English and not only

Очень классная статья :)

A Whole Lotta Nothing
by Michelle A. Berdy
(reprinted without permission; (c) 2004 Moscow Times)

Очень даже ничего: it's really terrific / s/he's very attractive (depending on context)

Ничего is one of those little words that foreigners learn right away, if only because we hear it so often from our Russian friends and colleagues. In addition to meaning "nothing" (я ничего не сделал -- I didn't do anything), it is one of the standard Russian answers to the question Как дела? (How are you?) and means "not bad," "pretty good." But according to a dandy little book on Russian speech etiquette, there are no less than nine meanings of ничего, depending on context and intonation. As usual -- just to make life interesting for us non-Russian speakers -- the meanings range from high praise to strong objection, with a philosophical shrug in between.

Often you hear it in response to a query along the lines of "are you okay" or "is this okay": Ты не ушибся? -- Ничего. Рука болит, но быстро пройдёт. ("Did you hurt yourself?" "It's nothing. My hand hurts, but it will be fine.") You can also use it when someone apologizes for something. It means "don't worry about it," "never mind." Извините, пожалуйста, что я опоздал. -- Ничего. Самое главное -- доехали. ("I'm sorry I'm late." "Don't worry about it. The important thing is that you made it.") It can also be a gracious response to an expression of gratitude: Спасибо, что согласились выступить на конференции. -- Ничего, ничего. Я рад приглашению. ("Thank you for agreeing to speak at our conference." "It's nothing. I'm delighted you invited me.")

You can also use it to ask permission to do something: Ничего, если я сейчас поеду домой? Ты закончишь отчёт без меня? (Is it okay if I go home now? Can you finish the report without me?) It can also be the answer to the same kind of question: Ничего -- поезжай. Тут мало осталось. (Sure, you can head off. There's not much left to do.)

Then there's ничего as a kind of general word of consolation, three little syllables that convey the sense of "this too shall pass." This is my favorite use of the word; instead of tea and sympathy, it's tea and ничего: Мы с Владиком решили развестись. -- Ничего. Сначала будет трудно, но ты справишься. ("Vladik and I decided to get divorced." "It will be fine, you'll see. It will be hard at first, but you'll manage.") Here it has the sense of ничего страшного -- nothing terrible.

But listen carefully to intonation; when said with a harsh tone of voice, ничего can mean objection to what was said. Sometimes this is accompanied with a hand gesture of pushing something away, as if the person were showing "enough already": Вряд ли им удастся закончить отчёт сегодня -- уже поздно. -- Ничего, ничего! Пусть сидят до двенадцати! ("They probably won't be able to finish the report today -- it's already late." "Don't give me 'late!' They can sit here until midnight for all I care!")

And then there's ничего себе. Sometimes this can be a variant of the "just fine, thank you" response to "how are you?": Ничего себе. Грех жаловаться. (Not bad; can't complain.) But if said in tones of astonishment, with each syllable of ничего stressed and an upward lilt at the end, it means "I'm flabbergasted." -- Ты не поверишь -- он женится на молоденькой девушке. -- Ничего себе! ("You won't believe it -- he's getting married to a young girl." "You're kidding!/I'll be damned!") Or you can add another word or two: Ничего себе «колечко»! Этот алмаз стоит пять тысяч баксов! ("Little ring" indeed!/Some "little ring!" That diamond costs 5,000 bucks!)

Finally there's очень даже ничего -- literally, "very even not bad." This is one of those Russian double negatives that is stronger than a positive and means "really great." Я прочитал его книгу -- очень даже ничего. (I read his book -- it's really quite good.) Она приятная девушка -- и очень даже ничего. (She's a nice young woman -- and really quite attractive.)

And if you find this confusing at first, well -- ничего.

Michele A. Berdy is a Moscow-based translator and interpreter.