Russian Translation(s) & Details for 'Condense'

English Word: condense

Key Russian Translations:

• сгущать [sɡʊˈɕːatʲ] - [Formal, Often used for physical condensation]
• уплотнять [ʊplɐtʲˈnʲatʲ] - [Formal, Often used for compressing or densifying]
• сокращать [sɐkrɐˈɕːatʲ] - [Neutral, Often used for shortening text or ideas]

Frequency: Medium (used in specific contexts like science, writing, or engineering)

Difficulty: B1-B2 (Intermediate; varies by context and translation)

Pronunciation (Russian):

сгущать: [sɡʊˈɕːatʲ]

Note on сгущать: Pay attention to the soft 'щ' sound, which is distinct in Russian and may be challenging for English speakers.

уплотнять: [ʊplɐtʲˈnʲatʲ]

Note on уплотнять: Stress falls on the second syllable; the 'н' is palatalized (soft).

сокращать: [sɐkrɐˈɕːatʲ]

Audio: []

Meanings and Usage:

1. To make denser or more compact (physical context)

Translation(s) & Context:

• сгущать - Used for physical condensation, such as liquids or gases turning denser (e.g., in chemistry or cooking).
• уплотнять - Used for compressing materials or making something denser (e.g., soil, fabric).

Usage Examples:

• Нужно сгущать молоко, чтобы сделать сгущёнку.

  You need to condense milk to make condensed milk.

• Мы должны уплотнять грунт перед строительством.

  We must condense the soil before construction.

2. To shorten or summarize (abstract context)

Translation(s) & Context:

• сокращать - Used for summarizing or reducing the length of text, speech, or ideas.

Usage Examples:

• Пожалуйста, сократи текст до двух абзацев.

  Please condense the text to two paragraphs.

• Он умеет сокращать сложные идеи до простых фраз.

  He knows how to condense complex ideas into simple phrases.

• Учитель попросил нас сократить доклад для презентации.

  The teacher asked us to condense the report for the presentation.

Russian Forms/Inflections:

All translations are verbs and follow regular conjugation patterns for imperfective verbs in Russian. Below is the conjugation for сокращать as an example (1st conjugation, imperfective aspect):

Person	Present Tense
Я (I)	сокращаю [sɐkrɐˈɕːa.jʊ]
Ты (You, informal)	сокращаешь [sɐkrɐˈɕːa.jɪʃ]
Он/Она/Оно (He/She/It)	сокращает [sɐkrɐˈɕːa.jɪt]
Мы (We)	сокращаем [sɐkrɐˈɕːa.jɪm]
Вы (You, formal/plural)	сокращаете [sɐkrɐˈɕːa.jɪ.tʲɪ]
Они (They)	сокращают [sɐkrɐˈɕːa.jʊt]

Note: Similar conjugation patterns apply to сгущать and уплотнять. Perfective forms (e.g., сгустить, уплотнить, сократить) exist for completed actions.

Russian Synonyms/Antonyms:

Synonyms for сгущать (physical context):

• конденсировать
• загустевать

Note: конденсировать is more scientific, while загустевать is often used for natural thickening.

Synonyms for сокращать (abstract context):

• урезать
• сжимать

Antonyms:

• расширять (to expand)
• разжижать (to dilute, for physical context)

Related Phrases:

• сгущать краски - "to exaggerate" or "to over-dramatize" (lit. "to thicken the colors")
• сократить расходы - "to cut expenses" or "to condense spending"
• уплотнить график - "to tighten the schedule" or "to condense the timetable"

Usage Notes:

• The choice between сгущать, уплотнять, and сокращать depends on the context. Use сгущать for physical processes like condensing liquids; уплотнять for materials or structures; and сокращать for abstract shortening like text or time.
• Be aware of aspectual pairs in Russian. Each verb has a perfective counterpart (e.g., сократить for completed shortening), which changes the nuance of the action.
• These verbs often require an accusative object to indicate what is being condensed (e.g., сокращать текст - "to condense the text").

Common Errors:

• Error: Using сгущать for abstract contexts like summarizing text. Wrong: Я хочу сгущать этот доклад. Correct: Я хочу сократить этот доклад. (I want to condense this report.)
• Error: Mispronouncing soft consonants or stress placement, especially in уплотнять. Stress errors can change meaning or sound unnatural.

Cultural Notes:

In Russian, the phrase сгущать краски (lit. "to thicken the colors") is a common idiom meaning to exaggerate or dramatize a situation. It reflects a cultural tendency to use vivid imagery in language to describe emotional or rhetorical excess. English speakers might not immediately associate "condense" with exaggeration, so this cultural nuance is important to note.

Related Concepts:

• конденсация (condensation, as a noun)
• сжатие (compression)
• урезание (reduction, cutting down)