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Slang used to indicate that a statement is obvious, or that the answer to a question is an obvious "yes" — often in a derisive or sarcastic way.

  • "Physics is really hard." "Well, duh."

  • "Do you need money to live alone?" "Well, duh!"

I'm looking for the Russian equivalent.

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8 Answers 8

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The obvious sarcastic "yes" is often expressed in responses such as these:

1.— Физика — трудная наука. — А то ж./ Ну ты сказал! (Colloquial) / Спору нет! / Ещё бы! (Neutral) 2. — Нужны деньги , чтобы жить самостоятельно? — А то ж./ Ну ты спросил!/ Ещё бы!

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    I'd add "Да ну!" to the list (sarcastic surprise, like "you don't say?").
    – Dan M.
    Commented Sep 12, 2022 at 13:02
  • I would say "Цицерон"(Cicero).
    – V.V.
    Commented Sep 12, 2022 at 18:28
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For a simple duh!, you can use да ладно? or, amusingly, just да!? (sound very excited, not really) - which makes duh! a valid and appropriate exclamation in Russian speech.

For well, duh! you can use а то! or the more ornate да что ты говоришь!?.

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  • "да что ты говоришь" certainly ticks "derisive" and "sarcastic" boxes.
    – il--ya
    Commented Nov 22, 2022 at 13:19
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One can answer "Ну да", but it isn't sarcastic or derisive. It means "Well, yes, obviously", but with a different intonation (a pause in the middle or prolonged vowels) it can express a reluctant or hesitant 'yes'.

Another possibility is to answer 'Очевидно' (obviously), and it's mildly derisive.

I second '...догадался Штирлиц' as a possible translation, or one can just use sarcasm and ask with a serious or puzzled intonation, "Ты считаешь?" ("Do you think so?") or incredulously "Да ну?" ("Wow, really?").

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    That's interesting. In English, you can also say (and write) "Ya think?!"
    – CocoPop
    Commented Sep 16, 2022 at 18:46
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My understanding is that "duh" is an imitation of the sound a person with a speech impediment would make, which alludes to the notion that only a mentally challenged person would utter such an obvious banality aloud.

Russian doesn't have any widespread idiomatic construct for that particular nuance. There are many sarcastic responses to stating the obvious: да ну?, ещё бы!, а то!, да ты что? among others, but they lack the derision of the English one.

One way to convey that meaning would be an expression that used to be mildly popular in the late '90s:

— Чтобы жить одному, нужны деньги. — (your friend's name here) умный!

...uttered with slow nasal voice, as if you had cold and had a stuffy nose. This, too, is intended to be an imitation of a mentally challenged person.

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  • Thank you! I've always been curious about this myself. Note that sometimes, instead of "duh..." we say (and write) "ya think?!" Also, duh... isn't necessarily the sound of a metally challenged person in the sense of mental retardation. It's more the pause made by a studid person before they start speaking, about to say something ridiculous. Like the stupid version of "Uhh..."
    – CocoPop
    Commented Sep 10, 2022 at 15:11
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Sometimes the punchline to a commonly-known joke might be used as a continuation of the other person's remark, e.g.

— Чтобы жить одному, нужны деньги.
— ...догадался Штирлиц.

or

— Физика — сложная дисциплина.
— ...на третий день Зоркий Глаз заметил.

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  • How fun! I love this answer.
    – CocoPop
    Commented Sep 11, 2022 at 15:30
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    We also use expressions instead of duh! (although they're not punchlines to jokes) A: Physics is hard af! B: (Boy!) Someone would have to get up pretty early (in the morning) to pull the wool over YOUR eyes! -or- NOTHING escapes YOU!
    – CocoPop
    Commented Sep 11, 2022 at 15:39
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—Физика — это сложно. —Да что ты говоришь?!

—Тебе нужны деньги, чтобы жить одному? —И как это ты догадался?!

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Эм... именно такого как вы просите, нет. Мы не используем в этом случае междометие. Мы используем слова.Если ваш собеседник говорит очевидную вещь мы бы сказали: «Понятное дело», «естественно» - это нейтральный оттенок. Грубые слова: «да, ты что, я не знал». А! нет! один такой звук есть, это буква «м» в соответствующей интонации. «ммм» - когда ты не хочешь говорить с человеком и делаешь вид что слушаешь его вещи, о которых тебе неинтересно слышать. «Ага» может подойти в интонации которую я не могу описать. Но эти звуки лишены саркастической насмешки.

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In the first case, it'd be better to use something like "базаришь" или "базару нет". The second one is clearly a question and a little bit stupid, so you can go with the sarcastic "Да ну, зачем они мне?!" or the Q/Q principle "Думаешь?" like that's too obvious.

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