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?’?‹́??????????: profitable, advantageous, good


?’?‹?????????? is a simple word in Russian. Everyone knows what it means — profitable, either literally or figuratively. Right?

Right. But — there's always a "but" — the tricky bit is choosing the right word in English that captures exactly what variety of "profitable" ???‹?????????? means in each context.

Let's start with the money-making aspect of ???‹??????????. Sometimes it refers simply to some kind of activity that produces income: ???‚?€?????‚?? ???‹?????????? ?? ???°?????? ?†?µ???‚?€?µ ?????€?????°. (You can make money if you build right in the city center.) But most often it is used in the comparative form — either ???‹?????????µ?µ or ?±???»?µ?µ ???‹?????????? (more profitable) — to mean doing something that is especially financially advantageous. ???±?????¶???°?‚?? ???µ?€?????µ???‚?????‹ ???‹?????????… ?‚?µ?…?????»???????? ?±?µ???????‹???»?µ??????, ???????° ???‹?????????µ?µ ?????»?°???‹???°?‚?? ?? ???µ?„?‚??. (There's no point discussing the prospects of high tech as long as you can make more money by investing in oil.) ?’ ?€?°?·?????‚???? ???±?‰?µ???‚???µ ?¶???‚?? ?? ???€?????°?¶ ?????‚?µ?»?»?µ???‚???°?»?????????? ???€?????????‚?° ?±???»?µ?µ ???‹??????????, ?‡?µ?? ?¶???‚?? ?? ???€?????°?¶ ???‹?€????. (In a developed society, living off the sale of intellectual property is more profitable than living off the sale of raw materials.)

And then ???‹?????????? can refer to any activity that is beneficial or useful. ???°?? ???‹?????????? ?????????µ?€?¶?°?‚?? ???‚?? ???°?‡?????°?????µ. (It's in our interests to support this undertaking.) Sometimes the benefit is specific to a particular time and place: ?????????????????‚???? ?±?‹?‚?? ???‚?‹??????, ???? ???‹??????????. (It might be shameful to be a Communist, but it's expedient.) Or to a particular mentality: ???? ???‹?????????? ?¶?µ???°?‚, ?? ?‚???‡???? ?·?€?µ?????? ???€???±?°?????? ?????????»???€???????‚??. (He made a good marriage, from the point of view of raising his popularity.) Or to human nature in general: ?????€???°?»?????‹?µ ?»?????? ???‹???‚?°???»?????‚ ???°???????°?· ?‚??, ?‡?‚?? ???? ???‹?????????? ???‹???‚?°???»???‚??. (Normal people show off what's in their interests to show off.)

And there's another shade of meaning with ???‹??????????, which really just means "generally good": ?’?‹?????????? ???‚?»???‡?°?‚?????? ???‚ ?????????… ?‚?????°?€???‰?µ??. (It's good to stand out from your mates.) ?‘?‹???°?µ?‚ ???‹?????????? ???‹???»?µ???????‚?? ?????‘ ???°?€???¶??. (Sometimes it's good to get it all out.)

Sometimes the comparative form ???‹?????????µ?µ just means better: ???µ?????????µ?????‹?? ???????‚?????????‚?????? ???»?????°?€??, ???‹?????????? ???‚?»???‡?°???‰???? ?µ???? ???‚ ?±???»???????????‚???° ?€?°???µ?µ ???·???°?????‹?… ???»?????°?€?µ??, ?????»???µ?‚???? ?‚??, ?‡?‚?? ?????‡?‚?? ???°?¶???°?? ???»?????°?€???°?? ???‚?°?‚???? ???????€???????¶???°?µ?‚???? ???±?????€???‹?? ???»?»?????‚?€?°?‚???????‹?? ???°?‚?µ?€???°?»????. (Without a doubt, one aspect of the dictionary that compares favorably to other previously published dictionaries is that almost every entry is lavishly illustrated.)

And finally, there is the ???‹?????????? phrase that I have come to loathe: ???????? ???‹??????????? (Who stands to gain?) Dictionaries tell you that this comes from the Latin — either cui prodestor or cui bono — and is attributed to a lawyer with the ludicrously long name of Lucius Cassius Longinus Ravilla. The notion behind the phrase is simple: In the investigation of a crime, ask "Who gains from it?" ???°?? ???€?°?????»??, ???‚???‚ ?????‚?? ?€?°???????¶???µ?????? ???µ???‘?‚ ?? ???±???°?€???¶?µ?????? ???°???????? ???€?µ???‚???????????° ?? (???»??) ?‚??????, ???‚?? ?·?° ?????? ???‚?????‚. (As a rule, this leads to determining either who committed the crime and/or who was behind it.)

Any time something happens on your block or in the world, everyone asks some variety of the question: ?—?°?‡?µ?? ???‚??? (What was the point of it?) ???????? ???‚?? ???°????? (Who needs this?) ?”?»?? ???????? ???‚?? ???‹??????????? (Who stands to gain from it?)

All good questions. But Lucius meant them to be the start of the investigation, followed by the gathering of facts and evidence. These days in Russia ???????? ???‹?????????? is often the end of the investigation. ???????? ???‹?????????? ???€???‡?°?‚?? "???????? ???‹???????????" (Who stands to gain from screaming "Who stands to gain?")

Answer: Apparently everyone.

Michele A. Berdy, a Moscow-based translator and interpreter, is author of "The Russian Word's Worth" (Glas), a collection of her columns.

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