell lies.
! =
! interj
Ni figa sebe! = Obaldet'! Crickey! Golly! expression of surprise
n phr ni hrena 1) nothing; 2) nothing of the
kind; 3) no
adj nulevyj brand-new new and completely unused



, ! O, klassno! Man, it's cool! Great!
! =
! interj
Obaldet'! = Ni figa sebe! Crickey! Golly! expression of surprise
m oblom failure of plans and hopes
v ogryzat'sya talk back snarl, snap: to speak or say
quickly in an annoyed way
! interj oj! ouch!
v phr ostat'sya s nosom leave holding the bag
. v Ostyn'. Chill out. Calm down.
. v Otvali. Piss off. go away, live me alone
v otryvat'sya to live it up to have a wild good time;
enjoy oneself with eating and
drinking, parties, spending,
etc.
m otstoj smth disgraceful, worthless



m pedik homosexual man
v, taboo perdet' fart to send out air from the
bowels through the anus

v phr
perevodit' strelki to shift the blame on smb
pl pertzy cool guys
v pilit' to run smb down, to lecture
smb
v phr pit' zapoem drink like a fish drink too much, several
days/weeks running
! v Poehali ! Kick it! let's go or get started
n pojlo booze alcoholic drinks
- adv po-lyubomu at any rate
v phr porot' chush' get a screw loose to talk nonsense
adj potryasnyj Really good, striking
excellent
! Poshyol ty! F**k you! very rude phrase expressing
extreme annoyance (literally:
"go away!")
pl predki folks parents
m pridurok nitwit silly foolish person
m prikid peson's clothing
! v Prikin'! Just imagine!
adv prikol'no funny, comically, jokingly
m priyatel' buddy, dude man, guy
v profukat' to lose ( used if the thing or
the game is lost or the game)
m psih kook, nuts person whose ieas or
behaviour are unusual or silly
adj phr p'yan v stel'ku dead drunk, drunk
back

( -/
-) v
pyalit'sya (na kogo-
to/chto-to)
to gaze at smb./smth.



v raskolot'sya to tell the truth
v raskusit' to reveal smbs secret
-
.
Rasskazhi eto komu-
nibud' drugomu.
Tell your story to
marines.

adj rasfufyrennyj dolled up festively dressed
f rozha mug face
v phr rubit' kapustu to make a quick buck to make money quickly and
easily



s privetom gaga having or showing a weak
mind
f svoloch' bastard, skunk abusive word denoting a
person who is bad, unfair,
unkind, etc.
v phr,
drug sl
sidet' na igle on the needle, on the
hype
to inject drugs regularly
v skorefanit'sya (verb) to make friends
! Sledi za bazarom! Whach your tongue!
v smyt'sya (verb) to slip away
m sortir (m, noun) craphouse, grower toilet
m, n
phr, derog
staryj perdun (m,
derogatory)
unpleasant old man
m stvol (m, noun) rod weapon, arm
stroit' glazki make eyes at smb. to show that one finds
(someone) sexually attractive
by looking at them in an
inviting way
f, foul suka bitch person, esp. when unkind or
bad-tempered
v phr sygrat' v yashchik kick the bucket to die



f tachka four wheels, sheen car
! intej Tvoyu mat'! F**king shit! expressing anger/annoyance
or surprise, a bit milder than
its English equivalent
= m telek = yashchik idiot box, boob tube TV set
f, derog tyolka quail girl or woman
m tormoz person slow in understanding
v torchat' to get delighted, to enjoy
smth greatly, to turn on
f, drug sl travka bush, grass marijuana
v trahat'sya fuck, jig to have sex
n treplo bigmouth
= tusovka = tusa be-in party, the place where young
people gather
f tufta nonsense, trifle
! Ty menya dostal! I' m sick and tired of
you!

f tyuryaga jug prison, jail



! Figa s dva! Nothing of the kind!
f fignya nonsense, trifle, rubbish
= m fingal = fonar' shiner black eye
f fishka interesting or exlusive
information , subject, thing
= m fonar' = fingal shiner black eye



v havat' to have meals, to eat
m havchik chow food
= f haltura = halturka moonlighting, gig work on the side
f halyava smth that is free of charge,
got for nothing
m halyavshchik deadbeat lazy person who gets
everything for nothing at
smb.'s expense
m hren cock, dick penis (literlly:"horse-radish")
In 90% of words "hren" is
interchangeable with "khuy"
(m, foul).
adv hrenovo badly, not well



m chajnik stupid person, beginner
! =
! interj
Chyort voz'mi! = Chyort
poberi!
Damn it! Oh shit! expressing anger or
annoyance
! =
! interj
Chyort poberi! = Chyort
voz'mi!
Damn it! Oh shit! expressing anger or
annoyance
! interj Chyort! Damn! Hell! expressing anger or
annoyance
adj chyortov f**king, jiggered damned, accursed
adj chyotkij neat, cool very good, very pleasant, fine
adj choknutyj cranky, screwy,dippy very strange, odd, slightly
mad
?! Chto ty nesyosh'?! What are you
drivelling about?

m chuvak buddy, kiddo
f chush' garbage, guff 1) stupid and worthless
ideas, words, etc.; 2) lies
n phr chush' sobach'ya bull shit



v sharit' to have a good
understanding of smth
! v Shevelis'! Shake a leg! Hurry up!
=
v, drug sl
shiryat'sya = kolot'sya knock up, fix to inject drugs
f shishka big gun, big noise person of great importance
pl shmotki lothes
n
phr, teens' sl
shnurki v stakane parents are at home
f shtuka one thousand of roubles



. Ya v osadke. I am shoked/surprised.
. Ya ne v'ezzhayu. I don't dig it. I do not understand
! Ya tashchus'! I enjoy (smth). I am delighted
(with smth).
pl, taboo yajtza balls testicles
= m yashchik = telek idiot box, boob tube TV set