This site uses cookies. Some of these cookies are essential to the operation of the site, while others help to improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used. For more information, please see the ProZ.com privacy policy.
Cookie settings
ОПУ
резиновое резонирующее ленточно-струнное сито

Glossary entry

Russian term or phrase:

вроде как

English translation:

sort of/kind of/appears/seems

Added to glossary by Henry Whittlesey Schroeder
Dec 8, 2006 08:40
17 yrs ago
Russian term

вроде как

Russian to English Art/Literary Poetry & Literature
According to the dictionary вроде как is a synonym for вроде бы, but that doesn't help me much in this context. Here is the passage:

Speaker: Doctor
Listener: 9-year-old boy

"Ты помнишь, в апреле, тебя отец - приехал и забрал?.. Сказал, что мамка твоя от вас вроде как уходит, а если тебя перед собой увидит, то раздумает уходить?.. Я с тобой, ты уж извени, как мужчина с мужиной... Ты помнишь?"

As before, I have the German translation at my disposal. The translator has rendered it as: "He said that your mommy appears to be leaving you, but if she sees you... (Er hat gesagt, dass deine Mama euch zu verlassen scheint, aber wenn sie dich sieht).

Also, if "appears" for "вроде как" is a fitting equivalent, is it normal in Russian "to appear to be leaving"? This is what the German is saying, but this doesn't make sense to me. You can "seem to be preparing to leave", but that is rather long-winded or it can "seem like she will leave", but in English you have either left or not... Maybe "he said that it looked like your mommy was going to leave you (all)"?

Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions!
Proposed translations (English)
4 +2 sort of
4 +8 appears/seems to be leaving
3 +3 kinda
4 was going to walk out on you
4 like
4 apparently
4 -1 has every indication of leaving you

Discussion

Roman Bardachev Dec 8, 2006:
"Вроде как" в данном случае - слово-паразит и не обязательно должно иметь что-то общее с неопределенностью. Мамка уходит - это ясно, именно поэтому ей и не хотят показывать мальчика.
Valery Kaminski Dec 8, 2006:
Henry, it is not too far from the original. Russian "вроде как" usually means the speaker is not 100% sure the info is right. (may be ~ 80% :). I think "was about" has similar meaning sometimes - intention which has not been realized yet.
Olga V Dec 8, 2006:
A propos: "Я с тобой, ты уж извини, как мужчина с мужчиной".

Proposed translations

+2
1 hr
Selected

sort of

Expressions like this are used to dilute speech that would otherwise be too formal for the situation and to make it sound less educated or to distance the speaker from the statement.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2006-12-08 10:13:54 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

compare this:
1) I'm breaking up with him
2) I'm sort of breaking up with him

in both cases she's leaving, but in #1 she is way more determined

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2006-12-08 10:25:30 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

It does make sense to me (in English). This is direct speech, therefore it conveys more than the simple fact that she's leaving. It also conveys the Doctor being careful talking to the boy about this. Also it refers to the moment in the past when she decided to leave (as reported by his father) but she has not left yet (so that his father decided to bring the boy as an argument to keep her). So, the reasons to dilute speech a bit are: for the Doctor it is second-hand information and using a simple statement here would be too blunt.
Note from asker:
But does this make sense in English? See notes to others.
Peer comment(s):
agree Michael Moskowitz : Yes, Henry, it makes perfect sense.
49 mins
thank you
agree Rook : It makes sense to me, too. The possibility of it being second-hand info should be ignored. Stylistically it fits really well.
14 hrs
thank you
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Alright, many thanks to everyone as always, I still do not think that "sort of" or "kind of" can modify "leave" or "walk out" in this context, but I made "sort of" modify "looked like she was on the verge of walking out"..."
+3
5 mins

kinda

-
Note from asker:
But how can a wife be "kinda leaving" her husband and child? "She is kinda working", for example, means she is sort of working, but is this possible with leaving? Either you've left or you're leaving - there is no in-between.
Peer comment(s):
agree Vlad Pogosyan
23 mins
agree Mylord : suits better
23 mins
agree Olga V : "вроде как уходит" sounds exactly like "kind of leaving". This russian expression is also very conversational, and this is "kind of" what you need, isn't it? :)
5 hrs
Something went wrong...
+8
9 mins

appears/seems to be leaving

It also seems appropriate to used "kinda", if you really want to sound colloquial.
By the way, dictionaries do define "appear" as a synonym of "seem" in this context.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2006-12-08 10:28:55 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

You see, Henry! This is a VERY colloquial speech, therefore it does not necessarily have to make sense. From Doctor's words it does sounds as if it is not exactly clear whether the mother is leaving or not... In other words, she might have these intentions, which she is inclined to realize one day, and forget about them the other day... depends on her mood, and weather conditions :))
Example sentence:

This is from Lingvo 11: 6) производить впечатление; казаться It appears (to me) that they will not come. — Мне кажется, что они не придут.

