Russian Translation(s) & Details for 'tearful'

English Word: tearful

Key Russian Translations:

• слезливый /slʲɪzˈlʲivɨj/ - [Adjective, Formal/Informal, used to describe someone or something full of tears or prone to crying]
• плачущий /ˈplat͡ɕuʂɨj/ - [Adjective/Participle, Informal, Plural, used in contexts involving active crying, such as in narratives or emotional descriptions]

Frequency: Medium (This word is commonly encountered in literature, conversations about emotions, and everyday language, but not as ubiquitous as basic vocabulary.)

Difficulty: B1 (Intermediate; learners at this CEFR level can grasp its usage with some practice, as it involves basic adjective declensions. For 'плачущий', it may be slightly more challenging due to its participial form.)

Pronunciation (Russian):

слезливый: /slʲɪzˈlʲivɨj/

плачущий: /ˈplat͡ɕuʂɨj/

Note on слезливый: The soft 'л' sound (/lʲ/) can be tricky for English speakers; it's similar to the 'l' in "million". Pronounce with emphasis on the second syllable.

Note on плачущий: The 'щ' sound (/ʂ/) is a voiceless retroflex fricative, akin to 'sh' in "she" but more sibilant; practice with native audio for accuracy.

Audio: []

Meanings and Usage:

Meaning 1: Full of tears or emotionally expressive through crying (e.g., describing a person or situation with sadness)

Translation(s) & Context:

• слезливый - Used in formal or literary contexts to describe someone who cries easily, such as in emotional stories or psychological discussions.
• плачущий - Applied in informal, narrative settings, like describing a child or a character in a film who is actively crying.

Usage Examples:

• Его слезливый взгляд тронул всех в комнате. (His tearful gaze moved everyone in the room.)

  Translation: His tearful gaze moved everyone in the room. (This example shows 'слезливый' in a descriptive, emotional context.)

• Дети были плачущими после просмотра грустного фильма. (The children were tearful after watching the sad movie.)

  Translation: The children were tearful after watching the sad movie. (Here, 'плачущими' demonstrates plural adjective use in an informal, everyday scenario.)

• Она всегда становилась слезливой, когда вспоминала прошлое. (She always became tearful when remembering the past.)

  Translation: She always became tearful when remembering the past. (This illustrates 'слезливой' in a reflexive, personal context with adjective agreement.)

• Плачущий герой фильма вызвал сочувствие у зрителей. (The tearful hero of the film evoked sympathy from the audience.)

  Translation: The tearful hero of the film evoked sympathy from the audience. (Example highlights 'плачущий' in a narrative, plural-implied context.)

• В слезливом письме она описала свою грусть. (In her tearful letter, she described her sadness.)

  Translation: In her tearful letter, she described her sadness. (This shows 'слезливом' in the prepositional case, demonstrating grammatical flexibility.)

Russian Forms/Inflections:

Both 'слезливый' and 'плачущий' are adjectives, which inflect based on gender, number, and case in Russian. Adjectives follow regular patterns, but 'плачущий' as a present active participle may have slight irregularities.

For 'слезливый' (regular adjective):

For 'плачущий' (participle, similar to adjective):

These words do not have irregular inflections but require agreement with the noun they modify.

Russian Synonyms/Antonyms:

• Synonyms:
  • грустный (grustnyy) - More general for sadness, but can imply tearfulness in emotional contexts.
  • расплаканный (rasplakannyy) - Specifically for someone who has just cried, with a more intense connotation.
• Antonyms:
  • веселый (veselyy) - Happy or cheerful, contrasting the emotional state.
  • спокойный (spokoynyy) - Calm or composed, opposite of tearful agitation.

Related Phrases:

• слезливый взгляд (slezlivyy vzglyad) - Tearful gaze; used to describe an emotional look in conversations or literature.
• плачущий ребенок (plachushchiy rebenok) - Tearful child; common in parenting or storytelling contexts.
• быть в слезах (byt' v slezakh) - To be in tears; a fixed phrase equivalent to being tearful during emotional moments.

Usage Notes:

'Слезливый' directly corresponds to 'tearful' in English, often used for habitual or descriptive purposes, while 'плачущий' emphasizes active crying. Choose 'слезливый' for formal writing or psychological descriptions, and 'плачущий' for dynamic, narrative scenes. Be mindful of gender and case agreement in sentences. In informal speech, these words can overlap, but 'плачущий' might sound more vivid.

Common Errors:

• Mistake: Using 'слезливый' without proper declension, e.g., saying "слезливый женщина" instead of "слезливая женщина".
  Correct: Ensure adjective agrees with the noun's gender and case.
  Explanation: Russian requires strict agreement; this error stems from English's lack of declensions.
• Mistake: Confusing 'плачущий' with 'плачу' (the verb form of 'to cry').
  Correct: Use 'плачущий' as an adjective, e.g., "плачущий человек" for "tearful person".
  Explanation: Learners often mix participles with verbs, leading to grammatical errors in complex sentences.

Cultural Notes:

In Russian culture, expressions of tearfulness like 'слезливый' are often linked to the concept of 'dusha' (soul), emphasizing emotional depth in literature and film. For instance, Russian classics by authors like Tolstoy frequently depict tearful characters to convey profound sadness, reflecting a cultural value on emotional expressiveness.

Related Concepts:

• грусть (grust') - Sadness
• эмоциональный (emotsional'nyy) - Emotional
• слеза (slezá) - Tear