Language through Literature

Chameleon


Не видал, так, стало быть, зачем врать?

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You didn’t see it, so what do you want to lie for?

Where it stands

— Врёшь кривой! “You’re lying, one-eye!

Их благородие умный господин и понимают, ежели кто врёт, а кто по совести, как перед богом… Their Honour is a clever gentleman and they understand who is lying and who speaks by his conscience, as before God…

А ежели я вру, так пущай мировой рассудит. And if I’m lying, then let the justice of the peace decide it.

The words in this sentence

не
not
вида́л
saw, has seen (past m of видать, colloquial) — видать
так
so, thus
ста́ло
became; began (past n of стать) — стать
быть
to be
заче́м
why, what for
врать
to lie, tell lies (inf)

А. П. Чехов, «Хамелеон», 1884 · sentence 30 of 53

This is one sentence of «Хамелеон» — 53 sentences long, and the whole story reads like this: every word glossed where it stands, the English out of your eyeline until you ask for it. Free, no account.

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