Day 14 of 125

Day 14: A Merchant's Samovar at Udelnaya

At the Udelnaya flea market in Saint Petersburg on a Sunday in May, a collector of old kitchenware asks an elderly seller about a samovar.

How to study this lesson 3 steps
  1. Read the situation under the title.
  2. Read the dialogue and its translation. The audio for this lesson is coming soon.
  3. Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native Russian audio, for example from the Resources page. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.

Dialogue

Audio for this lesson is coming soon. For now, read the dialogue and its translation.

Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day

  1. A

    Добрый день. Сколько просите за самовар, вон тот, пузатый, на подносе?

    Good afternoon. How much are you asking for the samovar, that pot-bellied one on the tray?

  2. B

    Вещь подлинная, молодой человек, дореволюционная: двадцать тысяч. Говорят, сам купец Елисеев из него чай пивал.

    It's genuine, young man, pre-revolutionary: twenty thousand. They say the merchant Yeliseyev himself used to drink tea from it.

  3. A

    За такие деньги я и новый электрический куплю. Давайте поторгуемся: ручка погнута, кран подтекает.

    For that kind of money I could buy a new electric one. Let's haggle: the handle's bent, the tap drips.

  4. B

    За восемнадцать, может, и отдам. Купец его, говорят, в семнадцатом году закопал на даче в Удельной, а мой дед нашёл.

    I might let it go for eighteen. They say the merchant buried it at his dacha in Udelnaya in 1917, and my grandfather found it.

  5. A

    Закопал, значит, а дед якобы нашёл... История трогательная, прямо для музея. А на донышко взглянуть позволите?

    Buried it, you say, and your grandad supposedly found it... A touching story, fit for a museum. Would you allow me to look at the bottom?

  6. B

    Смотрите, смотрите, там и клеймо есть, всё честь по чести. Только аккуратнее, он тяжёлый.

    Go ahead, look, there's a maker's mark there too, all above board. Just be careful, it's heavy.

  7. A

    Клеймо действительно есть: «Тула, 1978, цена 25 рублей». Выходит, купец ваш дотянул до семидесятых и прекрасно сохранился.

    There is a mark indeed: 'Tula, 1978, price 25 roubles.' So your merchant made it to the seventies and kept remarkably well.

  8. B

    Ну... дед, может, чего и перепутал, старый был человек. Но самовар-то хороший, кипятит исправно!

    Well... maybe Grandad got something mixed up, he was an old man. But it's a good samovar all the same, boils water just fine!

  9. A

    Хороший, спору нет, но цена ему тогда другая. Пять тысяч, а историю про Елисеева оставьте следующему покупателю.

    Good, no argument there, but then its price is different. Five thousand, and save the Yeliseyev story for the next buyer.

  10. B

    Эх, без ножа режете. Ладно, за семь отдаю, последняя цена: вы первый на этой барахолке, кто в самоварах понимает.

    Ah, you're killing me. All right, I'll let it go for seven, final price: you're the first person at this flea market who knows his samovars.

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