When Yes of course in Russian means Definitely not

Today we will talk about a Russian expression which may confuse you a great deal, because sometimes it can mean exactly the opposite to its word-for-word translation! So here is the expression – «да конечно» or «да конечно, ага». The word «да» means ‘yes’ in the Russian language and the word «конечно» means ‘sure’. And «ага» is a colloquial form of ‘yes’ in Russian.

This expression can certainly be used when we want to say yes of course in Russian, and in that case it is spelt with a comma — «да, конечно».

But it can also be used with the opposite meaning! So how can we tell the difference?

Sometimes ‘Yes’ in Russian can easily turn into ‘No’. But you won’t be confused anymore after reading this article!

When we want to say yes of course in Russian we say «да, конечно» with a pause between words. It’s essential! The comma indicates the pause. For example, somebody asks you in Russian ‘Did you study at school?’ («Ты учился в школе?») you say ‘Yes, of course’ – «Да, конечно». Or ‘Have you ever seen Star Wars?’ («Ты смотрел «Звездные войны»?) and you say ‘Yes, of course’ – «Да, конечно».

But if we say «да конечно» very quickly, as a solid word, without any hint of a pause between words, it means ‘surely not’! That is how yes of course in Russian gets its opposite meaning.

EXAMPLES

1) Somebody asks you ‘So did you lend him 10,000 bucks?’ («Так ты занял ему 10 тыщ долларов?») you say «да конечно, ага» which means ‘Oh god, no! He has been out of work for three years, how would he pay me back?’

2) Another example of yes of course in Russian that means ‘definitely not’. Someone says ‘Anna thought that her boyfriend would buy her a Ferrari for her birthday’ («Анна думала, что ее бойфренд купит ей на день рожденья Феррари»). And you can say «Да конечно!» which means ‘Oh, how stupid of her to expect that, he would definitely not buy such a thing.’

There is also another tricky phrase in Russian — ‘yes no maybe’. It’s another weird example of saying ‘no’ in Russian. And don’t confuse ‘yes’ with ‘yes-yes-yes’!)

I hope this one helps and you will now understand Russian better. If you have any questions about saying yes of course in Russian, feel free to ask in the comment section. And you are welcome to subscribe to Speak Russian Like Russians – this way we won’t lose each other on the Internet!

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