Russian Translation(s) & Details for 'overstate'

English Word: overstate

Key Russian Translations:

• преувеличивать [prʲɪʊvʲɪlʲɪt͡ɕɪtʲ] - [Informal, Common in everyday speech]
• завышать [zɐˈvɨʂətʲ] - [Formal, Often used in professional or statistical contexts]

Frequency: Medium (The word and its translations are encountered in standard Russian communication, but not as ubiquitous as basic verbs; commonly appears in discussions, media, and literature.)

Difficulty: B1 (Intermediate, based on CEFR; involves understanding verb conjugations and nuances of exaggeration, which may challenge beginners but are manageable for intermediate learners. For 'преувеличивать', the difficulty is B1; for 'завышать', it is also B1 due to similar conjugation patterns.)

Pronunciation (Russian):

преувеличивать: [prʲɪʊvʲɪlʲɪt͡ɕɪtʲ]

завышать: [zɐˈvɨʂətʲ]

Note on преувеличивать: The stress falls on the third syllable ('ve-li-chi-vat'), and the initial 'prʲ' sound is a palatalized 'r', which can be tricky for English speakers—practice with native audio to master the soft consonants.

Note on завышать: This verb has a softer 'sh' sound ([ʂ]), similar to the 'sh' in 'sheep', but with a retroflex quality; pay attention to the vowel reduction in unstressed syllables.

Audio: []

Meanings and Usage:

Meaning 1: To state something in an exaggerated or overly strong manner, often making it seem more significant than it is.

Translation(s) & Context:

• преувеличивать - Used in informal conversations or narratives to describe exaggeration, such as in storytelling or casual debates.
• завышать - Applied in formal settings, like business reports or statistics, to indicate overestimation of values or facts.

Usage Examples:

• Он всегда преувеличивает свои достижения, чтобы произвести впечатление.

  He always overstates his achievements to make an impression.

• В новостях часто завышают значимость мелких событий, вызывая панику.

  In the news, they often overstate the importance of minor events, causing panic.

• Не преувеличивай проблему; она не так серьезна, как кажется.

  Don't overstate the problem; it's not as serious as it seems.

• Компании иногда завышают цифры продаж в отчетах для инвесторов.

  Companies sometimes overstate sales figures in reports for investors.

• Она любит преувеличивать свои приключения, чтобы друзья смеялись.

  She loves to overstate her adventures to make her friends laugh.

Meaning 2: To express something beyond its actual value or truth, often unintentionally in formal contexts.

Translation(s) & Context:

• завышать - Common in professional or academic contexts, such as evaluations or assessments, where precision is key.
• преувеличивать - Less formal, used when the exaggeration is more rhetorical or emotional.

Usage Examples:

• В отчете они завысили оценку проекта, что привело к недоразумениям.

  In the report, they overstated the project's evaluation, leading to misunderstandings.

• Преувеличивать риски в таких ситуациях не стоит; лучше быть реалистом.

  Overstating risks in such situations isn't worth it; it's better to be realistic.

• Он завышает свои навыки в резюме, но на деле они средние.

  He overstates his skills in his resume, but in reality, they are average.

Russian Forms/Inflections:

Both primary translations ('преувеличивать' and 'завышать') are imperfective verbs in Russian, which means they describe ongoing or repeated actions. Russian verbs undergo conjugation based on tense, aspect, person, and number. These verbs follow regular patterns but have some irregularities in their stems.

Note: These verbs do not change for gender in the past tense but do for aspect (e.g., perfective forms like 'преувеличить' exist for completed actions). If unchanging in certain contexts, such as in infinitive form, it remains invariant.

Russian Synonyms/Antonyms:

• Synonyms:
  • преувеличить (to exaggerate, more perfective aspect)
  • завышенно оценивать (to overly assess)
  • Note: 'преувеличивать' is more general, while 'завышенно оценивать' is formal and implies evaluation.
• Antonyms:
  • умалчивать (to understate)
  • занижать (to underestimate)

Related Phrases:

• преувеличить факты - To exaggerate facts (Used in contexts where truth is stretched for effect.)
• завышать ожидания - To overstate expectations (Common in business or personal planning, implying unrealistic hopes.)
• не преувеличивать ситуацию - Not to overstate the situation (A phrase for moderation in communication.)

Usage Notes:

'Overstate' directly corresponds to 'преувеличивать' in informal English-Russian exchanges, but 'завышать' is preferred for quantitative or formal contexts, such as finance or statistics. Be mindful of the imperfective aspect in Russian, which emphasizes the process rather than the result—unlike English, where 'overstate' can be used more straightforwardly. Choose 'преувеличивать' for emotional or narrative scenarios and 'завышать' for precise evaluations. Grammatically, ensure subject-verb agreement in conjugations, as Russian verbs change based on person and number.

Common Errors:

• Error: Using the infinitive form 'преувеличивать' in places where a conjugated form is needed, e.g., saying "Он преувеличивать" instead of "Он преувеличивает". Correct: "Он преувеличивает свои достижения." Explanation: Russian requires verb conjugation for tense and subject, which English learners often overlook.

• Error: Confusing 'преувеличивать' with 'преувеличить' (perfective), leading to tense mismatches, e.g., "Я преувеличить вчера" instead of "Я преувеличивал вчера." Correct: Use 'преувеличивать' for ongoing actions. Explanation: Aspect is crucial in Russian; perfective implies completion, while imperfective like 'преувеличивать' describes duration.

Cultural Notes:

In Russian culture, exaggeration through words like 'преувеличивать' is often seen in folklore and literature (e.g., in tales by Pushkin), where hyperbole adds humor or emphasis. However, in professional settings, 'завышать' can carry negative connotations of dishonesty, reflecting a cultural value on modesty and accuracy in communication, especially in post-Soviet contexts where inflated claims were common during economic transitions.

Related Concepts:

• преувеличение (exaggeration)
• завышение (overestimation)
• умаление (understatement)