Wannabe Polyglot

learning فارسی, deutsch, français, and many more ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[pompadourpink]

Genderfluid nouns

(Okay this is clickbait but there are words in French that don’t have the same definition depending on their gender)(here they are)

MOULE /mul/

une moule : a mussel (also, rare/teenish : p*ssy) 

un moule : a tin (ex : un moule à tarte)/a mould (baking), a cast (sculpture)

PARALLÈLE /paʁalɛl/

une parallèle : a parallel (maths)

un parallèle : a comparison (ex : faire un parallèle entre x et y)

MANOEUVRE /manɔœːvʁ/

un-e manoeuvre : a labourer

une manoeuvre : manoeuvre/maneuver (when you try to park)

TOUR /tuːʁ/

une tour : a tower

un tour : a stroll/drive (ex : aller faire un tour en voiture), a magic trick (ex : un tour de magie), something’s circumference (ex : le tour de taille)

PHYSIQUE /fizik/

la physique : physics

le physique : the body/appearance (ex : il a un physique inhabituel)

MANCHE /mɑ̃ʃ/

la manche : the sleeve, the english channel, the round (game)

un manche : a handle (ex : un manche à balai), a violin neck

VOILE /vwal/

une voile : a sail (the fabric piece on a boat) + sailing (sports)

un voile : a veil (clothing, mystery)

MÉMOIRE /me.mwaʁ/

la mémoire : the memory (skill, computer ; ex : avoir bonne mémoire)

un mémoire : a memorandum, a 10+ p dissertation

POSTE /pɔst/

la poste : the poste office

un poste : a job, the police station

MODE /mɔd/

la mode : fashion (ex : les crop tops sont à la mode en ce moment)

le mode : the mood (linguistics, computer, music), instructions (ex : un mode d’emploi - direction leaflet, un mode d’affichage - display mode)

SOLDE /sɔld/

une solde : salary (rare)

un solde : balance (finances), sales (ex : ce sont les soldes)

CRÊPE /kʁɛp/

une crêpe : a crepe (thin pancake that you don’t eat the same way)

un crêpe : a crepe (fabric)

MORAL-E /mɔ.ʁal/ 

la morale : morality (literature), moral code (ethics)

le moral : general mood (How’s Carl? Since Ellie died il n’a pas le moral)

LIVRE /livʁ/

une livre : a pound (weight, money ; ex : une livre de beurre)

un livre : a book

PENDULE /pɑ̃.dyl/

une pendule : a clock

un pendule : a pendulum

PAGE /paʒ/

une page : a page (book), a moment (ex : les plus belles pages de notre histoire ont eu lieu pendant ce voyage)

un page : a pageboy (history)

POÊLE /pwɑl/

une poêle : a frying pan

un poêle : a stove

SOMME /sɔm/ 

une somme : an amount, sum (finances, maths)

un somme : a nap (fam)

VASE /vaz/

la vase : sludge (the greeny/browny shit in swamps)(not Shrek, focus)

un vase : a vase (flowers)

MOUSSE /mus/

la mousse : moss (nature), lather (soap), mousse (food)

un mousse : a ship’s boy 

ESPACE /ɛs.pas/ 

une espace : a space between the words

un espace : a space between two things, space (science)

PAIR-E /pɛʁ/ 

une paire : a pair (ex : une paire de ciseaux)

un pair : a peer, even (eight is an even number)

MERCI /mɛʁ.si/

la merci : mercy (ex : il est à la merci des anglais)

merci : thank you (ex : mille mercis pour cette fabuleuse soirée)

CARPE /kaʁp/

une carpe : a carp (fish)

un carpe : a carpus (bones)

CRITIQUE /kɹɪ.ˈtik/

une critique : criticism, review

un-e critique : a critic (job)

FAUNE /fon/

la faune : fauna (animals)

un faune : a faun (mythology)

AIDE /ɛd/

l’aide : assistance (ex : au secours, à l’aide)

un-e aide : assistant

GARDE /ɡaʁd/

la garde : custody (ex : la garde des enfants), babysitting (ex : nous cherchons quelqu’un pour garder les enfants), watch (ex : I’ve got the next watch)

le garde : the guard, guardian, warden 

FINAL-E /fi.nal/

la finale : finale (sports, entertainment ; ex : la demi-finale de l’Eurovision)

le final : finale (music)

MORT /mɔʁ/

la mort : death

le/la mort-e : a dead person

MI-TEMPS /mi.tɑ̃/

la mi-temps : half time break (sports)

un mi-temps : a part-time job

OEUVRE /œvʁ/

une oeuvre : a work (literature), bonnes oeuvres (good deeds)

le gros oeuvre : the shell (construction)

ROSE /ʁoz/

une rose : a rose (flower)

le rose : a shade of pink (c’est un rose poudré)

GESTE /ʒɛst/

une geste : a medieval song of heroic deed (ex : la chanson de Roland)

un geste : a gesture (ex : un geste symbolique), a move (ex : brusque)

VAGUE /vaɡ/

une vague : a wave

le vague : the undefined (ex : il est resté très vague)

[haxyr3]

How Prefixes Modify Verbs

Hello dear Russian learners, 

Working on the quick guide to Russian prefixes took me much more time than I expected, but I can finally say that I am about to finish it. There are only two prefixes left to describe. 

In the meantime, I decided to show you how prefixes modify verbs. For example, you all know the verb писать, to write. If we add prefixes to it, it will change its meaning, sometimes even cardinally. Here you are.

