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I used to speak with a Russian speaker and she used to repeat something 3 times after she said something bad, it sounded like "steraï steraï steraï". If you see what I'm talking about, can you help me writing it in Russian ? Thanks a lot.

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  • the most and the only similar word I can recall with your example is "стирай" which can mean either "wipe, erase etc." or "wash, do laundry" (in the imperative "mood" — or what is the correct linguistic term for this). May be she was trying to say "sorry" in English, but you misunderstood her?
    – d.k
    May 29, 2017 at 18:35
  • Maybe this is this expression, but she said you have to repeat it 3 times. The meaning seems right, and I'm sure it was not english, she is fluent in english and she used to say it, it didn't happen only once..
    – Steeven Brunner
    May 29, 2017 at 19:01
  • Or it might have meant "delete" the record, if you were speaking via some digital media and she had thought, that you might have been recording her
    – d.k
    May 29, 2017 at 19:01
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    I mean, that how old is she does matter, because from my experience many "youngsters" in Russia at least, use quite a few words, which not every native Russian speaker would understand. There might be some new "superstition" or other "rave" , which is not widely known etc.
    – d.k
    May 29, 2017 at 19:23
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    Well I cannot talk to her at the moment, the situation is complexe.. But if I get an answer one day, I won't forget to add it here ^^'
    – Steeven Brunner
    May 30, 2017 at 0:03

4 Answers 4

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steraï steraï steraï or Стирай, Стирай, Стирай I think she wants you to erase something.

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  • Could someone who understands this answer please correct the spelling and grammar? I only ask because I honestly do not know what it is saying.
    – Aaron Brick
    Aug 7, 2017 at 4:25
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It could be "стирай" indeed. All people are different and have their own, so to speak, traditions. Some people say "тьфу-тьфу-тьфу", some people prefer to use the phrase "типун мне на язык", maybe she likes to say "стирай" when she wants to "erase" some bad thoughts and statements so they don't come true.

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  • Yes you're probably right, I think it's about traditions :)
    – Steeven Brunner
    Jun 2, 2017 at 14:21
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A hypothesis: it could be про(сти, про)(сти, про)сти (forgive, forgive, forgive), where the unstressed о sounds like a.

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  • или расти-расти-расти // или стервь-стервь-стервь :-D
    – Arioch
    Jun 1, 2017 at 14:37
  • Doesn't sound like the answerer answers, it could sounds like this "расти" but I'm pretty sure that it started by "st" (this sound)
    – Steeven Brunner
    Jun 1, 2017 at 15:12
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It could be the superstitional "тьфу-тьфу-тьфу", or even "чур-чур-чур" as in "чур меня", both often accompanied by spitting over one's left shoulder. The first option is more common to encounter, while the second one matches the pronunciation better, but, nevertheless, both have been traditionally aimed at protecting the speaker against unholy forces.

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  • For sure it's not that, it doesn't sound as I described it at all, the expression sounded more like "стирай".
    – Steeven Brunner
    May 30, 2017 at 11:27
  • Maybe could be like that, just not in Russian. You said she lived most of her life in another country
    – Arioch
    Jun 2, 2017 at 9:48

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