двуличный
dvulichnyy
The English phrase "two faced" is translated into Russian as двуличный (dvulichnyy).
The phrase is used to describe a person who is insincere and acts differently in front of different people.
What does it mean word for word?
The word is built from the prefix дву-, which means "two".
How does it change in a sentence?
As an adjective, the form must agree with the gender and number of the noun it describes. Use the masculine двуличный for men or masculine nouns, the feminine двуличная for feminine nouns and the plural двуличные for multiple people or plural nouns.
How do you pronounce it?
dvulichnyy
Did you know?
- The root word лицо (face) is also used to describe the 'face' of a watch or the 'interface' of a computer program in Russian.
- Russian speakers often prefer the idiom играть на два фронта ('to play on two fronts') when a 'two-faced' person is actively betraying one side for another.
- If you want to be more colloquial, instead of using the adjective двуличный, you can call someone a лицемер (hypocrite), which focuses more on the sin of hypocrisy than the physical imagery of two faces.
Examples in context
- Не доверяй ему. Он очень двуличный.Don't trust him. He's very two-faced.This sentence is useful for showing how to warn someone about a two-faced person using двуличный.Tatoeba #3552848 by odexed, translation #2265883 by _undertoad
- Ты двуличный мерзавец, потворствующий этому делу.You're a two-faced, conniving git.This sentence shows how to use двуличный when calling someone a two-faced, conniving git.Tatoeba #3520770 by shanghainese, translation #1407472 by PeterR
- Ты двуличный.You are two-faced.This sentence is a direct way to tell someone they are two-faced using двуличный.Tatoeba #2982122 by Lenin_1917, translation #64309 by CM
- Она всегда улыбается, но на самом деле она очень двуличная.She always smiles, but in reality, she is very two faced.
- Он притворяется другом, но на самом деле он просто двуличка.He pretends to be a friend, but in reality, he's just a two-faced person.
Example conversation
Ekaterina tells Andrey about a coworker she doesn't trust.
- Екатерина EkaterinaАндрей, ты видел, как он с нами общается?Andrey, ty videl, kak on s nami obshchayetsya?Andrey, did you see how he talks to us?
- Андрей AndreyДа, он кажется очень дружелюбным.Da, on kazhetsya ochen druzhelyubnym.Yes, he seems very friendly.
- Екатерина EkaterinaНе верь ему, он очень двуличный человек.Ne ver' emu, on ochen dvulichnyy chelovek.Don't trust him, he is a very two-faced person.
- Андрей AndreyТеперь я буду осторожнее с ним.Teper' ya budu ostorozhnee s nim.Now I will be more careful with him.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
