How do I deal with exact translations of English to Russian words?












4















When studying I always come across words such as apartment, when I search many dictionaries I sometimes get an exact translation апартамент, but there is also another Russian word that has the exact same meaning, квартира.

What is the difference between them and what do I do during these cases?










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  • 2





    Use a proper dictionary with definitions (not Google Translate) or you may fall victim of 'false friends': en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_friend

    – Sergey Slepov
    6 hours ago
















4















When studying I always come across words such as apartment, when I search many dictionaries I sometimes get an exact translation апартамент, but there is also another Russian word that has the exact same meaning, квартира.

What is the difference between them and what do I do during these cases?










share|improve this question




















  • 2





    Use a proper dictionary with definitions (not Google Translate) or you may fall victim of 'false friends': en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_friend

    – Sergey Slepov
    6 hours ago














4












4








4








When studying I always come across words such as apartment, when I search many dictionaries I sometimes get an exact translation апартамент, but there is also another Russian word that has the exact same meaning, квартира.

What is the difference between them and what do I do during these cases?










share|improve this question
















When studying I always come across words such as apartment, when I search many dictionaries I sometimes get an exact translation апартамент, but there is also another Russian word that has the exact same meaning, квартира.

What is the difference between them and what do I do during these cases?







usage






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edited 8 hours ago









Dmitry

6,80011540




6,80011540










asked 8 hours ago









Almonds812Almonds812

3457




3457








  • 2





    Use a proper dictionary with definitions (not Google Translate) or you may fall victim of 'false friends': en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_friend

    – Sergey Slepov
    6 hours ago














  • 2





    Use a proper dictionary with definitions (not Google Translate) or you may fall victim of 'false friends': en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_friend

    – Sergey Slepov
    6 hours ago








2




2





Use a proper dictionary with definitions (not Google Translate) or you may fall victim of 'false friends': en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_friend

– Sergey Slepov
6 hours ago





Use a proper dictionary with definitions (not Google Translate) or you may fall victim of 'false friends': en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_friend

– Sergey Slepov
6 hours ago










2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes


















6














It depends on the context.



Квартира is a flat where you live. One or several rooms, usually with a kitchen and a bathroom, etc., and this apartment is situated in a block of flats. Квартира в многоквартирном доме.



Апартамент, апартаменты is a kind of lodging to rent. We do not call our homes this word. Unless to make a phrase sound pompous or/and comical.



If you come to visit another country and search for lodging, you will be most likely offered апартаменты. And if you come to settle and make up your mind to purchase sth to live in, you will buy квартира.



According to the law, апартаменты is an apartment in a building not meant for permanent accomodation, but equipped as a flat. Usually it is well-equipped and large.



But commonly, an апартаменты you will be offered as a tourist can be a flat in a block, but with no permanent residents.






share|improve this answer
























  • I would also stress that in (modern) Russian its plural form is used almost exclusively. It's not a problem to find a singular usage - but that way it's more like a "specific area slang" (being in fact a direct calque from English). Thus a dictionary suggesting апартамент is quite misleading.

    – seven-phases-max
    5 hours ago





















1














As Elena fully explained the difference between квартира and апартаменты, to answer the second part of the question:




what do I do during these cases?




In general one should be somewhat careful with obviously loaned words - they are usually loaned for a reason - to denote a special case for what a general word already exists.



For example consider a pair computer/компьютер - it should not come as a surprise that Russian already has an exact original analogue to the verb compute - вычислять, and a noun вычислитель is very much an exact translation of English computer. Yet, since electronic computers were invented in the West, that foreign-sounding word was adopted to specifically denote that novel and foreign technology. (As everything in language, it was not sanctioned by a central authority) It would be incorrect to use the word компьютер in relation to anything else, but electronic computers.



So when you have a few translation variants and one of them looks like a loaned word - most likely this variant denotes a special case, while there is a more general variant that covers way more meanings. In such situation a good modern dictionary is very nice to have. Another option would be to google the use of each variant in Russian texts to get an idea how they differ in usage. Event a simple search count can give you an idea of how widely this or that variant is used.






share|improve this answer








New contributor




ayurchen is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.





















