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I came across the (obscene) verb ахуеть chatting (instant messaging, to be precise) with a native speaker (context: soccer game). A bit of research on the Russian Wiktionary seems to show that this could be a misspelling of охуеть originating in the pronunciation of the unstressed o (аканье). Is it, or are both versions acceptable because of the colloquial nature of the word?

From my attempts translate the Викисловарь page, I gather that it is used to express strong feelings (of surprise, admiration, envy, hatred, confusion).

But that seems like a pretty loose definition that would apply to a whole range of colloquial Russian words. In fact, I haven't been able to find any translation at all.

What are some realistic examples of use? And exactly how obscene is it - in which contexts would it be unacceptable? Is it used commonly in day-to-day speech? Is there an accurate translation?

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    ахуеть is охуеть translated to the so-called padonkaffsky jargon, also known as олбанский йезыг.
    – Sergey Kalinichenko
    Nov 16, 2012 at 11:46
  • There is no correct spelling for obscene words, there can be logical spelling and illogical. Because sometimes correct spelling is not logical. You should say "плавать" but "пловец". So, as long as authoritative dictionaries do not define any one form, any of them is not correct, because there are no such words in literary language.
    – kemerover
    Aug 3, 2013 at 7:03
  • In my experience (as an American with a relatively good grasp of Russian) the closest translation of the verb is "I was fucking floored (by something)" or "I was like WHAT-THE-FUCK?"
    – CocoPop
    Jun 3, 2015 at 3:48

14 Answers 14

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Q: Is the spelling ахуеть acceptable because of the colloquial nature of the word?

The answer is a resounding no. Just because a word is colloquial, doesn't mean that it gets to bend all the language norms, rules, and logic. The only correct spelling is охуеть.

Q: What are some realistic examples of use.

  • Я не мог поверить своим глазам! Я просто охуел от увиденного! (surprise)

  • Ты что, oхуел? (Have you lost your f***ing mind?!)

You can use the infinitive as a complete sentence to express bewilderment, surprise, etc.

  • Охуеть! (cf. С ума сойти!)

Q: And exactly how obscene is it - in which contexts would it be unacceptable?

Well, the word derives from хуй, which is a vulgar word for penis, referred to as слово из трех букв (the three-letter word, c.f. the f-word in English). The meaning of the word охуеть isn't offensive in and of itself, but because of its derivation, the word itself should only be used with people you're close to and only if you know that they're ok with this type of language. A milder version of the word would be офигеть or охренеть, although they should also be used with caution. Even milder versions are обалдеть and ошалеть, but they lack the strength of the word, as it were.

Q: Is it used commonly in day-to-day speech?

Yes, the word is rather common. Of course, some people just don't use this type of language, but those who do, use this word quite commonly. As you may have noticed the meaning range of the word is pretty wide, so this is kind of a universal word :)

Q: Is there an accurate translation?

I don't believe so, mostly because of the multifuncionality of the word. In some cases, it can be rendered as Wow!, but it doesn't exactly convey all the connotations and feelings.

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    What do you mean by "the meaning isn't obscene"? :) The word itself is obscene because of its root. There are no obscene meanings as such, like хуй has the unobscene meaning of penis and блядь of prostitute, but the root is obscene which makes all its derivations obscene as well :). No?
    – Vitaly Mijiritsky
    Jun 17, 2012 at 14:43
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    @VitalyMijiritsky: How do I put this: shit is obscene in itself, whether you call it poop or dookie :) Anyway, I agree I could have phrased it better.
    – Armen Tsirunyan
    Jun 17, 2012 at 14:58
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    @Armen Tsirunyan I think you're confusing "obscene" and "offensive". Obscene words are due to their roots and offensive due to their meaning. This word is obscene but not offensive.
    – Anixx
    Nov 18, 2012 at 23:23
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    Regarding exact translation, it is possibly "to become dumb like a penis for a short time due to surprise"
    – Anixx
    Nov 18, 2012 at 23:29
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    Speak for yourself - my penis has an IQ of 125!
    – CocoPop
    Jun 3, 2015 at 3:28
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What are some realistic examples of use? And exactly how obscene is it - in which contexts would it be unacceptable? Is it used commonly in day-to-day speech? Is there an accurate translation?

General word of advice about Russian obscenities — understand them, but don't use them yourself. The famous 4 roots sound much stronger than their English equivalents, and the social taboo is also much stronger. For example, in a movie that is set up in some sort of a criminal or military environment, no one will use the 4 roots, even though it's perfectly understood that in real life, anybody would have used them.

As a non-native speaker, you will hardly ever find yourself in a situation that justifies cursing and the artificiality of your cussing will be immediately evident.

To reiterate — it's very obscene, unacceptable in any situation you might find yourself in as a foreigner.

