Language through Literature

The Malefactor


Слава те господи, господин хороший, век свой прожили и не токмо что убивать, но и мыслей таких в голове не было…

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Glory be to God, good sir, we have lived out our lives and not only never killed anyone, we never so much as had such thoughts in our heads…

Where it stands

Зачем убивать? Why should we kill anybody?

Нешто мы некрещёные или злодеи какие? Are we unbaptized, or villains of some sort?

Спаси и помилуй, царица небесная… Save us and have mercy, Queen of Heaven…

Что вы-с! Whatever are you saying, sir!

The words in this sentence

сла́ва
glory, fame (nom sg)
те
those (nom/acc pl) — тот
го́споди
Lord! good heavens! (excl.) — господь
господи́н
mister, gentleman
хоро́ший
good (m nom)
век
century; age, lifetime
свой
one's own (m nom/acc)
про́жили
lived through, spent (past pl of прожить) — прожить
и
and; also, even
не
not
то́кмо
only, merely (arch.)
что
what; that (conjunction)
убива́ть
to kill (inf)
но
but
мы́слей
thoughts (gen pl of мысль) — мысль
таки́х
such (gen/prep pl) — такой
в
in, into
голове́
head (dat/prep sg) — голова
бы́ло
was (past n of быть) — быть

А. П. Чехов, «Злоумышленник», 1885 · sentence 30 of 73

This is one sentence of «Злоумышленник» — 73 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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