Russian

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Inherited from Proto-Slavic *ǫzъkъ, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂énǵʰus. Cognates include Armenian անձուկ (anjuk, narrow), German eng (narrow), Irish cúng (narrow), Latin angustus (narrow), Sanskrit अंहु (aṃhu, narrow).

Sense 3 was popularised by a parody of Shaman's music video "Ya Russkiy" ("I am a Russian") as a pun on "ру́сский" ("a Russian").

Pronunciation

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  • Audio:(file)
  • IPA(key): [ˈuskʲɪj]

Adjective

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у́зкий (úzkij) (comparative (по)у́же, superlative узча́йший, adverb у́зко, abstract noun у́зость, diminutive у́зенький)

  1. narrow
  2. tight
  3. (Internet slang, derogatory) Deliberate misspelling of русский (russkij).

Usage notes

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The short form should not be conflated with the adjective у́зок (úzok, too narrow), which has lexicalized as a short-form-only adjective in its own right.

Declension

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Antonyms

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Derived terms

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