Russian Idioms
A curated set of 26 idioms in Russian — literal translations, real meanings, and where each one comes from.
- Не вешай лапшу на уши — Don't lie to me; stop trying to deceive me. Literally: Don't hang noodles on my ears.
- Когда рак на горе свистнет — When pigs fly; never. Literally: When a crayfish whistles on the mountain.
- Медвежья услуга — Help that actually makes things worse. Literally: A bear's service.
- Тянуть кота за хвост — To procrastinate; to drag something out. Literally: To pull the cat by the tail.
- Делать из мухи слона — To blow things way out of proportion. Literally: To make an elephant out of a fly.
- душа нараспашку — Extremely open, trusting, or emotionally vulnerable with others. Literally: soul wide open.
- работать спустя рукава — To work carelessly, half-heartedly, without proper effort or attention. Literally: work with sleeves rolled down.
- заморить червячка — To have a light snack or small meal to satisfy hunger temporarily. Literally: starve the worm.
- медведь на ухо наступил — To lack musical ability or have poor sense of pitch and rhythm. Literally: a bear stepped on one's ear.
- пускать пыль в глаза — To deceive or mislead someone, creating false impressions through trickery. Literally: throw dust in eyes.
- Ни пуха ни пера — Good luck — to which the ritual reply is 'To the devil!'. Literally: Neither fluff nor feather.
- Ехать зайцем — To ride a train or bus without paying. Literally: To ride as a hare.
- После дождичка в четверг — Never — or certainly no time soon. Literally: After the little rain on Thursday.
- Кот наплакал — A laughably tiny amount. Literally: As much as the cat wept.
- Зарубить на носу — To remember something firmly, once and for all. Literally: To notch it on your nose.
- Водить за нос — To deceive or string someone along. Literally: To lead by the nose.
- Бить баклуши — To loaf about doing nothing. Literally: To beat the baklushi.
- Остаться с носом — To be left empty-handed or outwitted. Literally: To be left with the nose.
- Как сельдь в бочке — Packed together very tightly. Literally: Like herrings in a barrel.
- Делать ноги — To run away quickly. Literally: To make legs.
- Заговаривать зубы — To distract someone with smooth, evasive talk. Literally: To talk someone's teeth away.
- Вешать всех собак — To blame someone for everything. Literally: To hang all the dogs on someone.
- Седьмая вода на киселе — A very distant relative. Literally: The seventh water on the kissel.
- Положить зубы на полку — To go hungry; to tighten your belt. Literally: To put your teeth on the shelf.
- Считать ворон — To idle and let chances slip by. Literally: To count crows.
- Гол как сокол — Dirt poor; without a thing to your name. Literally: Bare as a falcon.
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