? ????????????: splendor, luxury
Is it just me, or does anyone else wonder why Keira Knightly is the go-to Western actress to play Russian beauties? Doctor Zhivago’s Lara, Anna Karenina: really? She may be a beautiful woman, but by the Russian standards of beauty when these works were written, she’s not what you’d call ?€?????????????°?? ?¶?µ???‰?????° (a sumptuous woman). Tolstoy would have taken one look at her and thought: ???????????€?????‚?? ?µ?‘ ???°???? (she needs to get some meat on her bones).
In Russian there are two main words to describe people and objects that are lush, luxurious or splendid. One is the homegrown noun ?€???????????? (splendor, luxury). You might hear this word being bandied about by the government, which is constantly threatening to tax it: ?’???????? ?????????????°?µ?‚???? ???????€???? ?? ?????µ???µ?????? ???°?»?????° ???° ?€????????????. (The question of introducing a luxury tax is being raised once again.) Here, as I understand it, the difficulty is deciding what exactly is ???€?µ?????µ?‚ ?€???????????? (luxury good), since it could be argued that a sheered mink coat, Bentley, and ?????‚?‚?µ???¶ ???° ? ???±?»?‘?????µ (villa on Rublyovo-Uspenskoye Shosse) — not to mention a couple of properties abroad — are not luxuries, but simply everyday necessities. I mean, just ask the deputies in the State Duma.
In any case, the noun ?€???????????? and adjective ?€?????????????‹?? describe things that are beautiful, expensive and ornate — perhaps even over the top: ?€?????????????‹?? ???????€?µ?† (opulent palace), ?€?????????????°?? ?????°?€?‚???€?° (luxury or premium-class apartment), or ?€???????????????µ ???·???°?????µ ?????????? (deluxe edition of a book). Even a utilitarian facility might be ?€?????????????‹??: ? ???????????????µ ?±?????±?????±?µ?¶???‰?µ: ???°?????‚?°?»?????‹?µ, ?‚???»???‚?‹?µ ???‚?µ???‹, ?????…??, ?????‚???? — ???µ ?????°?¶?µ????, ?‡?‚?? ?????????°?». (It was a luxurious bomb shelter: dry and cozy with substantial, thick walls — you’d never know you were in a cellar.)
? ?????????????‹?? can also describe a way of life that involves spending lots of money: ???? ???‘?» ?€?????????????‹?? ???±?€?°?· ?¶???·????. (He had an extravagant lifestyle.)
And ?€?????????????‹?? describes anything that is lush and abundant, from vegetation to curvy body parts. ? ?°???‚?µ?????µ ?…???°???‚?°?µ?‚???? ?€?????????????‹???? ?†???µ?‚???°????. (The plant has sumptuous blooms.) ?? ???µ?‘ ?±?‹?»?° ?±???»?????°?? ???€?????? ?? ?€?????????????‹?µ ?????€?????»?‹?µ ?±?‘???€?°. (She had an ample bosom and voluptuous, rounded hips.) ?????° — ?…???€?????µ???????°??, ?? ?€?????????????‹???? ???°???‚?°???????‹???? ?????»?????°????. (She’s a pretty little thing with luxuriant chestnut-colored hair.)
Then ?€?????????????‹?? can simply refer to anything terrific, high-quality, splendid or wonderful. ???????????° ?±?‹?»?° ?€????????????????! (The weather was perfect.) ???‹ ?€?????????????? ???€?????µ?»?? ???µ?‡?µ?€. (We had a marvelous evening.)
Another Russian word for high-class people and things is a French import, ???????°?€???‹?? (from chicard: chic). Sometimes the word is used to describe something that is fashionable or stylish. ?? ?????????°?»?° ???????°?€?????? ?????°?€?‚???€?? ???° ???°?±?µ?€?µ?¶??????, ?? ?????????? ???° ?€?µ????. (I rented a posh apartment on the embankment with a river view.) ???????°?€???????? ?????¶?‡?????µ — Schick Protector 3D Diamond. (The Schick Protector 3D Diamond: For the stylish man.)
Of course, notions of chic change over time: ???????? ?????¶???‹ ?‚?µ???µ?€?? ???‚?? ???????°???‚?€???µ?????‹?µ, ???????°?€???‹?µ — ?? ???????????????? ?‚???‡???? ?·?€?µ?????? — ???‚?µ?»??. (Today who needs all those Soviet-style “swanky” hotels they built all over the place?)
???????°?€???‹?? can also refer to something that is wonderful, worth its weight in gold: ?????µ ???°???°?» “?????»???‚???€?°” ?????µ?»?°?» ???????°?€???‹?? ???????°?€????: ???????°?· ?„???»?????° ?????…?°???»?° ? ???????° “???±???????‚???? ???° ???»???†?µ ?”?°???‚?µ.” (The Kultura channel gave me a magnificent gift: a broadcast of Mikhail Romm’s film “Murder on Dante Street.”)
In other cases, ???????°?€???‹?? can refer to something elegant: ?????? ???€?????????°?»?? ???????°?€???‹?? ???????????± ?€?°?·?????€?????‹???°?????? ???µ???µ??. (They came up with a nifty way of stealing money.) Or ???????°?€???‹?? can just mean great. This can get a bit tricky for translators. For example, ???????°?€???°?? ?????±?°???° might mean a trendy breed, a beautifully groomed dog or just a plain old wonderful pooch.
But it gets really tricky when it comes to people. What exactly is ?€?????????????°?? ?¶?µ???‰?????° or a ?€?????????????‹?? ?????¶?‡?????°? How are they different from their ???????°?€???‹?µ counterparts? My mini survey of native speakers revealed that ?€?????????????‹?? and ???????°?€???‹?? are incredibly subjective when used to describe people, although there are a few recurring themes. For example, ???????°?€???°?? ?¶?µ???‰?????° and ???????°?€???‹?? ?????¶?‡?????° were usually defined as stylish people, but were often just terrific people. ? ?????????????°?? ?¶?µ???‰?????° was defined as a beautiful woman, usually expensively dressed and coiffed. Some people said the word only applied to her appearance; others — mostly men — said she was splendid in other ways. One older gentleman, bless his heart, had his own criterion: ? ?????????????°?? ?¶?µ???‰?????°? ?–?µ???‰?????° ?? ?????€?‚?€?µ?‚?µ ? ???±?µ?????°. (A luscious woman? A women in a portrait by Rubens.)
? ?????????????‹?? ?????¶?‡?????°? Like his female counterpart, he’s handsome and well-dressed. But unlike her, he is also successful, rich, kind and an all-around great guy.
So if someone says, “???? ?¶?µ?????»???? ???° ?€???????????????? ?¶?µ???‰?????µ” (He married a splendid woman), you won’t know what she’s like until you see her. It’s all in the eye of the beholder.
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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