Russian Drinking Verbs Page Content Page Name (for URL) Page Title Breadcrumb Text While we were in Russia, Luisa took the opportunity to learn more Russian. At one point, I figured that she had learned enough verbs that it would be useful to explain the "system" behind them - Russian has a rich system of prefixes, which can be used to form numerous verbs from each verbal root, a bit like the English phrasal verbs (like "run off" or "write up") but more extensive. I showed her the basic prefixes, explained their common meanings, and the showed how some specific verbal roots can be combined with them. Of the three examples I gave, somehow the variations on the verb to "drink" have become most memorable. Below are some of the Russian verbs that can be formed from the root "пить" (*pit'*, to drink). Note that "-ся" ('-sya') suffix is reflexive (like English "... yourself") and "-ва-" ('-va') suffix signifies habitual or continuous action. (All the verbs below have a habitual or continous form, but I am only including those for which the habitual form has a specific meaning). * пить (pit') - to drink * распить (paspit') - to get started on a bottle * рас- (*ras-*) generally signifies opening or distribution * допить (dopit') - to finish drinking (e.g., to finish the bottle) * до- (*do-*) generally signifies finishing or reaching some specific place or result result * недопить (nedopit') - to drink insufficiently (lit. "to underdrink") * недо- (*nedo-*) generally means failing to reach a result * перепить (perepit') - to drink to much _or_ to drink more than others (lit. "to overdrink" or "to outdrink") * пере- (*pere-*) generally means crossing a limit or a barrier * выпить (vypit') - to get a drink or to have drunk * вы- (*vy-*) generally means outward movement or emptying * выпивать (vypivat'sya) - to get drunk habitually * -ва- (*-va-*) suffix signifies habituality * попить (popit') - to drink a little bit (not alcohol) * по- (*po-*) usually means "a little bit" or "along" * попивать (popivat') - to drink a little habitually (or to sip) * напиться (napit'sya) - to get drunk or to have quenched thirst * на- (*na-*) generally suggests filling a container * упиться (upit'sya) - to get totally wasted * у- (*u-*) generally refers to movement away, so this is more like "drink yourself away", i.e., to a point where you are "gone" * запить (zapit') - to wash something down with a drink _or_ to go into a drinking binge (lit. "to drink in") * за- (*za-*) generally means "behind" or "into closed space" (this might refer to the fact that binge drinking usually implies disappering behind closed doors for a long time) * допиться (dopit'sya) - bring yourself to some unpleasant result through excessive drinking, e.g. _delirium tremens_ (lit. "to drink yourself _upto_ something"). * same as допить above, but with a reflexive suffix * пропить (propit') - to lose something through drinking (e.g., by selling it to buy alcohol) * про- (*pro-*) often means "through", in this case to drink "through" or "all of" ones property * спиться (spit'sya) - to destroy ones life through drinking (lit. "to drink yourself down") * с- (*s-*) often means downward movement from the top of something Advanced Fields Category 2002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014E. AsiaE. EuropeL's FamilyL's FriendsN. AmericaN. EuropeS. AmericaS. AsiaW. EuropeY & LY's FamilyY's Friends Prototype Redirect Permissions0 Actions Config Markup Module HTML/Meta/Keywords HTML/Meta/Description Save Hook HTML Fields Main Head Body Header Menu Logo Content Template Page Sidebar Don't put anything here Footer Tags Allowed for XSSFilter HTTP Fields Cache-Control Expires Guru Fields Templates Translations Fields Edit UI Admin Edit UI Don't put anything here Don't put anything here Don't put anything here A summary of your changes Edit Summary Don't put anything here Don't put anything here save preview cancel
