Russian Translation Notes

Russian (ru) Translation Notes

Thinking Behind Translation Adjustments

The goal is to ensure accuracy, consistency, natural phrasing for Russian speakers, and adherence to the provided translation guidelines while properly handling Russian grammatical complexity.

1. Consistency of Core Terms

Rationale: Russian translations must maintain consistent terminology across the application, with special attention to grammatical agreement and proper technical vocabulary.

Examples:

• secret: Consistently translated as секрет (masculine gender) when referring to the confidential item being shared. This aligns with the guideline to emphasize the confidential item. The masculine gender requires proper agreement: секрет создан (the secret was created), секрет удалён (the secret was deleted).

• password: Consistently translated as пароль when referring to the account login credential. This is the standard term in Russian for account passwords. Used in contexts like account login and password reset.

• passphrase: Consistently translated as кодовая фраза when referring to the protection for an individual secret. This compound term clearly distinguishes it from the account пароль and follows the guideline to use a term implying a phrase-based security measure. Alternative considered: парольная фраза, but кодовая фраза sounds more professional.

• Dashboard: Translated as Панель управления (Control Panel) for better accuracy in professional software context, which is more descriptive than just Панель.

• Sign In: Translated as Войти (infinitive form used as imperative) - the standard, concise term for authentication in Russian interfaces.

• burn: Translated as окончательное удаление (permanent deletion) rather than literal сжечь (to burn). The literal translation would sound awkward in digital context. For status: окончательно удалено.

2. Appropriate Voice (Imperative vs. Declarative/Passive)

Rationale: Guidelines specify imperative for user actions (buttons, links) and passive/declarative for informational text (status, descriptions, help).

Examples:

• Button text: Use infinitive forms that function as imperatives

  • Создать секрет (Create secret)
  • Скопировать в буфер обмена (Copy to clipboard)
  • Подтвердить (Confirm)

• Status descriptions: Use short-form past participles with proper gender agreement

  • Скопировано в буфер обмена (Copied to clipboard - neuter, passive)
  • Секрет создан (Secret created - masculine, passive)
  • Ссылка создана (Link created - feminine, passive)

• Help text: Use declarative sentences with polite вы form

  • Вы просматриваете секретное содержимое (You are viewing the secret content)
  • Это содержимое отображается только один раз (This content is shown only once)

3. Clarity and Natural Phrasing

Rationale: Some translations require adaptation to sound natural in Russian while maintaining clarity.

Examples:

• copied to clipboard: Translated as Скопировано в буфер обмена (standard Russian phrase, neuter gender agrees with implicit “содержимое”/content)

• FAQ: Translated as Частые вопросы or Вопросы и ответы (clearer than abbreviation, which doesn’t work well in Russian)

• Loading...: Translated as Загрузка... (standard, using nominative case)

• Remember me: Translated as Запомнить меня (infinitive form, more natural than imperative Запомни меня which sounds too direct)

4. Formal Address (Вы)

Rationale: Russian requires choosing between informal “ты” and formal “вы”. Professional software should consistently use the formal “вы” form with capital В when directly addressing the user.

Examples:

Most user-facing instructions use forms implying formal “вы”:

• Введите Ваш пароль (Enter your password - formal)
• Ваше секретное сообщение (Your secret message - formal possessive)
• Вы можете... (You can… - formal, capitalized)

When to capitalize Вы:

• Always capitalize when directly addressing the user in singular formal context
• Вы, Вас, Вам, Вами, Ваш, Ваша, Ваше, Ваши

5. Gender Agreement

Rationale: Russian requires strict gender agreement between nouns, adjectives, and past participles.

Critical genders to remember:

• секрет (secret) - masculine → создан, удалён, активный
• ссылка (link) - feminine → создана, удалена, активная
• сообщение (message) - neuter → создано, удалено, активное
• шифрование (encryption) - neuter → включено, выключено

Examples:

• ✓ Секрет был создан (The secret was created - masculine)
• ✗ Секрет была создана (incorrect feminine agreement)
• ✓ Ссылка была создана (The link was created - feminine)
• ✓ Сообщение было создано (The message was created - neuter)

6. Plural Forms (Russian Three-Form System)

Rationale: Russian requires three distinct plural forms based on the last digit of the number.

Rules:

1. Singular form: numbers ending in 1 (except 11)

   • 1 день, 21 день, 101 день

2. First plural form: numbers ending in 2, 3, 4 (except 12, 13, 14)

   • 2 дня, 3 дня, 4 дня, 22 дня, 103 дня

3. Second plural form: numbers ending in 0, 5-9, 11-14

   • 5 дней, 10 дней, 11 дней, 25 дней, 100 дней

Implementation examples:

function getRussianPluralForm(count, forms) {
  const n = Math.abs(count) % 100;
  const n1 = n % 10;

  if (n > 10 && n < 20) return forms[2];  // 11-14 дней
  if (n1 > 1 && n1 < 5) return forms[1];  // 2-4 дня
  if (n1 === 1) return forms[0];          // 1 день
  return forms[2];                        // 5+ дней
}

// Usage:
getRussianPluralForm(1, ['день', 'дня', 'дней'])    // день
getRussianPluralForm(2, ['день', 'дня', 'дней'])    // дня
getRussianPluralForm(5, ['день', 'дня', 'дней'])    // дней
getRussianPluralForm(21, ['день', 'дня', 'дней'])   // день

7. Verb Aspects (Perfective vs. Imperfective)

Rationale: Russian verbs have two aspects that convey different meanings.

