"Sayonara, sucker" in Russian?

July 30, 2008 5:24 PM

Need to "sayonara, sucker!" in Russian.

OK, so not quite sayonara, sucker, but it's equivalent. An "hasta la vista, baby" for the Eastern European set. Is there a culturally relevant way to say "good bye, but I don't necessarily like you a whole lot" in Russian?

It's for a cake, so fewer words is better.

posted by phunniemee to writing & language (13 comments total)

Ugh, should read "need to say." SAY. Damn.
posted by phunniemee at 5:28 PM on July 30, 2008

Dosvidanya!
posted by arcanecrowbar at 6:30 PM on July 30, 2008

Can't help with a Russian phrase, but according to Russian custom pointing with your finger is considered impolite. Assuming you're American, including an Uncle Sam graphic would certainly be an underscoring of the message.
posted by skywhite at 6:30 PM on July 30, 2008

Dosvidanya merely means "goodbye"

уйди means go away, but it doesn't have the sort of cultural connotation you're looking for, and I'm not sure there's anything that does.

пошел вон is a somewhat profane way of saying "get lost", and I suppose in the context (I'm guessing it's a going away party for a Russian speaker?) it could be rather amusing, assuming it wouldn't offend anyone
posted by Autarky at 6:55 PM on July 30, 2008

The literal translation would be something like До свидания, лох!

Personally, I think a simple "Покеда!" would probably be best. It's not very "mean," but it's jokey and maybe a bit condescending too. And it's short.

If you're really feeling mean, "Скатертью дорога!" means "good riddance."
posted by trouserlouse at 7:19 PM on July 30, 2008

Personally, I think a simple "Покеда!" would probably be best. It's not very "mean," but it's jokey and maybe a bit condescending too. And it's short.

I think it's "Покедова!" rather than "Покеда!", but that could just be Moscow-speak.

I'd say "Приятного пути, козел!", although that's a bit harsher than "Hasta la vista, baby!"
posted by nasreddin at 11:03 PM on July 30, 2008

There's nothing that's close, but you can say ""Покедова!" and indicate contempt with your tone, because it's not insulting just by itself, just informal. Never heard "Покеда".
posted by rainy at 6:54 AM on July 31, 2008

Maybe I should add that I don't speak, read, or understand a lick of Russain, so if you guys could give a rough translation, maybe, of your suggestions, that would be awesome.

Autarky: Would пошел вон then be a watered down sort of fuck off?

If yes, I might go for that. Otherwise, I'm liking Скатертью дорога.

(A friend has been taking an intensive time/life-suck Russian course all summer, and I'm going to celebrate her last day by sending the language off with all the love she currently feels for it.)
posted by phunniemee at 7:36 AM on July 31, 2008

Autarky: Would пошел вон then be a watered down sort of fuck off?

It's literally "get out of here." If you want to use a watered-down "fuck off," I'd say "Иди нафиг!"

"Скатертью [тебе] дорога" is literally "May the road be a tablecloth for you."

"Приятного пути, козел!" is literally something like "Have a nice trip, you [smelly] goat!" ("goat" is a much worse insult in Russian than it is in English). If no one is actually leaving, you should probably use something else.
posted by nasreddin at 8:35 AM on July 31, 2008

I agree that Скатертью дорога [Skátertyu doróga] suits the purpose, but a clever alternative/addition would be Аста ля виста бейби [Asta lya vista beibi, the Cyrillic rendering of "Hasta la vista, baby"]—the Terminator flicks were very popular in Russia, too, and the phrase is much used by Russian speakers. (Fun fact: the Spanish version of the movie replaced the phrase with "Sayonara, baby.")
posted by languagehat at 10:56 AM on July 31, 2008

And of course nasreddin is right: never, ever use козел [kozyól] to a Russian unless you know exactly what you're doing (and have an escape route ready).
posted by languagehat at 10:57 AM on July 31, 2008

Yeah, seconding "Аста ля виста, бейби." It's cute, funny, and probably even better than using an actual Russian phrase.
posted by nasreddin at 11:06 AM on July 31, 2008

Аста ля виста, бейби it is, then. Thanks!
posted by phunniemee at 11:19 AM on July 31, 2008