нет войне
net voyne
The English phrase "no war" is translated into Russian as нет войне (net voyne).
The phrase нет войне is used as a political slogan to express opposition to military conflict and a desire for peace.
What does it mean word for word?
Literally, the phrase translates to "there is no to the war", where нет functions as a predicate of non-existence and войне is the dative object.
Which one should you use?
While нет войне is a direct slogan, you may also see Против войны (Against war), Мы против военного конфликта (We are against military conflict) or the emphatic Против войны, конечно! (Against war, of course!). For a more informal and forceful expression, one might use Чёрт с войной! (To hell with war!).
How do you pronounce it?
net voyne
Did you know?
- In Russian, the word мир used in peace slogans means both 'peace' and 'world'. This creates a linguistic link where wishing for 'peace' is synonymous with wishing for the wellbeing of the entire 'world'.
- The word нет in this phrase is a linguistic 'triple threat' because it contains three distinct ancient roots meaning 'not', 'is' and 'there'.
- The phrase Чёрт с войной! is a more forceful, informal way to express opposition to war. It literally tells the 'devil' to take the war away.
Examples in context
- На этой акции кричали «нет войне!».Na etoy aktsii krichali "net voyne!".At this rally, people were shouting 'no war!'.
- Главный лозунг нашего движения нет войне.Glavnyy lozug nashego dvizheniya net voyne.The main slogan of our movement is no war.
Example conversation
Ekaterina and Dmitry are discussing a peace rally.
- Дмитрий DmitryТы пойдешь на митинг сегодня?Ty poydesh' na miting segodnya?Are you going to the rally today?
- Екатерина EkaterinaДа, я хочу сказать: нет войне!Da, ya khochu skazat': net voyne!Yes, I want to say: no to war!
- Дмитрий DmitryЯ тоже пойду с тобой.Ya tozhe poydu s toboy.I will go with you too.
- Екатерина EkaterinaОтлично, встретимся в центре.Otlichno, vstretimsya v tsentre.Great, let's meet in the center.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries нет, CC BY-SA 4.0.