Написать - you know this verb too. It is a perfective version of писать, you use it to say that the writing is finished.

Я почти написала книгу! - I almost have the book written!

Описать - means to describe, to portray. The prefix о- on the most abstract level means "all around". Описать - is when you put together the features of a person or an object into a whole picture, you describe something or someone "all around".

Я не могу описать всей красоты Великих Озёр! I can't describe the beauty of the Great Lakes!

Переписать - means to rewrite, to copy. Пере- often means "re-", doing something again. Лев Толстой переписал Анну Каренину, но остался недоволен результатом. Leo Tolstoy rewrote Anna Karenina, but was dissatisfied with the result.

Списать - means to write off or to plagiarize.  

Он списал у меня контрольную работу!  He cheated off my test paper!

Прописать - means to prescribe. This is what doctors do when you need some medicine. 

Врач прописал ей аспирин. The doctor prescribed her aspirin.

Расписать - has several different meanings. It can mean to describe something in great detail, or to give very detailed instructions, but it can also mean to paint (a toy, a Russian nesting doll, etc.).

Она расписывает каждую матрёшку три-четыре часа.  She paints each matryoshka for three to four hours.

Выписать - means to sign out, to write out, to discharge. The prefix вы- almost always means "out", right?

Её выписали из больницы, ура!  She's out of the hospital, yay!

Записать - means to write down, to record, or to enroll.  

Здесь легендарная группа The Beatles записала свой последний альбом. This is where the legendary band The Beatles recorded their last album.

Надписать - means to make an inscription, to label, to write something above something else. This is how the prefix "над-" - over, above - modified the verb. 

Он надписал нам обручальные кольца.  He inscribed the wedding rings for us.

Исписать - means to cover something with writings or to use up (a pen or a pencil).  The prefix ис- usually means "to exhaust resources", so when you exhaust a paper and/or a pencil, you can say,

Я исписала блокнот и карандаш!  I wrote out a notebook and used up a pencil!

If you want to understand more about prefixes and how they modify verbs, join me on April 19th, 7 pm EDT, for an online workshop dedicated solely to verbal prefixes.

[bilingual-cat-archive-deactivat]

Learn Hungarian with ~200 words

Here is the Hungarian version of funwithlanguages’ list. Some parts needed some explanation, because it is very different in Hungarian than in English. I also decided to add shortened versions of some words which are more informal and used more in everyday conversations. Enjoy !:)

Verbs 1.be - van 2.there is - ott van 3.have - van (the conjugation is different for this when you use it in the ‘possession’ sense) 4.do - tesz, csinál 5.create - alkot 6.cause - okoz 7.go - megy, jár 8.say - mond 9.speak - beszél 10.know - ismer, tud 11.think - gondol 12.want - akar 13.like - tetszik 14.can - tud 15.need - szüksége van 16.should - kellene, kéne 17.try - pórbál 18.feel - érez 19.work (also as a noun) - dolgozik (verb), munka (noun) 20.learn - tanul 21.understand - ért 22.get (meaning “obtain”) - szerez 23.use - használ 24.start - indul (as in ‘the engine starts…’), kezd (as in ‘start doing something’) 25.eat - eszik 26.see - lát 27.write - ír 28.give - ad 29.sleep - alszik 30.buy - vesz 31.decide - dönt 32.find - talál 33.ask - kér 34.meet (meaning to meet someone for the first time) - megismerkedik 35.meet (meaning “meet up with”) - találkozik 36.take - visz

Here is a link for a basic conjugation lesson. And here is an other one, where it shows you how to conjugate these verbs.

Phrases 1.hello - hello, szia 2.goodbye - viszontlátásra, viszlát 3.“Nice to meet you.” - Örvendek./Örülök hogy találkoztunk/ Örülök hogy megismertelek. 4.yes - igen 5.no - nem 6.okay - oké 7.please - légyszíves, légyszi 8.thank you - köszönöm 9.you’re welcome - szívesen 10.sorry - bocsánat, bocsi 11.excuse me (to catch someone’s attention) - elnézést, elnézést kérek 12.well (as in “Well, I think that…”) - nos 13.Really? - tényleg? igazán?

Conjunctions 1.that (as in “I think that…” or “the woman that…”) - az, azt 2.and - és 3.or - vagy 4.but - de 5.though - habár 6.because - mert 7.therefore - ezért, azért 8. if - ha

Prepositions These occur after words in Hungarian. 1.before (also as a conjunction) - előtt, azelőtt (before the house -  a ház előtt)    after (also as a conjunction) - után, utána (after a week - egy hét után) 2.of - -ból, -ből (as in “made of something” -  made of wood - fából készült) 3.from - -ból, -ből (from the house - házból)    to (place) - -ba, -be, -hoz, -hez, -höz (to the house - házhoz, to London -          Londonba)    to (person) - -nak, nek (give it to you - odaadom neked) 4.in - -ba, -be, -ban, -ben (in the house - házban) 5.at (place) - -nál, -nél (at the house - háznál) 6.at (time) - -kor (at eleven o’clock - 11kor) 7.with - val, -vel (with Silvia - Szilviával) 8.about - -ról, -ről (about Peter - Péterről) 9.like (meaning “similar to”) - hasonló, olyan 10.for - nak -nek (I bought it for Paul. - Paulnak vettem.)

