Thoughts and feelings are two different things, but also one and the same. Analogically speaking, these two things are like the head and tail of a coin. Humans react to events in their respective surrounding with both thoughts and feelings.
Feelings are sensations, and emotions, and they are pretty much different from thoughts, interpretations, beliefs, and convictions. When bad feelings are expressed, the sharp points are dulled, and it is easier to let go of or release the bad feeling.
If humans only express their beliefs about the event in their respective surrounding and not the feelings, the bad feelings will linger and consequently, are often harder to let go of. Whenever a person says, “I feel that…” it means that they are about to express a thought, not a feeling.
Due to the negative impacts of repressing bad feelings, it is fairly important to practice some techniques and make them useful skills. Be at ease whenever you do it so that you can spontaneously express bad feelings in a manner that is respectful and productive.
Expressing Bad in Russia
Every day humans experience a lot of different emotions when reacting to a lot of different things. They can go from being deeply sad to being perfectly happy. Since emotions take a big portion of our life on daily basis, it would be a good idea to learn more about how to express emotions in Russia, particularly the bad ones.
Before we go any further, know that there is some sort of maturity generally attributed to Russian people. It is because life in Russia is closer to basics. Political correctness, primate of the law, habeas corpus, and many others are not very strong concept over there.
The life of Russian people usually has more challenges than the life of the Western European people. And the protective net which does not let you fall to the bottom in West Europe is less present over there.
As a result, you have to learn the basics of what to do with them, otherwise you might end up somewhere not too nice, for example, on the street, get beaten to death, lose all your money, get into the prison or labor camp, et cetera. In this article, I have rounded up tricks to express bad in Russia to help you learn. Check it out!
Be Wise with Choice of Word
For example, “Да нет, наверное,” or “Da net, navernoe”. The literal meaning of the phrase is “Yes, no, maybe.” It is a phrase to say “No, I guess,” Or “Probably not, thanks.” It expresses a certain level of hesitation or doubt that is very Russian.
You may have already said “no”, but then you are still not sure about how much stock you are placing in your words. In the second type of usage, some politeness is added.
In conclusion, “Da net, navernoe,” may indicate that you want something but realizing that you probably should not say “Yes,” like when you are being asked by your Russian friends to hang out the fifth night in a row.
Here are examples of basic expression on negative emotion:
- Результаты экзамена придут завтра и я очень переживаю по этому поводу (Rezul’taty ekzamena pridut zavtra i ya ochen’ perezhivayu po etomu povodu) means the results of the exam are coming out tomorrow and I am really anxious about it.
- Мужчина расстроен так как у него остаётся много работы (Muzhchina rasstroyen tak kak u nego ostayotsya mnogo raboty) means the man is upset as he has a lot of works remaining.
Be Careful with Dirty Expression
When you feel bad, sometimes you opt to include a slang to express how intense it is. However, you need to know your audience first because many Russian people will be offended if you use dirty expressions in a statement. Keep in mind that it is technically illegal to remark dirty expression on Russian streets. If you did it to the wrong person, you might end up in trouble with the law.
For a foreigner, there are plenty of safe alternatives to go about it. You can express your anger or intense sadness with the word “blin” which, oddly, means pancake in Russia. It is a lighter-sounding expression like “damn” and it is fairly acceptable in any scenario.
If you really have the need to get some obscenities off your chest, I suggest you wait until your Russian friend swears first in order to get the green light. Here are examples of dirty expression Russian people used to say yet you need to be careful with:
- When a Russian person is totally exhausted, they might say, Самого хоть в жопу (Samogo khot’ v zhopu) means you can even bang me in my ass.
- In the same situation, for example, after a tiring working day, a Russian person might say, Уебался вусмерть (Uyebalsya vusmert’) means I have bonked myself till death.
Body Languages
Russian people like to stand closer to their interlocutor during a conversation than those in Western countries. However, this is not to say you should stand an inch away from their face. It means that the respectable distance between conversationalists is a bit shorter in Russia.
When you express bad emotions or certain concern, it is fine to do it while standing a bit closer than you normally would to a Russian person. It will make you appear more personable, far from being cold or uninterested.
Also, present your best self even if you are about to express bad emotions by not keeping your hands in the pockets. It is actually something every Russian mother and grandmother told their children and grandchildren growing up. It must be taken seriously in Russia.
Expressing emotions with your hands in your pockets is deemed sloppy. That is why you need to make sure that you keep your hands where they can be seen.
So, that is a brief explanation about tricks to express bad in Russia. While you are at it, also check Russian clothing etiquette and dining etiquette.