9

What do I call somebody being a smart ass in Russian?

UPDATE

Well, I would say smart asses are: arrogant, annoying, think they are witty and funny, but they are not, think everybody cares of what they say, but nobody does, but still have something to say on any topic, think they are messengers of goodness while being just stupid jerks

Improve this question
3
  • 1
    I think that your question is answered here: lingvopro.abbyyonline.com/en/Translate/en-ru/smart%20ass
    – Olga
    Jul 15, 2012 at 18:19
  • 2
    the following is similar, but much ruder: хитрожопый
    – A-K
    Jul 16, 2012 at 1:09
  • Well, I have never heard the word uttered to mean anything than "impudent," but it is out of style to make it clear that one considers someone else to be their lesser and needs to be reminded of that. So наглый.
    – MatthewMartin
    Sep 16, 2013 at 0:52

5 Answers 5

Reset to default
10

For the sake of completeness, I'll add the answer here. The best translation is умник. However it's not as rude as smart ass in English.

Improve this answer
8

I would say хитрожопый would be the closest translation, I believe it's a modern word and might have been borrowed by translating from English. It is pretty popular.

Improve this answer
1
  • 10
    житрожопый is not the same as smartass. Smartass is usually somebody who is going out of the way to show others he's smarter than they are and being very aggressive about assuring it. житрожопый means very cunning and adept in getting his way, but not necessarily advertising it openly, but preferring to employ whatever backhanded approach necessary to achieve what he wants.
    – StasM
    Sep 15, 2013 at 19:42
6

In Russian it might be easier to say that someone is being a smart ass, or acting like a smart ass. A very polite or high brow way to translate "He is being a smart ass" would be Он много о себе мнит, i. e. "He thinks too highly of himself." Colloquially you could say Он выпендривается, or if you wish to be really rude, you could say Он выёбывается.

By the same token you could translate "Don't be a smart ass!" as Не выпендривайся!

Improve this answer
1
  • 2
    "Великий и могучий" позволяет из этих глаголов делать существительные — выпендрёжник, выебонщик или, например, чувак с выебонами.
    – КуЪ
    Sep 17, 2013 at 10:52
1

There's a verb for being a smartass - умничать. However I can't think about a noun except for already noted умник, which is not widely used and is not as strong as "smartass". One could also say something like "сильно умный, да?" which would be like "you're a smartass, aren't you?" if expressed with proper attitude :)

I think the best way to convey the idea is to use verbs - умничать or выпендриваться mentioned in Dima's answer.

Improve this answer
-2

In context someone young who found unusual solution in difficult situation. For example brought bottle of Vodka without having any money. - Ай да Васька, ай да сукин сын!

Improve this answer
3
  • 3
    This this not the same as "smart ass". That English saying is pretty much always used sarcastically, when somebody is trying to be/do/say something smart, but in reality it looks/sounds/turns out to be a very lame attempt. The context of an unusual solution in a difficult situation doesn't apply here.
    – Aleks G
    Jul 16, 2012 at 8:35
  • Aha! I thought it is actually not sarcastic. For describing lame attempt you can say: ironically : Ну ты Профессор (с улыбкой) или выражение - Факир был пьян и фокус не удался.
    – Boris Ivanov
    Jul 16, 2012 at 12:36
  • -1 this is just completely different.
    – A-K
    Jul 16, 2012 at 18:33

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.