# Russian swear word? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 25, 2008, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-swear-word/461214 "2008-08-25T17:20:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2008, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-swear-word/461214/1 "2008-08-25T17:20:28Z")
From the NY Times > [@](#): > > He swore, uttering the single, unprintable syllable that is the most foul word in the Russian language Of course a line like that just makes me curious. What is it? ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2008, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-swear-word/461214/2 "2008-08-25T17:32:01Z")
Is it, “I seem to be having this tremendous difficulty with my lifestyle?” ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2008, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-swear-word/461214/3 "2008-08-25T17:47:55Z")
Probably something that means “We are out of Vodka” ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2008, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-swear-word/461214/4 "2008-08-25T18:09:49Z")
[Actually he was parking a tank.](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/23/world/europe/23georgia.html) or trying to anyway. > [@](#): > > His source of frustration: his T-62 main battle tank, of a sort that first came into service in the Soviet Union in the 1960s, would not turn to the left. > > And because it was wedged against brush and trees on the right shoulder of the road in front of the concrete blocks that mark the new internal boundaries of Georgia, its locked steering meant that it was effectively stuck. > > “It’s time to blow it up and throw it away,” a soldier standing nearby said. I kind of like that other soldier’s idea. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2008, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-swear-word/461214/5 "2008-08-25T18:12:59Z")
Until we can get someone in here who knows the straightforward answer, I can only recommend that you do some reason on [Russian mat](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_mat) and pick your favorite root there. I guess mine is _khuy_, since its English equivalent is my very favorite English word (so universal–so versatile–a noun, a verb, an adjective–also an infix. Love it!) ---
**Author:** ![Simmerdown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simmerdown/32/14859_2.png) [@Simmerdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simmerdown)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2008, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-swear-word/461214/6 "2008-08-25T19:12:53Z")
Then there is _blyad_ (whore), but that is probably the most common foul word, not the most foul. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2008, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-swear-word/461214/7 "2008-08-25T19:15:35Z")
The only foul Russian word I know is _dermo_. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2008, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-swear-word/461214/8 "2008-08-25T19:19:08Z")
Don’t forget “gavno” which means “shit.” ---
**Author:** ![ok11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8baadc/32.png) [@ok11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ok11)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2008, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-swear-word/461214/9 "2008-08-25T19:24:09Z")
I think **Sattua** and **Simmerdown** got it right. Khuy (хуй ) is probably “the most foul word in the Russian language.” However, I don’t think that’s what the guy said. People use хуй as part of a longer expression or scribble it as graffiti, but in my experience they rarely mutter that word all by itself. Someone who’s frustrated is more likely to use the word [блядь](http://www.alternative-dictionaries.net/dictionary/Russian/entry/%D0%B1%D0%BB%D1%8F%D0%B4%D1%8C). Besides its literal meaning, it can be used instead of “damn” or “well”. The NY Times article mentions another guy who “swear[s] for punctuation,” and блядь is often used for that too. Another possibility is that he said, “[ёб [твою мать]](http://www.alternative-dictionaries.net/dictionary/Russian/entry/%D1%91%D0%B1%20%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%BE%D1%8E%20%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%8C),” but that seems unlikely (he probably wouldn’t say only ёб ). “Der’mo” and “gavno” are two syllables, so they wouldn’t qualify. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2008, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-swear-word/461214/10 "2008-08-25T19:28:12Z")
I call bullshit on the NYT article. There is no single syllable word or sound that is the most foul in the Russian language. Russians can happily swear all day, using 272 syllables to cuss you up and down and end to end. Why just use one syllable? Now, Russian does have an emphatic particle, “zhe” they can add pretty much anywhere they want. The sound itself doesn’t mean much, but it could be the difference between “fuck your mother” or “really fuck your mother.” ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2008, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-swear-word/461214/11 "2008-08-25T23:50:23Z")
I know a few Russian swear words from playing against Russian guys in my hockey league. Since I don’t know how to spell them in Cyrillic, I’ll do my best. Pider. (PEE-dehr). I think it means “homo.” Definitely addressed to someone and not an exclamation. Bleearch. Usually pronounced as one syllable. No idea what it means, but this one seems more like “shit!” - not addressed to anyone. Mudak (moo-DAK). Not sure what that one means either, but it’s directed at another person. ---
**Author:** ![ok11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8baadc/32.png) [@ok11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ok11)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2008, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-swear-word/461214/12 "2008-08-26T01:55:48Z")
[QUOTE=Morbo] Bleearch. Usually pronounced as one syllable. No idea what it means, but this one seems more like “shit!” - not addressed to anyone. [/QUOTE] I think you’re mishearing the word блядь (bljad’) mentioned above. [QUOTE=Morbo] Mudak (moo-DAK). Not sure what that one means either, but it’s directed at another person. [/QUOTE] [The Alternative Russian Dictionary](http://www.alternative-dictionaries.net/dictionary/Russian/1.html) > [@](#): > > mudack ~ mudack (masc. noun) † dumbass,full note is spelled like “moo-duck” , commonly used like “muthafucka” EX: “Poslushay ty, mudack” - “Listen you, muthafucka”. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2008, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-swear-word/461214/13 "2008-08-26T02:03:01Z")
I lived in Russia for a couple of years, including studying at Moscow State for two semesters and I have no idea what the NYT reporter is talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2008, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-swear-word/461214/14 "2008-08-26T04:40:41Z")
it’s definately blyad. altho i have to say that being a native russian speaker but having never seen the word in print, I have always thought it was a t at the end not a d. wow. in any case, the word isn’t pronounced anything like it might look like transliterated into english. for example it ends in a ‘soft-sign’ which transforms an otherwise English-like consonant into something a bit unique (and, well, soft). it rolls off your tongue much smoother than one might think. ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2008, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-swear-word/461214/15 "2008-08-26T04:44:31Z")
Anyway, to expand on the topic of Russian curse-words: They’re really cool. There’s about three roots (which essentially mean penis, vagina, and sex) that are transformed into dozens of various, often beautifully specific, words through the magic of suffixes, prefixes, and general root-modification. bljat’, however, isn’t one such root. It’s just a stand-alone interjection, but it serves a role that the other words rarely do. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2008, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-swear-word/461214/16 "2008-08-26T04:52:09Z")
Yob? I grew up hearing my father say “Yob tvoyu mat” (fucked your mother) when he was really pissed.