4

I took it from a popular song:

Для меня ты ангел божий / Без тебя такая муть

but it seems (from the reaction I got) that this particular word is considered to be slang / a swear word not to be uttered in polite company.

Edit: thanks for the quick answer :) Sorry, I can't upvote, not enough rep.

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5
  • Informal, but not profane.
    – Alexander
    Apr 17, 2019 at 17:21
  • into English it can be translated as sludge, a synonym is мурА, semi-profane synonym is хернЯ when used attributively, but in the context of your citation it can be understood to mean spleen, depression, being under the weather
    – Баян Купи-ка
    Apr 17, 2019 at 18:33
  • In a song the meaning is high and poetic (It's unclear (around) without you). However, modern usage has absolutely different connotation (like it's a crap/rubbish).
    – Arhadthedev
    Apr 17, 2019 at 23:05
  • 1
    The song lyrics to provide the full context to the question. The reaction you'd got could be for completely different reasons :)
    – tum_
    Apr 17, 2019 at 23:15
  • @Arhad this word cannot be high-style in any context.
    – Anixx
    Apr 18, 2019 at 12:09

6 Answers 6

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1

It's a word sometimes used colloquially to criticize something like a book or a film (the days of life here), with scorn or disrespect. Examples: этот фильм - полная муть, эта книга - муть какая-то. So yes, it is only for informal usage in a company of people who know each other well.

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  • 4
    Being in a pedantic mood at the moment :) I have to say that I disagree with the last sentence. Especially considering that somehow the OP has been led to believe that it's almost a swear word or something. If you pardon my language the word "жопа" is something that is "only for informal usage in a company of people who know each other well". "Муть" is not. The answer by @DaryaShcherbakova is both more complete and more balanced.
    – tum_
    Apr 19, 2019 at 0:12
7

This word does not have a negative connotation. The usage of some of its meanings is less popular nowadays (like the one in your example), while the most popular meaning (something that does not make sense) is also the most recent one (hence a wrong assumption that this word relates to a teenage slang). But nonetheless you can certainly utter this word in a polite company.

"Муть" has several meanings: (1) the most direct one would be describing an unclear precipitation in water, e.g. "какая-то муть в воде плавает"; (2) other meaning could be for something in a foggy state, e.g. in nature, more commonly used in a form of a stemmed adjective "мутный", e.g. "мутная река"; (3) you can also describe a lack of clarity, e.g. "мутная голова", (4) or sadness in your state of mind - this meaning would be the most applicable to your example "Без тебя такая муть", and finally, (5) the most colloquial usage to describe something confusing, which does not make any sense, e.g. "Эта задача такая муть". But even in the last meaning the word does not express scorn or disrespect, it is not rude by itself, indicates mostly confusion and lack of understanding. Rudeness can come from the way a person reacts to any such situation, within some context (to what most people refer here), but it doesn't have to do with the language itself and more with used facial expressions/gestures/whatever else is said.

Here is the first googled example in the literature's usage, indicating that this word is not only colloquial and surely not limited to slang, a snippet from Marina Tsvetaeva's poem:

Хочу у зеркала, где муть 
И сон туманящий, 
Я выпытать -- куда вам путь
И где пристанище.
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3
  • It is not archaic by any means. I would say it is teen slang.
    – Anixx
    Apr 18, 2019 at 12:14
  • 5
    I would call it a teen slang only in one of its meanings, i.e. the last meaning that I described. For all the rest of its meanings, it is not a slang. Especially the first meaning. I wouldn’t say that the word per se is archaic, but some meanings are less commonly used, e.g. in the example given in the original question, or the meaning giving the lack of clarity. While it can be colloquial, it is not a slang. Think about a word «жуть», I think it had a similar evolution.
    – Darya Shcherbakova
    Apr 18, 2019 at 14:25
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    Ожегов: Муть. In the song the second meaning is used. The fact that many people mostly talk about its colloquial use (nothing to do with slang, btw) simply indicates that people are more exposed to this "low register" language than to the language used in literature/poetry etc.
    – tum_
    Apr 18, 2019 at 23:50
1

Despite the OP's vote for the best answer, and having in mind that this word is not as simple as some of the answers and comments imply, and in the spirit of stackexchange to provide CITED sources, I felt the need to suggest an answer.

This word has several senses. See Большой толковый словарь РЯ под ред. Кузнецова (2000). enter image description here

I think that in the song the 4th sense is used (see the red circle in the pic), i.e. WHEN YOU ARE NOT WITH ME, MY MIND IS NOT CLEAR. This use is quite poetic. Not archaic, not rude.

Some of the comments here mention a ruder sense which is No. 5 - this is similar to English 'bullsht', or 'sht'. But I don't think this song implies this meaning.

So this word is NOT always rude. All senses must be considered.

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0

This word definition comes from мутный, but in this case мутный does not describe fluid state. In this context you may say мутный парень that means strange guy.

So Без тебя такая муть means Without you my future is undefined and strange, also you may say I've no future without you.

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0

The meanings of the words in songs are frequently distorted or far from typical. It means that you would normally have to avoid using that word in the meaning stated in that song, either it is colloquial or profane situation. You can use it in discussion of popular entertainment items (books, movies etc) in the meaning of "it is totally messed up" - "это муть какая-то". In that way it is perfectly OK.

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-4

This word is informal and means "haziness, muddiness, blurriness" as about a semi-transparent liquid or glass.

I would consider it a teenage slang, the more standard word for the thing is мутность.

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