  • Really helpful answer, thanks

    – Almonds812
    3 hours ago











  • Just a minor remark. When the word "компьютер" was adopted the technology was not that novel and foreign. "ЭВМ" was used for decades before that (the first Soviet computer is of 1948 btw.). Компьютер comes in use and begins to displace ЭВМ only when personal computers start to arrive in masses (and well, that was pretty much novel - first Soviet personal computers were indeed just clones of Western devices).

    – seven-phases-max
    3 hours ago













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2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes








2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes









6














It depends on the context.



Квартира is a flat where you live. One or several rooms, usually with a kitchen and a bathroom, etc., and this apartment is situated in a block of flats. Квартира в многоквартирном доме.



Апартамент, апартаменты is a kind of lodging to rent. We do not call our homes this word. Unless to make a phrase sound pompous or/and comical.



If you come to visit another country and search for lodging, you will be most likely offered апартаменты. And if you come to settle and make up your mind to purchase sth to live in, you will buy квартира.



According to the law, апартаменты is an apartment in a building not meant for permanent accomodation, but equipped as a flat. Usually it is well-equipped and large.



But commonly, an апартаменты you will be offered as a tourist can be a flat in a block, but with no permanent residents.






share|improve this answer
























  • I would also stress that in (modern) Russian its plural form is used almost exclusively. It's not a problem to find a singular usage - but that way it's more like a "specific area slang" (being in fact a direct calque from English). Thus a dictionary suggesting апартамент is quite misleading.

    – seven-phases-max
    5 hours ago


















6














It depends on the context.



Квартира is a flat where you live. One or several rooms, usually with a kitchen and a bathroom, etc., and this apartment is situated in a block of flats. Квартира в многоквартирном доме.



Апартамент, апартаменты is a kind of lodging to rent. We do not call our homes this word. Unless to make a phrase sound pompous or/and comical.



If you come to visit another country and search for lodging, you will be most likely offered апартаменты. And if you come to settle and make up your mind to purchase sth to live in, you will buy квартира.



According to the law, апартаменты is an apartment in a building not meant for permanent accomodation, but equipped as a flat. Usually it is well-equipped and large.



But commonly, an апартаменты you will be offered as a tourist can be a flat in a block, but with no permanent residents.






share|improve this answer
























  • I would also stress that in (modern) Russian its plural form is used almost exclusively. It's not a problem to find a singular usage - but that way it's more like a "specific area slang" (being in fact a direct calque from English). Thus a dictionary suggesting апартамент is quite misleading.

    – seven-phases-max
    5 hours ago
















6












6








6







It depends on the context.



Квартира is a flat where you live. One or several rooms, usually with a kitchen and a bathroom, etc., and this apartment is situated in a block of flats. Квартира в многоквартирном доме.



Апартамент, апартаменты is a kind of lodging to rent. We do not call our homes this word. Unless to make a phrase sound pompous or/and comical.



If you come to visit another country and search for lodging, you will be most likely offered апартаменты. And if you come to settle and make up your mind to purchase sth to live in, you will buy квартира.



According to the law, апартаменты is an apartment in a building not meant for permanent accomodation, but equipped as a flat. Usually it is well-equipped and large.



But commonly, an апартаменты you will be offered as a tourist can be a flat in a block, but with no permanent residents.






share|improve this answer













It depends on the context.



Квартира is a flat where you live. One or several rooms, usually with a kitchen and a bathroom, etc., and this apartment is situated in a block of flats. Квартира в многоквартирном доме.



Апартамент, апартаменты is a kind of lodging to rent. We do not call our homes this word. Unless to make a phrase sound pompous or/and comical.



If you come to visit another country and search for lodging, you will be most likely offered апартаменты. And if you come to settle and make up your mind to purchase sth to live in, you will buy квартира.



According to the law, апартаменты is an apartment in a building not meant for permanent accomodation, but equipped as a flat. Usually it is well-equipped and large.



But commonly, an апартаменты you will be offered as a tourist can be a flat in a block, but with no permanent residents.







share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered 6 hours ago









ElenaElena

1,791210




1,791210













  • I would also stress that in (modern) Russian its plural form is used almost exclusively. It's not a problem to find a singular usage - but that way it's more like a "specific area slang" (being in fact a direct calque from English). Thus a dictionary suggesting апартамент is quite misleading.

