?????€?????°: cow; a person exhibiting bovine characteristics
Way back in Russian 101, we learned the animal paradigm: ?????‚ (cat) ?????‚?‘?????? (kitten) ?????‚???‚?° (kittens). Then we learned the meat paradigm: ???????????? (pig) ?????????????° (pork). And then we were introduced to the queen of the barnyard, ?????€?????° (cow), and the whole system went to hell in a hand basket. Unfortunately for us foreigners, the current Russian words for cows and things bovine came from different root words and now seem to have little in common.
We start with bovine mom and pop: ?????€?????° (cow) and ?±?‹?? (bull). After they meet and fall in love, they have ?‚?µ?»???‚?° (calves). A baby bull might be ?‚?µ?»?‘?????? or ?±?‹?‡????, while a baby cow could be ?‚?µ?»??, ?‚?‘?»???°, or ?‚?‘?»???‡???°. These words are related to another kind of bull — the one in the zodiac — ???µ?»?µ?† (Taurus). But you often hear the words ?±???€?‘?????° or ?±???€?‘?????????°, affectionate names for ?±???€?°?? ?????€?????° (brown cow), which — since there are a lot of brown cows in Russia — can be a stand-in for cow in general.
And then there’s meat. ???µ?»???‚?° produce ?‚?µ?»???‚?????° (veal), but sadly for us foreigners, ?????€?????‹ do not produce ?????€?????????°. Cows give us ???????????????° (beef). This puzzle is actually easily explained: ???????????? is the old Russian word for large horned livestock (oxen, cows, bulls). For some reason, the word for the animal disappeared from everyday speech, but its meat lives on.
In Russian folklore and culture, ?????€?????° is a symbol of wealth, well-being and maternal care. Cows are thought of as hardy, fat, obedient and lugubrious creatures. ?????€?????° is a good word to have in your special insult pocket, but should be used with care. It can describe any fat, clumsy person, particularly of the female persuasion. ?????¶?? ?? ?? ?‚?€?°?????°?µ, ?????€???? ???°???°??-?‚?? ?????€?????° ???»???…?°?µ?‚???? ?€???????? ???? ???????? ?? ???€???¶?????°?µ?‚ ???µ???? ?? ???‚?µ?????µ (I was sitting in a tram when this cow suddenly plops down next to me and crams me against the wall.) Somewhat less offensive is the phrase ?·?????€?????° ???°?? ?????€?????° (literally, healthy as a cow), which describes those hardy and hefty women who, as far as I can tell, actually run the country (don’t tell the bulls).
English and Russian share several cow expressions, like ???????‰?µ?????°?? ?????€?????° (sacred cow), ?·???»???‚???? ?‚?µ?»?µ?† (the golden calf) and ?????????°?? ?????€?????° (a milk cow or, figuratively, a cash cow).
But there are also some native Russian cow expressions. I like ???°?? ?????€?????µ ???µ???»?? (like a saddle on a cow), which is something you probably shouldn’t say to someone’s face: ???»?°?‚???µ ?µ?? ?????‘?‚ ???°?? ?????€?????µ ???µ???»?? (on her, the dress is as flattering as a saddle on a cow). There are other phrases that depend on a greater intimacy with cow behavior than us city slickers have. For example, ???°?? ?????€?????° ???·?‹?????? ???»???·?????»?° (literally, like a cow licked it) is used to describe the disappearance of someone or something: One lick of a cow’s rough tongue and it’s gone forever. ?? ?·???°??, ?‡?‚?? ?????»???¶???»?° ???????µ?€???? ?? ??????????, ???? ?µ???? ?‚?°?? ???µ?‚! ???°?? ?????€?????° ???·?‹?????? ???»???·?????»?°! (I know I put the coat check tag in my purse, but now it’s gone — it disappeared into thin air).
And I guess cows give birth (?‚?µ?»???‚??????) in a kind of lazy way. So you can ask someone ???? ?‡?‚?? ?‚?‹ ?‚?µ?»???????????! (What are you dragging your feet for?) Or you can say: ???? ???? ???‹?‡???‚, ???? ?‚?µ?»???‚???? (literally, he doesn’t moo and doesn’t calve), which means: he’s dithering.
Who moo?
Michele A. Berdy is a Moscow-based translator and interpreter.
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