The word "nu" is super versatile, translates as "well" or "so". It used to be frowned upon by the intelligentsia, at least back when I used to live in Russia. It probably got a bad rep because the carriage drivers and the peasants used to say "N-nu!" to the horses to get them moving. Somehow the word stuck and spread to the dismay of the finely bred.
If someone said something that surprised you, you say, "Nu!"
If someone asked you to do something you already did, you say, "Nu?"
If someone asked you to do something you don't want to do, you say, "Nu..."
If you have no idea what someone asked you, you say, "Nu-u...."
If someone asks you a difficult question, and you want to stall, you say, "Nu...."
If you told someone to do something, and they haven't, you say, "Nu?"
If someone did something naughty or stupid you say, "Nu-u."
If you had asked someone to do something earlier, and don't know if they did, you say, "Nu?" when you see them.
If someone is telling you something and suddenly stops, you say, "Nu."
If someone doesn't want to answer your question, you insist by saying, "Nu?"
As you can see, "nu" is very handy. But you want to wait until your company uses the word to make sure it's okay with them. Also, if they use bad cuss words, "nu" is most likely just fine.
Whenever I said "nu" as a child, my grandma ( moya babushka ) said to me, "Nu govoryat tolko gnu" ("Nu say only the gnu." Gnu is the wildebeest that lives in Africa.)
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govoryat - (they) speak (plural)
toljko - only
gnu - an ugly gray animal a mix of an ox and a horse with a big hump on his nose, my grandma didn't want me to become like
If someone said something that surprised you, you say, "Nu!"
If someone asked you to do something you already did, you say, "Nu?"
If someone asked you to do something you don't want to do, you say, "Nu..."
If you have no idea what someone asked you, you say, "Nu-u...."
If someone asks you a difficult question, and you want to stall, you say, "Nu...."
If you told someone to do something, and they haven't, you say, "Nu?"
If someone did something naughty or stupid you say, "Nu-u."
If you had asked someone to do something earlier, and don't know if they did, you say, "Nu?" when you see them.
If someone is telling you something and suddenly stops, you say, "Nu."
If someone doesn't want to answer your question, you insist by saying, "Nu?"
As you can see, "nu" is very handy. But you want to wait until your company uses the word to make sure it's okay with them. Also, if they use bad cuss words, "nu" is most likely just fine.
Whenever I said "nu" as a child, my grandma ( moya babushka ) said to me, "Nu govoryat tolko gnu" ("Nu say only the gnu." Gnu is the wildebeest that lives in Africa.)
_______________________________
govoryat - (they) speak (plural)
toljko - only
gnu - an ugly gray animal a mix of an ox and a horse with a big hump on his nose, my grandma didn't want me to become like
Hi, I stumbled upon this post completely by accident, googling for 'Nu Russian', without any particular reason :) Really appreciate your thorough write-up on it, as I'm a third year Russian & English student from Croatia and always enjoy learning more about the languages I've chosen; what's more, we in Croatia also have the exact same interjection, and, as in Russia, it's mostly connected with people residing in rural areas (more specifically, the Dalmatian Zagora). However, I don't think it's quite as versatile in Croatian, as, to my knowledge, it's mostly used to emphasize things, i.e. instead of "Look!" or "Look there!", or as a reaction to something surprising.
ReplyDeleteThanks again, and thanks for writing the blog, it seems pretty interesting & informative, I'll be sure to check out the rest of it as soon as I can :)