    – seven-phases-max
    5 hours ago





















  • I would also stress that in (modern) Russian its plural form is used almost exclusively. It's not a problem to find a singular usage - but that way it's more like a "specific area slang" (being in fact a direct calque from English). Thus a dictionary suggesting апартамент is quite misleading.

    – seven-phases-max
    5 hours ago



















I would also stress that in (modern) Russian its plural form is used almost exclusively. It's not a problem to find a singular usage - but that way it's more like a "specific area slang" (being in fact a direct calque from English). Thus a dictionary suggesting апартамент is quite misleading.

– seven-phases-max
5 hours ago







I would also stress that in (modern) Russian its plural form is used almost exclusively. It's not a problem to find a singular usage - but that way it's more like a "specific area slang" (being in fact a direct calque from English). Thus a dictionary suggesting апартамент is quite misleading.

– seven-phases-max
5 hours ago













1














As Elena fully explained the difference between квартира and апартаменты, to answer the second part of the question:




what do I do during these cases?




In general one should be somewhat careful with obviously loaned words - they are usually loaned for a reason - to denote a special case for what a general word already exists.



For example consider a pair computer/компьютер - it should not come as a surprise that Russian already has an exact original analogue to the verb compute - вычислять, and a noun вычислитель is very much an exact translation of English computer. Yet, since electronic computers were invented in the West, that foreign-sounding word was adopted to specifically denote that novel and foreign technology. (As everything in language, it was not sanctioned by a central authority) It would be incorrect to use the word компьютер in relation to anything else, but electronic computers.



So when you have a few translation variants and one of them looks like a loaned word - most likely this variant denotes a special case, while there is a more general variant that covers way more meanings. In such situation a good modern dictionary is very nice to have. Another option would be to google the use of each variant in Russian texts to get an idea how they differ in usage. Event a simple search count can give you an idea of how widely this or that variant is used.






share|improve this answer








New contributor




ayurchen is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.





















  • Really helpful answer, thanks

    – Almonds812
    3 hours ago











  • Just a minor remark. When the word "компьютер" was adopted the technology was not that novel and foreign. "ЭВМ" was used for decades before that (the first Soviet computer is of 1948 btw.). Компьютер comes in use and begins to displace ЭВМ only when personal computers start to arrive in masses (and well, that was pretty much novel - first Soviet personal computers were indeed just clones of Western devices).

    – seven-phases-max
    3 hours ago


















1














As Elena fully explained the difference between квартира and апартаменты, to answer the second part of the question:




what do I do during these cases?




In general one should be somewhat careful with obviously loaned words - they are usually loaned for a reason - to denote a special case for what a general word already exists.



For example consider a pair computer/компьютер - it should not come as a surprise that Russian already has an exact original analogue to the verb compute - вычислять, and a noun вычислитель is very much an exact translation of English computer. Yet, since electronic computers were invented in the West, that foreign-sounding word was adopted to specifically denote that novel and foreign technology. (As everything in language, it was not sanctioned by a central authority) It would be incorrect to use the word компьютер in relation to anything else, but electronic computers.



So when you have a few translation variants and one of them looks like a loaned word - most likely this variant denotes a special case, while there is a more general variant that covers way more meanings. In such situation a good modern dictionary is very nice to have. Another option would be to google the use of each variant in Russian texts to get an idea how they differ in usage. Event a simple search count can give you an idea of how widely this or that variant is used.






share|improve this answer








New contributor




ayurchen is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.





















  • Really helpful answer, thanks

    – Almonds812
    3 hours ago











  • Just a minor remark. When the word "компьютер" was adopted the technology was not that novel and foreign. "ЭВМ" was used for decades before that (the first Soviet computer is of 1948 btw.). Компьютер comes in use and begins to displace ЭВМ only when personal computers start to arrive in masses (and well, that was pretty much novel - first Soviet personal computers were indeed just clones of Western devices).