Adjectives and adverbs 1.a lot - sok    a little - (egy) kevés 2.good / well - jó / jól    bad / badly - rossz / rosszul 3.more (know how to say “more … than”) - több (több mint)    better (often irregular and not just “more good”) - jobb (jobban) 4.most - legtöbb 5.enough - elég 6.even - egyenlő 7.right - helyes    wrong - rossz, hibás

Adjectives 1.the, a - a, az 2.this - ez    that - az 3.all - mindegyik, minden   some - valami   no - semmi(féle) 4.other - más, másik 5.any - akármi 6.easy - könnyű   hard - nehéz 7.early - korai   late - késő 8.important - fontos 9.cool (as in “that’s cool”) - király 10.same - ugyanaz 11.different - különböző 12.beautiful - szép

Adverbs 1.very - nagyon 2.too (as in “too much”) - túlságosan, túl 3.also - is, szintén 4.only - csak 5.now - most 6.here - itt 7.maybe - talán 8.always - mindig    often - gyakran    sometimes - néha    never - soha(sem) 9.today - ma    yesterday - tegnap    tomorrow - holnap 10.almost - majdnem 11.still - mégis 12.already - már

Nouns 1.thing - dolog 2.person - személy 3.place - hely 4.everything - minden    something - valami    nothing - semmi 5.time (as in “a long time”) - idő 6.time (as in “I did it 3 times”) - -szer, -szor, -ször (you put it after the numbers–> 3 - három, 3 times - háromszor) 7.friend - barát 8.mother - anya    father - apa    parent - szülő 9.daughter - lány (same as for girl)    son - fiú, fia (same as for boy)    child - gyerek 10.wife - feleség     husband - férj 11.girlfriend - barátnő     boyfriend - barát 12.breakfast - reggeli 13.lunch - ebéd 14.dinner - vacsora 15.money - pénz 16.day - nap 17.year - év 18.hour - óra 19.week - hét 20.house - ház 21.office - iroda 22.language - nyelv (same as for tongue) 23.name - név 24.word - szó 25.company - cég 26.Internet - internet

Question Words 1.who - ki 2.what - mi 3.where - hol 4.when - mikor 5.why - miért 6.how - hogy, hogyan 7.how much - mennyi

Pronouns 1.I - én  2.you - te (Ön, as the formal version) 3.she, he - ő 4.it - ő 5.we - mi 6.you (plural) - ti (Önök, as the formal version) 7.they - ők

Here you can find a pretty good list of all the pronouns in other forms.

[linghxr]

Duoyinzi (多音字) That Have Betrayed Me on a Personal Level

This is a continuation of my 多音字 series. You can view the last post here. Today I’m focusing specifically on 20 characters that left me very surprised when I found out they have other pronunciations!

For some of the more basic characters, I’m not including sample vocab words this time. But I have added some lively commentary :)

1）喝

喝 hē - to drink

喝 hè - to shout

喝彩 hècǎi - to acclaim / to cheer

Of course we all know 喝 hē ask in to drink. I very recently encountered the word 喝彩, and I assumed it was pronounced hēcǎi. Nope. I was so very wrong.

2）上

上 shàng - on top / upon / above / upper / previous / first (of multiple parts) / to climb / to get onto / to go up / to attend (class or university)

上 shǎng - used in 上声

上声 | 上聲 shǎngshēng - falling and rising tone / third tone in modern Mandarin

上 shàng is one of the first characters many of us learned. So you can imagine how betrayed I felt when I learned that it can also be pronounced shǎng. Thankfully, this seems to be isolated to the word 上声.

3）大

大 dà - big / huge / large / major / great / wide / deep / older (than) / oldest / eldest / greatly / very much / (dialect) father / father’s elder or younger brother

大 dài - see 大夫 

大夫 dàifu - doctor / physician

This was another huge betrayal. You see, I started learning Chinese about 15 years ago. 大 was likely one of the first characters I ever learned, and I just never imagined in could be pronounced as anything but dà! Has everything been a lie?

4）哪

哪 nǎ - how / which

哪 né - used in 哪吒 / Taiwan pr. nuó 

哪吒 Nézhā - Nezha, protection deity / Taiwan pr. nuózhà

When I saw Nezha written in Chinese for the first time, I was very confused. I just didn’t get how the né sound could be my old friend 哪. And apparently in Taiwan it has a whole different pronunciation. Ugh!

5）降

降 jiàng - to drop / to fall / to come down / to descend

降低 jiàngdī - to reduce / to lower / to bring down 

降落 jiàngluò - to descend / to land

下降 xiàjiàng - to decline / to drop / to fall / to go down / to decrease

降 xiáng - to surrender / to capitulate / to subdue / to tame 

投降 tóuxiáng - to surrender / surrender

I was really convinced that I was just hearing things wrong with this character. I first heard the word 投降 in Chinese songs, so I thought I was mishearing the lyrics. Nope—降 is a 多音字.