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  • Pardon my ignorance, but which four roots do you mean? I suppose ху(й), еб, what other two are strong enough to be so specially honored? I can't pick two from the rest I'm thinking about right now:)
    – Armen Tsirunyan
    Jun 17, 2012 at 18:46
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    @ArmenTsirunyan I was thinking about пизд- and бля(т/д)-. After yandex-ing it up, I see that in some places they refer to "five roots", usually counting also муд-.
    – Leonid99
    Jun 17, 2012 at 19:25
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    Your answer contradicts itself - you say "it's perfectly understood that in real life everybody would have used them" but "you will hardly ever find yourself in a situation that justifies cursing", "unacceptable in all situations". Also if everybody curses in real life why do you suggest to not do it to not look "artificial"?
    – serg
    Jun 17, 2012 at 19:34
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    @serg I'm not claiming it's never used -- it's used very extensively by native speakers. I'm saying that a non-native speaker can't find himself in a situation where he's better off cursing.
    – Leonid99
    Jun 18, 2012 at 6:41
  • I love it when you ask Russians the meaning of vulgar words, and instead of an explanation, you get a lecture on obscenities. I think everyone knows how bad words work!
    – CocoPop
    Jun 10, 2022 at 14:36
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Correct spelling of verb, its forms and derivatives would contain "о" ("охуеть", "охуел", "охуение", "охуевший" etc), however there is one exception: word "ахуй".

Ахуй (with stress on first syllable) means extreme confusion or astonishment, and is almost always used with preposition "в":

Я был в ахуе от его тёщи: она не только не сказала ни слова против нежданным гостям, но и сама села пить с нами.

(I was astonished by his mother-in-law: not only she hasn't said a single bad words about unwanted guests, but she has even joined us in drinking.)

От последовавшей двухчасовой лекции по матану я впал в ахуй.

(I became extremely confused after the following lecture on mathematical analysis).

Usually forms of "ахуй" can be safely substituted by word "транс" in its colloquial meaning of confusion or amazement.

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'ахуеть' is a deliberate distortion of spelling (missplelling of) 'охуеть', like 'dat' instead 'that' in english. so it's written as heard and more expressively. used in texting, IRC, ICQ, etc. word 'ахуеть' spread widely. google result 1,030,000 vs 'охуеть' with 921,000 results.

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I would like to add to the above because there is one point missed. For me as for a native speaker and active Internet-user the word ахуеть belongs to so-called "Albanian language" which is a trend to write words phonetically (and is not related to real Albanian language at all of course). This style was popular in Internet-communications a few years ago. Compare to well-known words "Превед" ("привет"), "фтопку" ("в топку") and other similar Internet-mems. Today this "Albanian style" is not as popular but it engendered a few of stable words which are still used.

Additionally to phonetic writing the word "Ахуеть" is related to the noun "Ахуй" which was constructed recently too (at the least in Internet time) and means highest level of surprising. I would say from my experience that "ахуеть" means more positive surprising, rather than "охуеть" which sounds more aggressive. "Ты чо, охуел, что-ли!?" expresses that the speaker does not like what the 2nd person did and expresses aggressive displeasure. I would ever say that "охуеть" always shows negative emotions, though this may be not stressed. "Ахуеть" does not have the aggressive connotation, this is pure surprising.

So the word "Ахуеть" 1) follows the rules of phonetically-based "albanian language" and 2) expresses surprising w/o aggressive connotation.

Of course as consequence of 1) the word is grammatically incorrect.

P.S. Also there is stable popular sentence "Ахуеть, дайте две" which is explained at lurkmore.

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  • and is not related to real Albanian language at all of course that why it is Olbanian language
    – yalov
    Oct 28, 2018 at 20:08
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Q: Is there an accurate translation? What are some realistic examples of use?

I took my time to think about it, and came to three main situations in which the word has more or less different meanings, just something a native speaker can feel in the language.

  • Representing great astonishment and surprise, as in "Я охуел, увидев новый спортивный автомобиль соседа" (I was astonished when I saw my neighbour's new sports car).
  • Telling about someone's extremely inadequate (or just very unusual for the speaker) behaviour, like in "Совсем охуел, на такой скорости без шлема ездишь?" (Are you crazy, riding at such speed without a helmet?).
  • Very similar to the second, when it is used as an offensive reaction to someone's behaviour at the same time. An english speaker probably wouldn't say "Are you crazy to call my sister a "bitch"?", because he or she needs something much stronger to answer. The difference between this case and the previous one is that in the second we just express our attitude, and in the last we express hostility, challenge an opponent to a serious argument or even a fight.

Q: Exactly how obscene is it?

Plainly speaking, you should not use it in situations when you would not use "f-word" in English, and vice versa. Also, the reason why I draw your attention to the last example of use is that people can often take this as a sign of hostility, so be careful with it.

Q: Is the spelling ахуеть acceptable because of the colloquial nature of the word?

