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My tandem-partner says короче. I asked her to tell me the meaning, but she refused to teach me 'bad Russian' (I don't know if she was kidding, though).

I've seen короче in Lingvo but that source doesn't provide the expected meaning.

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5
  • 1
    "In short......"
    – Anixx
    Jun 5 '14 at 21:59
  • 1
    @Anixx sometimes it means something like shut up
    – el Dude
    Jun 14 '15 at 20:59
  • My Russian Skype partner uses на минуточку all the time and she won't tell me what it means for the same reason. hahaha
    – CocoPop
    Jun 20 '15 at 13:30
  • It means: "In short", but used as an english version parasite phrase: "you know", or "You know, what I mean".
    – igoryonya
    Apr 30 '17 at 22:24
  • @igoryonya please, tend to give answers that has been not already provided.
    – shabunc ♦
    May 2 '17 at 16:20
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Just a filler word. Associated with being cool and kinda redneck nowadays. A colloquial contraction from an already colloquial "короче говоря" (in a nutshell, to make a long story short)

Some people are just too used to inserting it at the beginning of a sentence, which is grammatically correct but still looks like a verbal tic if you love it too much.

  • Короче, я вот что хочу сказать = 'kay, here's what I want to say
  • Короче, она пришла ко мне и расплакалась. = Long story short, she came to me and burst into tears.
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  • 4
    That must be like that annoying "so..." at the beginning of a story that's so popular now in the US. I don't know where the hell it came from, but now I even hear adults using it. They sound like valley girls!
    – CocoPop
    Jun 3 '14 at 22:05
  • 3
    It also means 'shorter'
    – Ivan Black
    Jun 4 '14 at 1:54
  • 2
    I would also add "anyway".
    – Artemix
    Jun 4 '14 at 6:34
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It means something like "without going into detail," usually after an attempt was made to give the longer version or, literally, "in short". For many it is a parasite word, getting into their every other sentence. It's not as bad as "так сказать" but similar.

I have a Canadian friend who injects "так сказать" into almost every sentence. I witnessed him talking to his Canadian friends and putting it into English sentences. Your friend is right, treat it as if it wasn't spoken at all.

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1

It means in short. "I will say u in short". "In short, we should do it"

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1

короче может также использоваться для быкования.

That is, pressuring you to accept something at the threat of "or else".

Works best when combined with past tense:

Короче, собрал вещи и вышел отсюда would mean "pick up your belongings and leave now, end of discussion"

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-1

"karoche" means long story short in russian, but it is slang and therefore not grammatically correct. When your friend said "I don't want to teach you bad russian" she didn't mean curse words, or vulgar language. She just knows that it's not correct russian and it's not traditional.

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1
  • It's grammatical and correct. Casual vocabulary is still a valid vocabulary.
    – shabunc ♦
    May 4 '17 at 7:26

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