    – seven-phases-max
    3 hours ago
















1












1








1







As Elena fully explained the difference between квартира and апартаменты, to answer the second part of the question:




what do I do during these cases?




In general one should be somewhat careful with obviously loaned words - they are usually loaned for a reason - to denote a special case for what a general word already exists.



For example consider a pair computer/компьютер - it should not come as a surprise that Russian already has an exact original analogue to the verb compute - вычислять, and a noun вычислитель is very much an exact translation of English computer. Yet, since electronic computers were invented in the West, that foreign-sounding word was adopted to specifically denote that novel and foreign technology. (As everything in language, it was not sanctioned by a central authority) It would be incorrect to use the word компьютер in relation to anything else, but electronic computers.



So when you have a few translation variants and one of them looks like a loaned word - most likely this variant denotes a special case, while there is a more general variant that covers way more meanings. In such situation a good modern dictionary is very nice to have. Another option would be to google the use of each variant in Russian texts to get an idea how they differ in usage. Event a simple search count can give you an idea of how widely this or that variant is used.






share|improve this answer








New contributor




ayurchen is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.










As Elena fully explained the difference between квартира and апартаменты, to answer the second part of the question:




what do I do during these cases?




In general one should be somewhat careful with obviously loaned words - they are usually loaned for a reason - to denote a special case for what a general word already exists.



For example consider a pair computer/компьютер - it should not come as a surprise that Russian already has an exact original analogue to the verb compute - вычислять, and a noun вычислитель is very much an exact translation of English computer. Yet, since electronic computers were invented in the West, that foreign-sounding word was adopted to specifically denote that novel and foreign technology. (As everything in language, it was not sanctioned by a central authority) It would be incorrect to use the word компьютер in relation to anything else, but electronic computers.



So when you have a few translation variants and one of them looks like a loaned word - most likely this variant denotes a special case, while there is a more general variant that covers way more meanings. In such situation a good modern dictionary is very nice to have. Another option would be to google the use of each variant in Russian texts to get an idea how they differ in usage. Event a simple search count can give you an idea of how widely this or that variant is used.







share|improve this answer








New contributor




ayurchen is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer






New contributor




ayurchen is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









answered 4 hours ago









ayurchenayurchen

111




111




New contributor




ayurchen is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.





New contributor





ayurchen is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.






ayurchen is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.













  • Really helpful answer, thanks

    – Almonds812
    3 hours ago











  • Just a minor remark. When the word "компьютер" was adopted the technology was not that novel and foreign. "ЭВМ" was used for decades before that (the first Soviet computer is of 1948 btw.). Компьютер comes in use and begins to displace ЭВМ only when personal computers start to arrive in masses (and well, that was pretty much novel - first Soviet personal computers were indeed just clones of Western devices).

    – seven-phases-max
    3 hours ago





















  • Really helpful answer, thanks

    – Almonds812
    3 hours ago











  • Just a minor remark. When the word "компьютер" was adopted the technology was not that novel and foreign. "ЭВМ" was used for decades before that (the first Soviet computer is of 1948 btw.). Компьютер comes in use and begins to displace ЭВМ only when personal computers start to arrive in masses (and well, that was pretty much novel - first Soviet personal computers were indeed just clones of Western devices).

    – seven-phases-max
    3 hours ago



















Really helpful answer, thanks

– Almonds812
3 hours ago





Really helpful answer, thanks

– Almonds812
3 hours ago













Just a minor remark. When the word "компьютер" was adopted the technology was not that novel and foreign. "ЭВМ" was used for decades before that (the first Soviet computer is of 1948 btw.). Компьютер comes in use and begins to displace ЭВМ only when personal computers start to arrive in masses (and well, that was pretty much novel - first Soviet personal computers were indeed just clones of Western devices).

– seven-phases-max
3 hours ago







Just a minor remark. When the word "компьютер" was adopted the technology was not that novel and foreign. "ЭВМ" was used for decades before that (the first Soviet computer is of 1948 btw.). Компьютер comes in use and begins to displace ЭВМ only when personal computers start to arrive in masses (and well, that was pretty much novel - first Soviet personal computers were indeed just clones of Western devices).

– seven-phases-max
3 hours ago




















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