Читать дальше

[languageramblings]

Adapted from the series Easily Confused Chinese Characters

[orientalismx]

Chinese Measure Words

个 gè: for people, abstract things and objects | Ex: 我有一个老师。

口 kǒu: for family people | Ex: 我家有四口人。

只 zhī: for animals | Ex: 我爸爸家有三只狗。

条 tiáo: for long and narrow things | Ex: 她有两条鱼。

张 zhāng: for flat things | Ex: 教室里有五张桌子。

把 bǎ: for objects that can be grasped by hand | Ex: 我房间里有一把椅子。

本 běn: for books | Ex: 桌子上有四本书。

支 zhī: for long and thin things | Ex: 笔袋里有一支笔。

家 jiā: for establishments (house, hotel …) | Ex: 我哥哥开了一家公司。

块 kuài: for portions or pieces | Ex: 来吃块西瓜吧。

岁 suì: for years (old) | Ex: 我今年40岁。

棵 kē: for trees | Ex: 这棵树又高又大。

台 tái: for machines | Ex: 这台电脑是新买的。

双 shuāng: for pairs | Ex: 一双筷子。

辆 liàng: for vehicles | Ex: 一辆汽车。

篇 piān: for articles and texts | Ex: 这篇报道是我写的。  

节 jié: for time periods | Ex: 我们下午只有一节课。

杯 bēi: for liquid (glass; cup) | Ex: 我有一杯牛奶。

[pompadourpink]

All the tenses

Original sentence: She + to close + the door

Tenses:

Past:

Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait): Elle avait fermé la porte - She had closed the door [conj. Être/Avoir auxiliary in the imperfect + past participle]

Imperfect (imparfait): Elle fermait la porte - She closed the door [description, historical detail, habit in the past]

Perfect (passé composé): Elle a fermé la porte - She has closed the door [conj. Être/Avoir in the present + past participle]

Simple past (passé simple): Elle ferma la porte - She closed the door [literary]

Past conditional (conditionnel passé): Elle aurait fermé la porte - She would have closed the door [conj. Être/Avoir in the present conditional + past participle; expresses a regret or theory/fantasy]

Perfect past (passé antérieur): Elle eut fermé la porte - She had closed the door [conj. Être/Avoir in the simple past + past participle; rare, literary, expresses the anteriority of an action compared to the one that follows]

Recent past (passé récent): Elle vient de fermer la porte - She just closed the door [conj. venir de in the present + infinitive; about what just happened]*

Past imperative (impératif passé): Aie fermé la porte - Have the door closed (before...) [conj. Être/Avoir in the imperative present without the pronoun + past participle; only exists in 2nd person singular and 1st/2nd person plural, expresses the anteriority of an action (order, prohibition, recommendation, plea) compared to the one that follows]

Past infinitive (infinitif passé): Avoir fermé la porte est important - Having closed the door is important [present infinitive Être/Avoir + past participle; expresses the anteriority of an action accomplished before the one that follows]

(Past participle (participe passé) [used after an auxiliary in multiple compound tenses, usually to express a past action - see the posts for rules below])

*

Present:

Indicative present (présent de l'indicatif): Elle ferme la porte - She closes the door

Progressive present (présent progressif): Elle est en train de fermer la porte - She is closing the door [conj. Être in the present + en train de + infinitive; about what is in the process of happening]

Present conditional (conditionnel présent): Elle fermerait la porte - She would close the door [expresses politeness, a desire, suggestion, theory]*

Present imperative (impératif présent): Ferme la porte - Close the door [indicative present without the pronoun; only exists in 2nd person singular and 1st/2nd person plural, expresses an order, prohibition, recommendation, plea]

Present infinitive (infinitif présent): Fermer la porte - Close the door [non-conj. verb; used in lists, on signs, after certain prepositions/conjugated verbs, expresses a number of feelings - see the post below]

(Present participle: Elle ferme la porte menant aux chambres - She closes the door leading to the bedrooms [verb + -ant; used to add precisions and usually replaces qui + conj. verb in the present])

*

Future:

Near future (futur proche): Elle va fermer la porte - She is going to close the door [conj. Aller in the present + infinitive; about what is about to happen]

Simple future (futur simple): Elle fermera la porte - She will close the door

Perfect future (futur antérieur): Elle aura fermé la porte - She will have closed the door [conj. Aller in the future + infinitive; about what will have happened]

*NB: To use "If... (then)..." constructions, use imperfect for V.1 and present conditional for V.2 in the present (Si elle mangeait, elle n'aurait pas faim), or pluperfect for V1. and past conditional for V.2 in the past (Si elle avait mangé, elle n'aurait pas eu faim).

*

+ Moods:

Present gerund (gérondif présent): Elle ferme la porte en criant - She closes the door shouting [(conj. verb 1 +) en + verb 2 + -ant; used to describe two simultaneous actions - not to be used with a stative verb such as Être, Sembler, etc.]

Past gerund (gérondif passé): Ayant fermé la porte, elle fut enfermée dehors - Having closed the door, she was locked out [Être/Avoir + -ant + past participle; used to describe the anteriority of an action]

Present subjunctive (subjonctif présent): Il faut qu'elle ferme la porte - She has to close the door [triggered by certain constructions + que; about an uncertain action that hasn't happened atm, that only exists in someone's head.]

Past subjunctive (subjonctif passé): Il fallait qu'elle ait fermé la porte - She had to have closed the door [certain constructions + que + pronoun/noun + conj. Être/Avoir in the present subjunctive + past participle; about an uncertain situation that might have happened]

Imperfect subjunctive (subjonctif imparfait): Il fallait qu'elle fermât la porte - She had to close the door [certain constructions + que + pronoun/noun + conj. verb; RARE literary pres. sub., about an uncertain situation that hadn't happened atm]

Pluperfect subjunctive (subjonctif plus-que-parfait): Il fallait qu'elle eusse fermé la porte - She had to have closed the door [certain constructions + que + pronoun/noun + conj. Être/Avoir in the imperfect subjunctive + past participle; RARE literary past sub., about an uncertain situation that might have happened]

*

More tenses posts: the past participle, past tenses guide, simple VS compound tenses, irregular past participles, infinitive; the simple past, imperfect + perfect, indicative present, simple future, conditionals, imperative, gerund, subjunctives.