The answer is no, this just means the person speaking doesn't care much about the spelling.

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Correct form is охуеть. It means to be confused with something, for example Я охуел от увиденного means I am extremely confused whith what I saw. You should remember that this word is extremely rude and not to be used in public places.

Also, you can say Я хуею in the same meaning.

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    I'd say that the meaning is more like "extremely surprised" or "astounded" rather that "confused". "Confused" means "I don't understand", while "охуеть" means "I understand but I just can't believe it"
    – Aleks G
    Jun 17, 2012 at 11:04
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    Aleks is right, it has nothing to do with confusion. Я охуел от увиденного is something like I was flabbergasted.
    – Vitaly Mijiritsky
    Jun 17, 2012 at 14:40
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    @VitalyMijiritsky, "flabbergasted" sounds like an excellent possible translation.
    – codesparkle
    Nov 18, 2012 at 10:28
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I'm Russian teen, I don't speak English, but I tell you:
ахуеть = охуеть.
But! You can use this word only with your friends, because it is матерное (abusive, obscene, worthless, foul, cheap (Google translate)) word.
You can use this word for description very different emotions and situations.
For example:

Ахуеть (охуеть)! Я не ожидал от него такого плохого отношения!
У него ахуенная (охуенная) стрижка.
Охуеть (ахуеть) можно от такого количества домашней работы.
etc.

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Спустя столько лет внезапный ответ. Это мат. Правильно будет "охуеть". Это искажение слов и вообще русского языка имеет место в интернет-сленге, так называемом ольбанском языке (это просто сленг, который наши использует, чтобы показать свою крутость. сейчас его использование сходит на нет). Разницы между "охуеть" и "ахуеть" нет. Означают практически все: удивление, сожаление и пр. Это просто восклицание типа "Ох, вот это да!".

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Q: Is there an accurate translation?

Like with most obscene colloquial words in Russian, this one can means different things in different context. However the closest translation would probably be "be astounded", "be astonished", etc. See http://www.macmillandictionary.com/thesaurus-category/british/Feeling-surprised-or-shocked for some other alternatives.

Q: exactly how obscene is it?

Obscene enough to be banned out by most of automatic obscenity filters on Russian internet forums. You should certainly not use it in any written communication or in any cultural- or culture-related context.

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"Ахуеть" is acceptable. When you use it, you care about expressing your strong emotions, and as this word is obscene, grammar steps aside anyway. Also, this misspelling can express intonation and additional information about your feelings that are difficult to express in written form, you can show the extreme astonishment, maybe mixed with anger, deviding the word into syllables, as if you said "о-ху-еть!".

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    I am not too sure about prefix a- being grammatically correct. Even though we're talking about rather rude slang, grammatically, it still follows existing rules. You certainly can pronounce it differently to emphasise your emotions, but not write it that way.
    – Aleks G
    Nov 17, 2012 at 15:27
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    Yes, it is grammatically incorrect. You will not pass test in Институт изящной словесности if you use prefix a- in this word)
    – КуЪ
    Nov 18, 2012 at 21:13
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In short, as a native Russian, I should not but say that variant with "О" is right grammatically, vice verse "Ах..еть" is not: there is no such a prefix "А-" before root in Russian. It's better to know but not use this word, my friend.

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"Ахуеть" - more cheeky and emotional spoken form of the word "охуеть". Approximately "очень охуеть = ахуеть"

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  • However the form with prefix a- is not "grammatically" correct.
    – Aleks G
    Nov 17, 2012 at 15:24
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Есть ли точный перевод?

буквально "ахуеть" означает "обрести член", "иметь член", "проити процесс полового созревания".

Часто говорят с возмущением "ты ахуел?!\ты совсем ахуел?!", что означает (иронично) "ты теперь считаешь себя мужчиной?"

"этот парень совсем ахуел", что означает "этот парень теперь считает себя сильным\мужчиной и теперь позволяет себе большее чем раньше, ведет себя необоснованно самоуверенно"

Такое значение слово "ахуел" имеет, если говорят "ахуел" с возмущением и недовольством.

Позднее это слово стали применять и в значении крайней степени удивления.

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    Есть ли какие-нибудь источники подтверждающие сказанное? Или это собственные догадки (вполне убедительные)? Насчет иронии - не соглашусь. Ее сейчас нет ни в тоне высказывания, ни в самом высказывании. Возможно она была когда-то, но сейчас мало кто слышит в этом высказывании смысл "отрастить", т.к. похожие слова "обородател", "омордател" встречаются крайне редко, соответственно иронии неоткуда взяться. Остаются только похожие по структуре слова, синонимы слову обнаглел, оборзел и т.п. не предполагающие "роста" чего-либо кроме самомнения и амбиций.
    – Artemix
    Jul 28, 2013 at 18:35

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