In South Park episodes, Kenny's mom usually wears a t-shirt which says "I'm with stupid", and an arrow pointing towards a person standing next to her. How would you translate "I'm with stupid" into Russian?
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thanks very much for your answer and explaining a Russian phrase commonly used in a related situation! Indulgently agreeing with anything a stupid person says or does is often said in English as "whatever you say" or "sure, whatever".– lllOHOct 21, 2016 at 17:13
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Can you explain what this phrase mean? To me it makes no sense. Also, what article is supposed?– AnixxOct 22, 2016 at 5:10
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Either of those should make sense: "Я с придурком" "Придурок" (and the arrow points)– Vic.Ag.Oct 25, 2016 at 0:04
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@OfftopicVoter: This is not a question "seeking words or phrases in English" - such questions usually look like "Как адекватно перевести на английский Мойдодыр?".– ArtemixOct 25, 2016 at 7:19
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4 Answers
Russian speakers usually don't include themselves into such an expression. The second meaning of it if written on a T-shirt ('my companion is stupid' or 'I accompany this psycho' - этот придурок - со мной) is lost here:
этот придурок прав (= а ведь прав этот придурок)
тупой, а соображает (= он хоть и тупой, а иногда соображает)
A bit different situation, but it is more typical in Russian to indulgently agree with a stupid person in anything they do or say:
... И не оспоривай глупца. (А.С. Пушкин, "Памятник")
что с него (дурака) возьмёшь?!
дуракам закон не писан
answered Oct 21, 2016 at 8:46
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thanks for your answer, and the effort to make a gender neutral phrase! If this phrase in English was written on a shirt with a gender neutral background shirt color, the exact same shirt would be worn by men and women. I can see how making a gender neutral phrase in Russian would be difficult.– lllOHOct 21, 2016 at 17:18
if i get the meaning of the phrase, for example
Я согласен с этим дурачком
the problem with this rendering is that it's not unisex
to circumvent this limitation a unisex pejorative may be used, but the adjective is still gender specific
Я согласен с этим чучелом
a more wordy but gender neurtal version would be
Мы единомышленники с этим чучелом
answered Oct 20, 2016 at 20:09
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7"мы единомышленники с этим чучелом" это почти по степени естественности звучания как славянский шкаф.– shabunc ♦Oct 20, 2016 at 20:20
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no wonder, it's an attempt at a translation of an idea absent in Russian discourse plus making it unisex which is uncharacteristic to Russian speech Oct 20, 2016 at 20:22
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I like the variant "Я согласен с этим чучелом". I think, there is no need to make the word "согласен" gender neutral, because it's unlikely that a man and a woman will wear the same T-shirt... so one will just buy a T-shirt with a corresponding gender.– LaraOct 20, 2016 at 20:42
I would translate: Рядом с тупым (I'm near a stupid person) or Тупица рядом (A stupid person is next to me), or even more succinct: Тупица (a dumb person), which is a slightly derogatory (but not overly offensive) word for a stupid person in Russian common language. For example, one could call their sibling Тупица to tease them and this won't be too inappropriate.
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Yes, I always interpreted the statement as "сопровождаю дурака". I was surprised to see other answers interpreting it as "я согласен с дураком" or "я сторонник дурака". That is also a valid meaning in general for "I'm with [person]", but it doesn't really fit the context here. You're jokingly insulting the person standing or walking next to you as a prank (probably a friend or companion), but not intending to insult yourself by association. Oct 2 at 22:53
You could try an inscription like
Я - с этим ничтожеством
While not equivalent to "stupid", this does convey a clearly negative opinion of the t-shirt wearer towards their companion, and is stronger in its wording than the original.
Closer to the original would be
Со мной - дур...