[language-learningcorner]

Expressions Related to Body Parts

Stomach/Heart: دل (del)

the word for stomach the organ is: معده (me?deh)

sympathetic- دلسوز (delsooz) 

favorite- دلخواه (delkhāh)

sad- دلگیر (delgeer)

sweetheart- دلبر (delbar) 

I feel pity for…- دلم می سوزد (delam mi soozad) 

I want/desire… - دلم می خواهد (delam mi khāhad) 

I feel sad/blue- دلم می گیرد (delam mi girad) 

She/he steals my heart- او دلم را می برد (oo delam rā mi barad)

Liver: خگر (jegar)

a beloved child- جگر گوشه  (jegar goosheh) 

heartbreaking- جگر سوز (jegar sooz)

cutie/hottie-  جگر طلا(jegar talā)

you are a cutie- جگر را به خورم (jegar rā bokhoram)

Back: پشت (posht) 

to turn your back (on someone)- (پشت کردن (یه(posht bardan (beh)) 

to backstab (someone)-  پشت پازدن (poshteh pāzdan 

to be someone’s rock- پشت و پناه بودن (posht o panāh boodan) 

I was devastated- پشتم شکست (poshtam shekast) 

Source

[heliophobique]

🇮🇷📚 Farsi Book Vocabulary 🇮🇷📚

book = کتاب (ketâb) book (archaic) = نامه (nâme) books = کتب‏ (kotob) / کتاب‌ها‏ (ketâbhâ) binding = جلد (jeld) - also means skin / hide notebook = دفتر‏ (daftar) page = رویه (rûya) scroll = کراسه‏‎ (karâse) ink = جوهر (jowhar) writing = نوشته (neveshte) text = متن (matn) chapter = فصل‏‎ (fasl) / فرگرد‏‎ (fargard) picture = تصویر (tasvîr) photograph = عکس‏ (’aks)

story = داستان‏‎ (dâstân)  myth = افسانه (afsâne) adventure = سرگذشت (sargozasht) fantasy = فانتزی (fântezi) famous = نامدار (nâmdâr) ancient = باستانی (bâstâni) poem = شعر‏‎  (she'r) poem (archaic) = چامه‏ (châme) autobiography = حسب‌حال‏‎ (hasb-e-hâl) memoir = شرح حال (sharh-e-hâl) newspaper = روزنامه‏‎ (rûznâme) epic = رزمنامه (razmnâme) diary = دفتر خاطرات روزانه‏ (daftar-e-khâterât-e-rûzâne)

library = کتابخانه‏‎ (ketâbkhâne) librarian = کتابدار‏‎ (ketâbdâr) booksellers = کتاب فروش (ketâb-forûsh) author = پدیدآورنده‏‎ (padîd-âvarande) / نویسنده  (nevisande) reader = خواننده‏ (khwânande) publisher =ناشر (nâsher) editor = ویرایشگر‏‎ (virâyeshgar)

to read = خواندن‏‎, -خوان (khwândan, khwân-)     to write = نوشتن‏‎, -نویس‏ (neveshtan, nevîs-) to publish = کن- ,منتشر کردن (montasher kardan, kon-)     to edit = کن- ,ویرایش کردن‏ (virâyesh kardan, kon-) to recount = کن- ,حکایت کردن (hekâyat kardan, kon-) to imagine = کن- ,تصور کردن (tasavvor kardan, kon-)

italics show present stem of verbs

[heliophobique]

🇮🇷 Persian Empire Vocabulary 🇮🇷

Persian Empire =  شاهنشاهی ایران (shâhenshâhi-ye-irân)

Achaemenid Empire (550-330 BC) = شاهنشاهی هخامنشی (shâhenshâhi-ye-hakhâmaneshi) Cyrus the Great = کوروش بزرگ (korûsh-e-bozorg) Alexander the Great = اسکندر مقدونی‏‎ (eskander-e-maqedûni) 

Sassanian Empire (224-651) = شاهنشاهی ساسانی (shâhenshâhi-ye-sâsâni) Conquest of Persia = حملهٔ اعراب به ایران (hamle-ye-a’râb be irân)

Safavid Empire (1501-1736) =  شاهنشاهی صفوی (shâhenshâhi-ye-safavi)

Afsharid Empire = (1736-1796) = شاهنشاهی افشاریان (shâhenshâhi-ye-afshâriyân)

Qajar Empire = (1785-1925) = شاهنشاهی قاجاریان (shâhenshâhi-ye-qâjâriyân)

Pahlavi Empire = (1925-1979) = شاهنشاهی دودمان پهلوی (shâhenshâhi-ye-dûdmân-e-pahlavi)

empire = شاهنشاهی (shâhenshâhi)  monarchy = پادشاهی‎ (pâdeshâhi)  dynasty = دودمان (dûdmân),  سلسله (selsele) emperor = شاه (shâh) empress = شهبانو (shahbânu) ruler = حاکم (hâkem) heir = وارث (vâres) prince = شاهزاده (shâhzâde) princess =  شاهدخت‏‎ (shâhdokht) royal family = خانواده سلطنتی (khânevâd-e-saltani) title = لقب (laqab) crown = تاج (tâj) Sun Throne = تخت خورشید (takht-e-khurshîd) coronation = تاجگذاری (tâjgozâri) palace = کاخ (kâkh) fort = دژ‏‎  (dezh)

human rights = حقوق بشر‏‎ (hoqûq-e-bashar) corruption = فساد  (fasâd) oppression = ستم (sitam) invasion =  تهاجم (tahâjom) deposition = عزل (’azal) abdication, resignation = استعفا (este’fâ) exile = تبعید (tab’îd) war = ‏جنگ‏‎ (jang) civil war = ‏جنگ داخلی‏‎ (jang-e-dâkheli) (political) party = حزب (hezb) revolution = انقلاب (enqelâb) freedom = آزادی‏ (âzâdi)