Perfective aspect (completed action, result-focused):

• создать (to create - once, completed)
• скопировать (to copy - once, completed)
• отправить (to send - once, completed)

Imperfective aspect (process, repeated, or ongoing action):

• создавать (to be creating, to create regularly)
• копировать (to be copying, to copy regularly)
• отправлять (to be sending, to send regularly)

Usage in UI:

• Buttons typically use perfective infinitives (single action expected):

  • Создать (Create)
  • Скопировать (Copy)
  • Удалить (Delete)

• Descriptions may use imperfective for ongoing states:

  • Система шифрует данные (The system encrypts data - ongoing)
  • Пользователи создают секреты (Users create secrets - repeated action)

8. Case System

Rationale: Russian has 6 grammatical cases that must be applied correctly.

Common cases in UI:

Nominative (Именительный) - subject of sentence:

• секрет (secret)
• пароль (password)

Genitive (Родительный) - possession, after negation, with numbers:

• создание секрета (creation of a secret)
• нет пароля (no password)
• 5 дней (5 days)

Dative (Дательный) - indirect object, “to/for”:

• отправить пользователю (send to user)

Accusative (Винительный) - direct object:

• создать секрет (create a secret)
• введите пароль (enter password)

Instrumental (Творительный) - “by means of”, “with”:

• защищено паролем (protected with password)
• зашифровано ключом (encrypted with key)

Prepositional (Предложный) - after certain prepositions:

• в панели управления (in the dashboard)
• о конфиденциальности (about privacy)

9. Essential Use of Ё

Rationale: The letter Ё must be used where needed, not substituted with Е.

Critical examples:

• всё (everything) vs. все (all/everyone)
• ещё (still, yet, more) vs. еще (archaic or wrong)
• приём (reception) vs. прием (wrong spelling)

Impact on meaning:

• передает (передаёт - passes, transmits)
• узнает (узнаёт - finds out)

10. Technical Terminology

Rationale: Use established Russian IT terminology.

Standard technical terms:

• шифрование (encryption) - not кодирование (encoding)
• аутентификация (authentication) - standard transliteration
• DNS-запись (DNS record) - hyphenated compound
• CNAME-запись (CNAME record) - hyphenated compound
• API (API) - unchanged, pronounced as individual letters
• токен (token) - transliterated, masculine gender

11. Completeness

Rationale: All user-facing text must be fully translated with proper Russian grammar.

Areas requiring translation:

• Button labels and calls to action
• Help text and tooltips
• Error messages and warnings
• Email templates
• Marketing copy
• System status messages
• Form labels and placeholders

Summary of Changes for Russian Locale

• Terminology: Standardized key terms like секрет, пароль, кодовая фраза, Панель управления, Войти, окончательное удаление for consistency and guideline adherence

• Voice: Consistently applied imperative (infinitive) voice for actions and passive/declarative voice for informational text

• Gender Agreement: Ensured proper agreement between nouns, adjectives, and past participles

  • секрет (m) → создан, удалён
  • ссылка (f) → создана, удалена
  • сообщение (n) → создано, удалено

• Plural Forms: Implemented three-form plural system for all countable nouns

  • 1/21/101 день
  • 2-4/22-24 дня
  • 5-20/25-30 дней

• Formal Address: Consistent use of formal “вы” form with proper capitalization (Вы, Ваш)

• Verb Aspects: Proper use of perfective/imperfective aspects based on context

  • Perfective for buttons and completed actions
  • Imperfective for processes and repeated actions

• Case Declension: Correct application of all 6 Russian grammatical cases

• Cyrillic Integrity: Proper use of all Cyrillic letters including mandatory Ё

• Technical Accuracy: Use of established Russian IT terminology

• Natural Phrasing: Idiomatic Russian expressions that sound natural to native speakers

The translations aim for clarity and adherence to standard Russian usage in technical contexts, while respecting the specific grammatical requirements of the Russian language, including gender agreement, plural forms, verb aspects, and case declension.

Key Differences from Other Languages

Compared to Spanish:

• Russian requires gender agreement throughout (Spanish has only 2 genders, Russian has 3)
• Russian has 6 cases vs Spanish’s simpler structure
• Russian requires 3 plural forms vs Spanish’s 2
• Russian uses formal Вы (capitalized) vs Spanish tú/usted distinction
• Russian verb aspects (perfective/imperfective) have no Spanish equivalent

Compared to English:

• Russian requires explicit gender marking
• Russian has complex case system
• Russian has three-form plural system
• Russian requires aspect selection for verbs
• Russian has flexible word order (but standard for UI)
• Russian requires formal address form

Unique Russian considerations:

• Mandatory use of letter Ё for clarity
• Compound technical terms often hyphenated (DNS-запись)
• Transliterated English terms maintain original stress and pronunciation patterns
• Some English borrowings are preferred in tech contexts (e.g., “email” often used alongside “электронная почта”)