Note from asker:
Again, my objection? is pretty much the same as it is for "kinda". How can a wife "seem to be leaving"? In my opinion this does not make sense in English, even if it does in other languages. In English you have either left or will leave, it can look like she/he/you will leave, or you could observe someone else and say - without knowledge - that they seem to be leaving, but you can't speak about your own family in this way.
Peer comment(s):
agree Evgeny Terekhin
6 mins
Thanks, Zhenya!
agree Jack Doughty
8 mins
Thanks, Jack!
agree erika rubinstein
10 mins
Thanks, Erika!
agree Leniana Koroleva
2 hrs
Thanks, Leniana!
agree GaryG
2 hrs
Thanks, GaryG!
agree Olga Cartlidge : Or It looks as if she is about to leave. It is an emotionally charged situation, it could well be that the woman has doubts, therefore any of these verbs would be right to use.
2 hrs
Thank you, Olga!
agree Dylan Edwards : It looks like she's leaving (could mean: she's giving signs that she wants to leave, is thinking of leaving).
5 hrs
Thanks, Dylan!
neutral Olga V : This variant sounds too formal and stylistically neutral in comparison to the original colloquialism.
5 hrs
agree Jack slep : seems
6 hrs
neutral Rook : agree with Olga V
15 hrs
neutral Nikolay Kuzmin : agree with Olga V
2 days 20 hrs
Something went wrong...
3 hrs

was going to walk out on you

intended
was about to

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 час (2006-12-08 11:50:58 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

She was considering walking out on them, kinda :) sitting on the fence
Note from asker:
Valery, thanks for this suggestion, hopefully some more people will comment on it, I would really like to use "about to" - it was one of my original thoughts - but I felt it might be too far from the Russian. Yet I do not know. Even roughly ten "agrees" have not convinced me that I can speak about my own family and say that "my wife is kinda/sort of/appearing to leav(ing)/walk(ing) out on me", but is your suggestion too far from the original?
Peer comment(s):
agree Olga V : "Walking out on" sounds better than "leaving".
2 hrs
Thank you!
disagree Olena Mankovska : Too harsh. Here's a sentence from a dictionary - He just walked out on his wife and family without saying a word — Он бросил жену и детей, не сказав ни слова. As you can see walk out on basically means to dump. This is not necessarily the case here.
7 hrs
Olena, your "leaving" appears to mean smth else?
Something went wrong...
-1
6 hrs

has every indication of leaving you

Actually, "have every indication of" is a synonym of "seem" - which is what Olena suggested, but may be more satisfying to you.....
Note from asker:
Yes, Jack, I am very appreciative, but not completely convinced by the most popular suggestions (probably because my brain is functioning properly, but all the same...) "He said everything indicated your mommy was going to leave you (all)..." That makes perfect sense to me and sounds quite nice - thanks for the idea. Let's see what others have to say.
I meant to say "my brain ISN'T functioning properly", proven by the typo.
Peer comment(s):
disagree Nikolay Kuzmin : this is way too formal compared to the original text
2 days 20 hrs
ok
Something went wrong...
8 hrs

like

I think from the stylistics standpoint this would sound more or less naturally:

"Said your mom is like leaving."

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 8 hrs (2006-12-08 17:21:47 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Это как современное "типа". Сейчас бы сказали "Твоя мамка типа от тебя уходит". Но раньше этого выражения не было. Говорили "вроде как". Вот так типа ))
Peer comment(s):
agree Rook : Возможен такой вариан. Только тогда получается, что это просто слово-паразит. Несколько теряется смысл, что это информация, возможно, из вторых рук. Надо контекст смотреть :)
7 hrs
Да уж, контекст - великая вещь ))
disagree Nikolay Kuzmin : разговаривает взрослый интелигентный человек с ребеноком а не подростки тусуются, поэтому "типа" никак не катит
2 days 12 hrs
Something went wrong...
21 hrs

apparently

Just be short and precise/
Something went wrong...
Close search
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search