Russian · The Basics
Чёрт!
chyort
CHORT · /t͡ɕɵrt/
Damn! / Hell!
1/5 Grandma-safe
mild, playful; fine on daytime TV
Literally
"Devil"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
The polite, faintly old-fashioned cousin of "blin" — invoking the devil rather than a body part. Completely safe in any company; the worst you'll get is a raised eyebrow from the genuinely devout. Stack it for emphasis: "chyort, chyort, chyort."
Heard in the wild
Чёрт, опять дождь!
Damn, raining again!
Where it lands
Russia and Russian-speaking world (universal)
Quick answers
- What does "Чёрт!" mean?
- In Russian, "Чёрт!" means "Damn! / Hell!". Literally it's "Devil". The polite, faintly old-fashioned cousin of "blin" — invoking the devil rather than a body part. Completely safe in any company; the worst you'll get is a raised eyebrow from the genuinely devout. Stack it for emphasis: "chyort, chyort, chyort."
- Is "Чёрт!" offensive?
- It's on the mild end — 1/5 (Grandma-safe) on the Punch-o-Meter. mild, playful; fine on daytime TV.
- How do you pronounce "Чёрт!"?
- Say it "CHORT" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: t͡ɕɵrt.
Related in Russian
Блин! blin BLEEN Damn! / Darn! / Shoot! Чёрт возьми! chyort voz'mi CHORT vahz-MEE Damn it! / For God's sake! Зараза! zaraza zah-RAH-zah You pest! / Damn you! (affectionate-rough) Ё-моё! yo-moyo YO mah-YO Oh boy! / Geez! / Good grief! Ёлки-палки! yolki-palki YOL-kee PAHL-kee Good grief! / For heaven's sake! Офигеть! ofiget' ah-fee-GYET Wow! / Holy cow! / No way!
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "Damn".
- French Putain ! Damn! / F***! / The all-purpose intensifier — punctuation, really
- German Scheiße! Shit! / Damn! — the all-purpose German expletive
- Greek γαμώτο Damn it! / Dammit!
- Italian Cazzo! Fuck! / Damn! / The all-purpose Italian curse.
- Japanese くそ Damn! / Crap! / Shit!
- Korean 씨발 Fuck / fucking hell — the load-bearing Korean curse.
- Polish kurwa Fuck / damn / shit — the load-bearing word of Polish, and its most common comma.
- Portuguese Porra! Damn! / Fuck! — but mostly used as pure punctuation
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