Russian Translation(s) & Details for 'stun'

English Word: stun

Key Russian Translations:

• ошеломить (/ɐˈʂeləmʲɪtʲ/) - [Formal, often used for emotional or mental shock]
• оглушить (/ɐˈɡluʂɪtʲ/) - [Informal, used for physical stunning or sensory overload]

Frequency: Medium (commonly encountered in everyday conversations and literature, but not as frequent as basic verbs like "сказать").

Difficulty: B1 (Intermediate; requires understanding of verb conjugations and context, with ошеломить being slightly more advanced due to its nuanced emotional connotations).

Pronunciation (Russian):

ошеломить: /ɐˈʂeləmʲɪtʲ/ (Stress on the second syllable; the 'ш' sound is a voiceless postalveolar fricative, similar to 'sh' in "she" but sharper.)

Note on ошеломить: Be careful with the soft 'л' sound, which can be tricky for English speakers; it softens the preceding consonant.

оглушить: /ɐˈɡluʂɪtʲ/ (Stress on the second syllable; the 'г' is a voiced velar fricative, like a deep 'g' in "go", and 'щ' is a voiceless alveolo-palatal fricative.)

Note on оглушить: The 'щ' sound is often mispronounced; it's softer than 'sh' and more like a prolonged 'sh' with a hiss.

Audio: []

Meanings and Usage:

To shock or surprise greatly (emotional sense)

Translation(s) & Context:

• ошеломить - Used in formal or literary contexts to describe mental astonishment, e.g., in news or personal revelations.

Usage Examples:

• Новости ошеломили меня, и я не мог сказать ни слова.

  The news stunned me, and I couldn't say a word.

• Его речь ошеломила аудиторию, заставив всех задуматься.

  His speech stunned the audience, making everyone think deeply.

• Внезапное признание ошеломило её, но она быстро собралась с мыслями.

  The sudden confession stunned her, but she quickly gathered her thoughts.

• Фильм ошеломил зрителей своей неожиданной развязкой.

  The film stunned viewers with its unexpected ending.

To make someone unconscious or numb (physical sense)

Translation(s) & Context:

• оглушить - Informal, often in action-oriented contexts like accidents or fights, implying a temporary sensory disablement.

Usage Examples:

• Громкий взрыв оглушил всех в помещении.

  The loud explosion stunned everyone in the room.

• Удар по голове оглушил его, и он упал на землю.

  The blow to the head stunned him, and he fell to the ground.

• Сильный шум оглушил собаку, заставив её спрятаться.

  The intense noise stunned the dog, making it hide.

• Электрический шок оглушил преступника на несколько секунд.

  The electric shock stunned the criminal for a few seconds.

Russian Forms/Inflections:

Both translations are verbs, which in Russian undergo conjugation based on tense, aspect, person, and number. They are imperfective verbs, meaning they describe ongoing or repeated actions. Here's a breakdown:

Note: These verbs follow standard first-conjugation patterns with some irregularities in the present tense. They do not change for gender in the infinitive form.

Russian Synonyms/Antonyms:

• Synonyms:
  • удивить (udivit') - To surprise; less intense than ошеломить.
  • шокировать (shokirovat') - To shock; often used interchangeably with ошеломить in modern contexts.
  • парализовать (paralizovat') - To paralyze; similar to оглушить but more about immobilization.
• Antonyms:
  • успокоить (uspokoit') - To calm.
  • освежить (osvezhit') - To refresh or invigorate.

Related Phrases:

• ошеломляющий эффект (oshelomlyayushchiy effekt) - Stunning effect; used to describe something overwhelmingly impressive.
• оглушить громким звуком (oglushit' gromkim zvukom) - To stun with a loud sound; common in descriptions of concerts or explosions.
• быть ошеломленным новостями (byt' oshelomленным novostyami) - To be stunned by news; a phrase for emotional reactions.

Usage Notes:

• Choose ошеломить for emotional or psychological stunning, as it aligns closely with the English "stun" in contexts like surprises or revelations, and is preferred in formal writing.
• Use оглушить for physical contexts, such as sensory overload, which is more informal and direct; it's less about emotion and more about immediate impact.
• Be mindful of aspect: Both are imperfective, so pair with perfective forms like ошеломить (imperfective) vs. ошеломить (perfective in some contexts), but оглушить often needs a perfective counterpart like оглушить for completed actions.
• In spoken Russian, these verbs may vary by region; ошеломить is more common in literary Russian, while оглушить is everyday slang.

Common Errors:

• English learners often confuse ошеломить with шокировать, using them interchangeably, but ошеломить implies a deeper, more lasting mental impact. Error: "Я шокировал его" instead of "Я ошеломил его" for a profound stun. Correct: Use ошеломить for emotional depth.
• Mixing up inflections, e.g., saying "ошеломить меня" (incorrect past tense) instead of "ошеломило меня". Error example: "Оглушить вчера" (wrong form). Correct: "Оглушило вчера". Explanation: Always conjugate based on subject gender and number.
• Overusing in informal settings; оглушить might sound too casual in formal essays, leading to mismatched tone.

Cultural Notes:

In Russian culture, verbs like ошеломить often appear in literature (e.g., in works by Tolstoy) to describe the overwhelming nature of life's surprises, reflecting a cultural emphasis on emotional depth and introspection. Оглушить, on the other hand, might evoke wartime or urban experiences, symbolizing the chaos of modern life in Russia.

Related Concepts:

• удивление (udivlenie) - Amazement
• шок (shok) - Shock
• паралич (paralich) - Paralysis