?“???µ??: anger, wrath
Among the seven deadly sins (???µ???? ?????µ?€?‚???‹?… ???€?µ?…????), ?????µ?? (wrath, anger) is the only one that is sometimes — in certain circumstances and appropriate doses — OK to experience. After all, as Bible readers know, God experiences this emotion — ?????µ?? ?‘???¶???? (the wrath of God) — when humans fail. But we humans need to be careful with this emotion. The word ?????µ?? is related to ???????»?? (rot), ???????? (pus) and ?????€?µ?‚?? (to burn), and the image is of a suppurating infection that boils up in a person. Burning with a passion for justice is one thing; burning up with a festering fury is another. ?“???µ???°??????, ???µ ???????€?µ???°???‚?µ (Be ye angry, but sin not.)
Today, the verbs ?????µ???°?‚?????? (to be angry) and ?????µ?????‚?? (to provoke someone’s wrath) have an old-fashioned, high-flown feel to them. But you might come across the phrase ?????µ?????‚?? ?‘?????° (literally, “to anger God”), which in secular matters means not being happy with what you’ve got: ?¦???? ???????µ?€???µ?????? ???°???€?°?????? ?????µ?????‚ ?‘?????°, ???±?? ???€?????????·???€???µ???°?? ?????†?????»?????°???? ???????° ?? 45% — ???‚?? ???‡?µ???? ?…???€?????°?? ?†???„?€?° (The Central Elections Commission should know when they’re well off, since the voter turnout of 45 percent that was forecast by sociologists is a very good number).
Back down on Earth from the heights of heaven and the Central Elections Commission, anger can be expressed in Russian in many ways. The most common verb for anger is ???µ?€?????‚??????. When your significant other walks in the door, exhausted after a long, hard day of work and a two-hour bumper-to-bumper commute to discover that you’ve invited the neighbors over for dinner, say: ???µ ???µ?€???????? ???° ???µ????! (Don’t be mad at me!)
But if the neighbors are insufferable and the day was really awful, your significant other might lose his temper. A good verb pair for getting really furious is ?·?»???‚??????/?€?°?·???·?»???‚??????: ???? ????-???°???‚?????‰?µ???? ?€?°?·???·?»???»???? (He got really furious with me).
You can also describe fury in terms of heat. If someone is a bit steamed up, try the verb ?????€???‡???‚?????? (to get hot, to lose one’s temper): ???µ ?????€???‡??????! (Don’t get all hot under the collar!) If smoke is coming out of his ears, use the verb ?????????‚???‚?????? (to boil): ???µ ?????????‚??????! (Don’t blow your top!) But when someone is rip-roaring mad, you can describe this with the phrase ???€???…???????‚?? ?? ???€?????‚?? (to become furious) or simply say: ???? ?±?‹?» ?? ???€?????‚?? (He saw red).
When someone is really angry, Russians also turn to the animal kingdom to describe it. For example, you might say: ???? ???€?????‚?? ???·???µ?€?µ?»! (He blew a gasket; literally, “turned into a beast.”) Or you might compare someone’s fury to that of a rabid dog: ???? ???€?????‘?» ?? ?±?µ???µ?????‚???? (He went ballistic; literally, “he became rabid.”) ???? ?±?‹?» ???·?±?µ???‘?? (He threw a fit).
If you say someone is ?·?»????, you mean that he is a nasty piece of work. If you qualify it and say that someone is ?·?»????, ???°?? ?‡?‘?€?‚ (mad as the devil), you mean that he’s furious, but not a nasty person by nature. But not all fury is red-hot in Russian. ?—?»???±?° (spite, a grudge, or bitterness) is a simmering emotion. If someone is ???·?»???±?»?µ?????‹??, he’s not spitting mad and probably not a bad person at heart. But circumstances have embittered him and made him resentful.
No matter what state your significant other is in, call off the dinner. Say your beloved is running a fever. In Russian, it’s not even a lie.
Michele A. Berdy is a Moscow-based translator and interpreter.
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