???€???????°: three of something
If numbers can be said to have personalities, ?‚?€?? (three) is deeply conflicted. It is highly spiritual but sometimes very naughty. It is a very small amount of something, unless it is more than you can imagine. It is average and in between, but at the same time it is exalted and magical. If ?‚?€?? were a person, he would be on drugs.
Of course, ?‚?€?? is just the number three, helpfully defined as more than two and less than four. ???€?? describes three units of something, like ?‚?€?? ?‡?°???° ?????‡?? (3 a.m.; literally and properly "at night" in Russian).
???€?? is the grade you get in school when you aren't at all good, but not that bad. ???€?? is a "C," the average mark. If you get this grade often, you might call them ?‚?€????????, like old friends. If you get a great many of them, other people might call you ?‚?€???µ?‡?????? or ?‚?€???µ?‡?????†?° (C-student).
???€?‘?????° used to be slang for a three-ruble note. Now it can be slang for various threes, like a three-room apartment: ???‹ ?…???‚???? ?????????‚?? ?‚?€?‘?????? ???µ???°?»?µ???? ???‚ ???µ?‚?€?? (We want to buy a three-room apartment near a metro station).
Or a three-star hotel: ?????€?????°?? ?‚?€?‘?????°, ???‡?µ???? ?????°?‡?????µ ???µ???‚?? ?€?°???????»???¶?µ?????? ?? ?€???????? ?? ???‚?»???‡???‹?? ???°?„?µ (A solid three-star, in a very good location with a great cafe next door).
But ?‚?€?? isn't always humdrum. Sometimes it is exalted, in a secular and superstitious sort of way. ?‘???? ?»???±???‚ ?‚?€?????†?? (God loves a Trinity), Russians will say when they are expecting a third event to happen — or when they hope the third time for something will be the charm.
?‘???? ?‚?€???µ?????? (God is triune), they say, ?‚?€?? — ???‚?? ?»???±???????µ ?‘???¶???µ ?‡?????»??, ?±?????µ?? ???°???µ???‚??????, ?‡?‚?? ?? ?‚?€?µ?‚???? ?€?°?· ???±???·?°?‚?µ?»?????? ?????»???‡???‚???? (three is God's favorite number, and so we hope that it will work out the third time for sure).
Because it is a godly number, Russians kiss each other on the cheek ?‚?€?? ?€?°?·?° (three times). And because it's got a bit of magic in it, Russians spit ?‚?€?? ?€?°?·?° over their left shoulder to ward off evil.
But sometimes ?‚?€?? is in the gutter. ???????»?°?‚?? ???° ?‚?€?? ?±???????‹ (literally to send someone to three letters) is a very strong way of telling someone where to go — and it's nowhere good.
In some expressions, ?‚?€?? means a lot. ???€?????»?? ???????µ???? ?? ?µ?»?? ?? ?‚?€?? ?????€?»?° (The neighbors came over and ate us out of house and home). ?????¶ ?????‘?», ?° ?????° ???????°?»???»?°???? ???° ???????°?? ?? ?·?°?€?‹???°?»?° ?? ?‚?€?? ?€???‡???? (Her husband walked out, and she threw herself on the couch and cried her eyes out).
In other expressions, ?‚?€?? is very little of something. It might be a short distance. ?????? ?¶???????‚ ?? ?‚?€?‘?… ???°???°?… ???‚???????° (They live just a few steps from here). Or very few of something: ?—?°?±?»???????‚?????? ?? ?‚?€?‘?… ?????????°?… is to get lost in three pine trees; it is said of somebody with a bad sense of direction.
But it can also refer to someone so dim-?witted they couldn't think their way out of a paper bag. ???? ???€?µ???€?°?‚???» ???????‚???????????µ ???µ?»?? ?? ?????»???????»???????? ?? ?·?°?±?»???????»???? ?? ?‚?€?‘?… ?????????°?… (He turned a molehill of a problem into a mountainous mind-boggler and then couldn't think his way through it).
?? ?€?µ???µ?????µ ???€???±?»?µ???‹ ?±?‹?»?? ?????µ???? ?? ?‚?€?‘?… ???°???°?… … (But the solution to the problem was within reach …).
Michele A. Berdy, a Moscow-based translator and interpreter, is author of "The Russian Word's Worth" (Glas), a collection of her columns.
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