Mohamed Reza and Farah (née Diba) Pahlavi, the last Shâh and Shahbânu of Iran

[language-learningcorner]

Education- Persian

Exam- امتحان (emtehān)

Nationwide final exam- امتحان نهایی(emtehāneh nahāyee) 

Pre-school- پیش دبستانی (peesh dabestāni)

Primary school- دبستان (dabestān)

Middle school- راهنمایی (rāhnamāee) 

High school- دبیرستان (dabeerestān)

University-  دانشگاه (dāneshgāh)

Education- تحصلیات (tahseelāt)

High/middle school teacher- دبیر (dabeer)

Teacher- معلم (mo?alem)

Professor- استاد (ostād) 

High school diploma-  دیپلم (deeplom)

Associates- کاردانی- فوق دیپلم (kārdāni/ fogheh deeplom)

Bachelor’s- کارشاسی - لیسانس (kārshenāsee/ leesāns) 

Master’s- کارشاسی ارشد - فوق لیسانس (kārshenāsiye arshad/ fogheh leesāns)

University entrance exam- کنکور (konkoor) 

Degree- مدرک (madrak)

Level- مقطع (maghta?)

Vocational school-هنرستان (honarestān) 

Dormitory- خوابگاه (khābgāh) 

Term- ترم (term)

Library- کتابخانه (ketābkhaneh)

Year- سال (sāl) 

Homework- تکلیف (takleef)

Classroom-  کلاس (kelās)

Plan/program/schedule- برنامه (barnāmeh)

Class Items 

Board- تخته (takhteh)

Pen- خودکار (khodkār)

Door- در (dar)

Notebook- دفتر (daftar)

Chair- صندلی (sandali) 

Book- کتاب (ketāb)

Bag- کیف (keef)

Chalk- گچ (gach)

Pencil- مداد (medād)

Table/desk- میز (meez) 

Fields of Study 

Academic field- رشته (reshteh)

Literature- ادبیات (adabiāt)

English- انگلیسی (engleesee)

History- تاریخ  (tārikh)

Sociology- جامعه شناسی (jāme?eh shenāsi) 

Geography- جغرافی (joghrāfi)

Psychology- روان شناسی (ravān shenāsi)

Math- ریاضی (reeāzi)

Biology- زیست شناسی (zeest shenāsi) 

Chemistry- شیمی (sheemi)

Persian- فارسی (fārsi)

Physics- فیزیک (feezeek)

Arts- هنر (honar) 

Source

[language-learningcorner]

Food and Restaurant Vocabulary- Persian

Restaurant- رستوران (restorān)

Server- گارسن (gārson)

Plate- بشقاب (boshghāb)

Fork-چنگال  (changāl)

Tablecloth (for the floor)- سفره (sofareh)

Spoon- گاشق (ghāshogh)

Cup/glass- لیوان (leevān)

Rice- پلو (polo)

Drink- نوشیدنی (noosheedani) 

Vegetarian- گیاه خوار (giāh khavār)

Bill- صورتحساب(soorathesāb)

Food- غذا (ghazā)

Tea- چای (chāyi)

Per portion- پرسی (porsee) 

Coffee- قهوه (ghahveh)

To want…- میل داشتن (meil dāshtan)

To bring…- آوردن- آور (āvardan- āvar)

Vegetables- سبزیجات (sabzijāt)

Eggplant- بدمجان  (bādemjān)

Onion-پایز  (paeez)

Radish- تربچه  (torobcheh)

Potato- سیب زمینی (seeb zamini) 

Garlic-  سیر (seer)

Lettuce- کاهو (kāhoo)

Tomato- گوجه فرنگی (goojeh farangi) 

Carrot- هویج (haveej)

Bread- نان (nān)

Fruit- میوه (meeveh)

Pomegranate- انار  (anār)

Orange- پرتقال (porteghāl)  

Pistachio- پسته (pesteh)

Apple- سیب (seeb)

Walnut- گردو (gerdoo)

Pear- گلابی (golābi)

Banana- مزه (mozeh)

Watermelon- هندوهنه (hendevāneh)

Dairy- لبانیات (labaniāt)

Cheese- پنیر (paneer)

Milk- شیر (sheer)

Butter- کره  (karreh)

Yogurt- ماست (māst) 

Meat- گوشت (goosht)

Baby chicken- جوجه (joojeh)

Lamb- بره (barreh)

Fish- ماهی (māhi)

Beef- گاو (gāv)

Mutton- گوسفند (goosfand)

Chicken- مرغ(morgh) 

Taste- مزه (mazeh)

Tastes bad- بد مزه (bad mazeh) 

Delicious- خوش مزه (khosh mazeh)

Sour- ترش ( torsh)

Hot/spicy- تند  (tond)

Salty- شور (shoor)

Sweet- شیرین (shirin) 

Dessert- دسر (desser)  

Ice cream- بستنی (bastani)

Halva- حلوا (halvā)

