A2 — elementaryLexical relations and competence

False friends with Russian

Lesson opening

This is the first part of the lesson. The rest, the exercises and the reviews are in the app.

False friends: Serbian words that look Russian

Serbian and Russian are close relatives: both are Slavic languages, and thousands of words match. If you know some Russian, that is a head start; if not, you will still hear plenty of it in Serbia, which has a sizeable Russian-speaking community. But a handful of words sound Russian and mean something quite different. These are false friends, like Spanish embarazada, which looks like “embarrassed” and means “pregnant”. The ear trusts a familiar shape, so these words catch anyone with a little Russian. Here they are, sorted by danger, from truly awkward mix-ups to merely funny ones. Russian words are given in Latin letters, in italics. The anchor traps: ponos, vredan, pozorište, stolica, reč.

Dangerous: mix-ups that make you blush

These turn the meaning indecent or embarrassing. Learn them first.

Examples

Serbian	means	Not the Russian look-alike (→ Serbian for it)
ponos	pride	ponos “diarrhoea” (→ proliv)
trudna	pregnant	trudnaya “difficult” (→ teška)
vrač	sorcerer, folk healer	vrach “doctor” (→ lekar)
vredan	hard-working; valuable	vredny “harmful” (→ štetan)
iskustvo	experience	iskusstvo “art” (→ umetnost)

Comic: funny, but harmless

These won't get you into trouble, but they will make your listener laugh.

Cheat sheet

The cheat sheet — everything essential from the lesson on one page. In the app it opens at any time.

False friends: Serbian words that look Russian

Words that sound like Russian but mean something else, sorted by danger. Russian words in Latin letters, in italics.

Costly: the meaning turns awkward

Examples

Serbian	Means	Not the Russian (→ Serbian for it)
ponos	pride	ponos “diarrhoea” (→ proliv, dijareja)
trudna	pregnant	trudnaya “difficult” (→ teška)
vrač	sorcerer, folk healer	vrach “doctor” (→ lekar)
vredan	hard-working; valuable	vredny “harmful” (→ štetan)
iskustvo	experience	iskusstvo “art” (→ umetnost)

Ona je vredna žena. She is a hard-working woman.

Moja sestra je trudna. My sister is pregnant.

Comic: a laugh, no harm

Examples

Serbian	Means	Not the Russian (→ Serbian for it)
pozorište	theatre	pozorishche “disgraceful spectacle”
stolica	chair	stolitsa “capital city” (→ prestonica)
život	life	zhivot “belly” (→ stomak)
majka	mother	mayka “vest, T-shirt” (→ majica)
banja	spa, spa resort	banya “steam bath” (steam room: sauna)
pečenje	roast meat	pechenye “biscuits” (→ keks)
jagoda	strawberry	yagoda “berry” (→ bobica)
obraz	cheek; honour	obraz “image” (→ slika)

Idemo večeras u pozorište. We're going to the theatre tonight.

Za slavu pečemo pečenje. We roast meat for our slava.

Word, letter, speech

Examples

Serbian	Means	Not the Russian (→ Serbian for it)
reč	word	rech “speech” (→ govor)
slovo	letter (of the alphabet)	slovo “word” (→ reč)

Reč po reč “one word led to another”; veliko slovo “capital letter”.

Napiši svoje ime velikim slovom. Write your name with a capital letter.

Subtle shifts: close, but not the same

Examples

Serbian	Means	Not the Russian (→ Serbian for it)
bistro	clear, limpid: bistra voda, bistar um	bystro “fast” (→ brzo)
ljubiti	to kiss; poljubac a kiss	lyubit “to love” (→ voleti); but ljubav is “love”
olovo	lead (metal); olovka pencil	olovo “tin” (→ kalaj)
čas	class, lesson; moment (za čas)	chas “hour” (→ sat; officially u 10 časova)
grad	both city and hail	Idem u grad “I'm going into town”, pada grad “it's hailing”

Met in earlier lessons

Examples

Serbian	Means	Not the Russian
sutra	tomorrow	s utra “in the morning”
nego	than (in comparisons)	nego “him”
pravo	straight ahead	napravo “to the right”
plata	salary	plata “a fee”
vreme	weather and time	vremya “time” only
šuma	forest	shum “noise”
voće	fruit	ovoshchi “vegetables” (→ povrće)