…but they make up for it with a whole lexicon for which english has no answer. here are a few i’ve come across, translated as best as i can (don’t try and pronounce these without asking your parents’ permission first):
иней – stalactitic snow. it is the russians, not the eskimoes, who have 50 different words for snow. this kind of snow is found at outdoor thermal pools in the middle of the forest – at least that’s where i saw it. it looks like frosted flakes of coconut in the shape of an icicle.
душевный – having a warm soul. there are a lot of words to do with ‘soul’ in russian. for example, they say ‘no soul’s in the room’ rather than ‘nobody’s in the room’. this makes them terribly frustrated with our apparently ‘cold and scientific language’. blah blah blah – tell it to shakespeare.
всухомятку – eating without drinking. this is a kind of crime in
прощай – goodbye forever. the russians like things to be dramatic and this one means you will never ever ever see the other person again. ever.
утопленник – drowned man. this one is pretty sinister – how many drowned men do there have to be before you invent a special word for them? apparently there isn’t an equivalent word for a man who has died of radiation poisoning after going to a sushi bar. at least not yet.
недоперепить – to drink too much but not enough. you know when you’ve had too much alcohol but you don’t actually feel drunk? well, this is the verb for those special occasions. it is probably related to the previous word in some way.
смеркалось – it was getting dark. this one is way out there. you can only use it about the past and it is a complete sentence in itself to which you are not allowed to add anything else. needless to say, i use it every day.