Faloodeh- فالوده  (fāloodeh)

Pastry- شیرین (shirini)

Sugar- شکر (shekar)

Sugar cube- قند (ghand) 

Source

[pompadourpink]

How to pronounce Plus

Plus can have three possible pronunciations:

\ply\ "plu"

In "ne... plus" (Not anymore): Je ne t'aime plus - I don't love you anymore (unless there's a liaison)

In a superlative construction: Je suis la plus drôle - I am the funniest

In a comparative construction, before a consonant: Ton grand frère est plus grand que moi - Your older brother is taller than me

*

\plys\ "plusse"

When followed by De (More of): Il y a plus de chats que de chiens à Paris - There are more cats than dogs in Paris

When followed by Plus que (More than): Je dors plus que d'habitude en ce moment - I sleep more than usual these days

When it's the last word of the sentence: Allez, à plus! - Alright, see you later!

In certain expressions: Plus que, De plus, Sans plus, En plus...

In maths: Trois plus deux - Three plus two

*

\plyz\ "pluz"

When followed by a mute H: Je suis plus heureuse aujourd'hui - I am happier today

When there's a liaison (i.e. when followed by a vowel): Il est encore plus aimable que je ne pensais - He's even nicer than I thought

[nevermindrussia]

Good = big = ...

After some break today is one more "word of the day"s. As in "Red = beautiful", it's about one curious words with an unusual meanings set.

This is the добрый [dobryi] adjective.

Remember of добрый молодец in the post mentioned above? It was translated as "a handsome lad". Though the basic modern meaning of добрый is "kind, good, nice, gentle". For ex., добрый волшебник [dobryi volshebnik] - "a good wizard", будьте так добры [bud'te tak dobry] - "would you be so kind".

So is добрый молодец just "a good young male person"? Maybe yes. But this is definitely not that "good" which is "kind, nice and gentle". In old Russia, as in other countries in medieval and pre-medieval age, a man or a lad was not welcome to be all peaceful and gentle. So the "good" here is more likely "good in all respects, which are appreciated". And what was a lad appreciated for? Strength of course. Wit and intellect, maybe. And of course (especially speaking ot the "красна девица - добрый молодец" pair, representing a nice good-looking couple), handsomeness. So all of this together may give us some definition of добрый in this idiom.

But that's not all!

There are lot of other idioms, containing this word, and the meanings of it are sometimes surprising.

For example,

добрая половина [dobraya polovina] - "a bigger part"

Literally, it is "a good half". What's "good" about it? The fact it's big. And we may refer here to добрый молодец again to see the important factor of strength. Big = strong, that's clear. And strong = good. So we speak of добрый even when not meaning some material object if large size. And maybe not meaning any good at all!

Добрая половина студентов прогуляла лекцию - "Most of students skipped the lecture".

В этой фирме добрая половина руководства - идиоты - "This company has a management consisting of idiots for more than a half".

By the way, why half, not just part? A half is a half, 1/2, it cannot be bigger or smaller than other half.

But here we have a nuance. This idiom means exactly that bigger part, which is close to a half. About 55 or 60%, for example. And, even more otfen - some part, of which we don't know, is it bigger and if yes, then for what percentage, but suppose it is for some. As in above: nobody did a calculation of how much idiots sits in a company's management; but according to management decisions we make an assumption there are idiots (and not idiots also, but idiots are more in the number).

Also, the word describing something big, but not good, is

раздобреть [razdobret'] - "to become big"

In old Russia, where large body was considered an indicator of health and beauty not for men only, but also for ladies (for ex., we politely say полный [polnyi] instead of толстый [tolstyi] - "fat", and this word also have a meaning "full, complete") it meant, of course, "getting good". But today it's just an ironical description of getting fat.

Как ты раздобрел-то на домашних харчах! - "You've become so big while consuming homemade food!"

But enough of it. Let's speak in conclusion of something really good. that would be one of meanings of добро [dobro] - a noun what добрый adjective is descending from.

Добра наживать [dobra nazhivat'] - "to increase wealth"

That's a popular phrase for finishing Russian fairytales, speaking of the main characters having a happy wedding and starting a peaceful wealthy life: И стали они жить-поживать и добра наживать.

Here добро (literally "good") means some material property, which was a main part of old Russian's wealth: not money basically, but pottery and utencils, decorations, clothes, food supplies, cattle, and so on. It has much in common to English "goods". Except in English goods is mostly something for sale, but Russian добро is some personal belongings, which could be inherited or earned/collected by a person or a family.

Earning/collecting is the meaning of наживать (perfect нажить [nazhit']). This verb descends from жить [zhit'] - "to live", and i think it's a kinda beautiful meaning - "to get something not by a chance or an extreme achievement, but in process of calm living, of everyday labour and keeping your household growing".

Be wealthy, beautiful and strong! See you later in my Russian culture/language blog!

[acheronspride-deactivated202205]

Introduction to... Ukrainian!

Hello hello! Learning Ukrainian? Amazing! Here are some resources to get you started!

**There is also a phrasebook for refugees section at the bottom, definitely check that out if you need it! If you need other languages that do not have phrasebook, check out my other "Introduction to..." posts for those

Here is my masterpost of language blogs

I do not speak Ukrainian, so I cannot vouch for accuracy. I also do not guarantee this is the best post of all time, it is definitely not. I am just attempting to put together some resources for you to use :)! Feel free (and encouraged!) to add your own resources, recommend yourself, translate this post, etc!

-

What is Ukrainian?

