ну и что?
nu i što?[nu i ʂto]word by word
The English phrase "so what" can be translated into Russian as ну и что? (nu i što?) If unsure, use ну и что? Wiktionary also lists ну и́? (nu í?) and ну и что из того́? (nu i što iz tovó?).
Meaning: reply of indifference (intj)
Ways to say it
| Russian | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| ну и что? | nu i što? | [nu i ʂto] (word by word, narrow) | |
| ну и́? | nu í? | ||
| ну и что из того́? | nu i što iz tovó? | ||
| ху́ли | xúli | slang, vulgar |
The phrase ну и что? is used to express indifference, dismissiveness or to challenge the relevance of a statement made by another person.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase ну и что? is composed of the particle ну (well/so), the conjunction и (and) and the pronoun что (what).
Which one should you use?
The clipped form ну и́? is a very informal, shorthand way to say "so?" or "and?" when expressing indifference or impatience. For a more extended way to say "so what?", you can use ну и что из того́?
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Ну и что? is an informal way to say "so what". The clipped form ну и́? is also informal. However, ху́ли is a highly vulgar, slang way to express "so what?" or "why the fuck?" and should be avoided in polite conversation.
How do you pronounce it?
nu i što?
Did you know?
- The word что in this expression shares an ancient Indo-European root with the Latin word 'quid', which is the source of the English 'quid pro quo'.
- Using ху́ли in a formal setting is considered far more offensive than using 'fuck' in a similar English context because it is categorized as 'mat', a specific system of taboo swearing.
- The vulgar version ху́ли is derived from хуй, the Russian word for 'penis'. It functions as a versatile slang particle that can express anger or utter indifference.
Examples in context
- Да, ну и что?Yeah, so what?Tatoeba #1770628 by Balamax, translation #5228998 by jaxhere
- Я гей, ну и что?I'm gay, so what?Tatoeba #2596419 by marafon, translation #5571822 by zumley
- Ну и что? Я тоже так умею.So what? I can do that, too.Tatoeba #8108224 by marafon, translation #8109716 by Takirabor
- 6 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Andrei and Ekaterina are arguing about a small mistake at work.
- Андрей AndreyТы опоздала на пять минут.Ty opozdala na pyat' minut.You are five minutes late.
- Екатерина EkaterinaНу и что?Nu i chto?So what?
- Андрей AndreyЭто плохая привычка.Eto plokhaya privychka.It is a bad habit.
- Екатерина EkaterinaМеня это не волнует.Menya eto ne volnuyet.I don't care about it.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “so what” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (ну, и, что) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries и, из, ну, что, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
