Russian · The Basics
Ни фига!
ni figa
nee fee-GAH · /nʲɪ fʲɪˈɡa/
No way! / Nothing at all! / Like hell!
2/5 Bar-safe
coarse but friendly; fine among acquaintances
Literally
"Not a fig"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
"Fig" is the workhorse euphemism for "khuy" — it powers a whole family of softened mat. "Ni figa" means not a damn thing / no way; "do figa" means a ton; "idi na fig" means get lost (mild). Coarse but printable, the register of a mildly annoyed coworker.
Heard in the wild
Ни фига себе, вот это дом!
Holy cow, look at that house!
Where it lands
Russia (universal)
Quick answers
- What does "Ни фига!" mean?
- In Russian, "Ни фига!" means "No way! / Nothing at all! / Like hell!". Literally it's "Not a fig". "Fig" is the workhorse euphemism for "khuy" — it powers a whole family of softened mat. "Ni figa" means not a damn thing / no way; "do figa" means a ton; "idi na fig" means get lost (mild). Coarse but printable, the register of a mildly annoyed coworker.
- Is "Ни фига!" offensive?
- It's on the mild end — 2/5 (Bar-safe) on the Punch-o-Meter. coarse but friendly; fine among acquaintances.
- How do you pronounce "Ни фига!"?
- Say it "nee fee-GAH" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: nʲɪ fʲɪˈɡa.
Related in Russian
Давай! davai dah-VYE Come on! / Let's go! / Alright, bye! Офигеть! ofiget' ah-fee-GYET Wow! / Holy cow! / No way! Иди в баню! idi v banyu ee-DEE v BAH-nyoo Get lost! / Buzz off! (gentle) Остынь! ostyn' ah-STIN Calm down / Chill out Понты ponty pahn-TIH Show-off posturing / all flash, no substance Ничего себе! nichego sebe nee-chee-VO see-BYE Wow! / No way! / Holy cow!
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "No way".
- French Oh la vache ! Holy cow! / Wow! / Whoa!
- German Quatsch! Nonsense! / Rubbish! / No way!
- Greek έλα ρε Come on! / No way! / You're kidding — disbelief, protest, or delight depending on tone.
- Italian Dai! Come on! / Come off it! / Please!
- Japanese マジ Seriously / for real / no joke
- Korean 헐 Whoa / no way / I can't even — the all-purpose stunned noise.
- Polish no co ty! No way! / Come on! / You can't be serious.
- Portuguese Porra nenhuma! Bullshit! / Like hell! / Not a damn thing
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