Want to get started on some history and learn about the language itself? These resources should help you out! (Do some exploring on these places!)

Omniglot (Check the links at the bottom of the article for a lot more!)

Wikipedia

Languages of the World Post by gwendolynlerman

Autolingual

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Where can I start?

Well, I am glad you asked! These apps and websites all offer Ukrainian

Duolingo

Memrise

BABADADA

Mango Languages

Babadum

Loecsen

101Languages

Goethe Verlang

Mondly

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Blogs to Follow

@study-ukrainian (This is my Ukrainian sideblog)

Okay, this one is a little bit hard and I am not learning Ukrainian to know anyone directly, so... Please say if you are a Ukrainian langblr! I will add you to the list as I see you, or you can just check the notes :D!

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Youtubers

Speak Ukrainian

21 Languages

PolyglotPablo

UkrainianLanguage

OlgaReznikova (a. b.)

Let's Learn Ukrainian

Easylanguages

LanguageFluent

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Podcasts

These are all on Spotify

Ukrainian Lessons Podcast - Anna Ohoiko

5 Minute Ukrainian - Anna Ohoiko

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Phrasebooks/Posts for refugees (Please do let me know if you want your post added)

Big Phrasebook for Refugees (by @tealingual they have lots of other good lists as well!) - Contains Polish, Romanian, Hungarian, Slovak, German, and Bulgarian.

Italian (by @sayitaliano they also have a lot of other lists!)

Russian (Not yet created, but by @haxyr3 they also have many good lists that may help you!)

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[pompadourpink]

Pretty words

Here’s a little list of cute or silly words that you might have never heard before and would probably have some trouble to pronounce!

Ratiboiser, v : swindling someone (fam), buzzing one’s hair

Confiscation, n.f. : confiscation

Ineptie, n.f. : nonsense (posh)

Mirobolant-e, adj : fantastic

Saperlipopette : golly (old)

Hurluberlu, n.m. : crank, weirdo

Pécho, v : hooking up (fam), ex: Je l’ai pécho mardi dernier! I hooked up with him/her last tuesday! NB : a) sg only, A pécho B, they don’t pécho eachother ; + b) unvariable 

Balivernes!, n/e.f. : nonsense (old)

Goûtu-e, adj : tasty (posh)

Coi-te, a : stunned (rare) - pronounced Quoi

Ébaubi-e, adj : flabbergasted

Tohu-bohu, n.m. : confusion, commotion

Balourd-e, n : clumsy, rough (fam; annoyed)

Dégoter, v : getting, finding (fam)

Se coltiner, v : getting stuck with, ex: And now I have to me coltiner my little sister tonight because my parents decided to go to the cinema!

Tout azimut, e/a : everywhere, all around

Prendre la poudre d’escampette : running away

Subodorer, v : detecting, sensing

Concupiscent-e, adj : lecherous

Zinzin, a : weird, loony (nice loony, not joker loony)

Procrastiner, v : procrastine

Flagornerie, n.f. : toadying, butt-kissing

Et rebelote : same thing again, one more time

Bavarder, v : chatting

Chouette! : nice! great!

Brindille, n.f. : twig

Pouf, n.m. : ottoman seat

Vachement, adv : a lot (”cowly”)(fam) your car is vachement fast!

Chou, adj : cute (”cabbage”, don’t ask)

Peton, n.m. : foot (kiddish)

Minou, n.m. : kitty, puss (kiddish)

Nounours, n.m. : teddy bear (ours : bear)

Confiture, n.f. : jam

Margoulin, n.m. : swindler, incompetent

Moufle, n.f. : mitten

Coquecigrue, n.f. : absurdity (Pigwidgeon‘s french name)

Pâtisserie, n.f. : pastry

Tapisserie, n.f. : wallpaper, tapestry

[pompadourpink]

Antiquity related expressions

Se croire sorti-e de la cuisse de Jupiter “to believe that one was born out of Jupiter’s thigh” (Dionysos’ reference) : being Henry Winter pretentious

Être d’un calme olympien : being very calm, stoic

Être dans les bras de Morphée : being in morpheus’ arms, asleep

être médusé-e : being stunned

Avoir des yeux de lynx (Lynceus’ reference) : having a piercing look

Se reposer sur ses lauriers “to rest on one’s laurels” : to use acquired skills to keep going without trying to work harder

Agir comme une furie “to act like a fury/erinys” : to be enraged

Toucher le pactole (King Midas’ reference) : to earn a lot of money

Être riche comme Crésus : being very rich

Être un apollon : being a handsome man

Prendre le taureau par les cornes “taking the bull by the horns”

S’attirer les foudres de x “to attract x’s lightings” : to anger someone

Une tour de Babel : a chaotic meeting where people argue

La boîte de Pandore : the source of troubles

Le tonneau des Danaïdes : an endless task

Un travail de Titan “a Titan’s job” : a very hard task

Tomber de Charybde en Scylla “to fall from charybdis in scylla” : getting out of a bad situation to end up in a even worse one 

La perfide Albion : England

Le talon d’Achille “Achileus’ heel” : someone’s weakness

Une épée de Damoclès : a threatening, impending danger

Une pomme de discorde : the subject of an argument

Un rire homérique : a very loud laugh

Le fil d’Ariane “Ariadne’s thread” : way to move forward in a difficult situation + perdre le fil “to lose the thread” : to lose track in a conversation/story telling

Un Adonis : a very pretty young man

Une égérie (nymph) : a female muse, inspiration, adviser…