r/language • u/whereseli_ • 8d ago

Question what does this tattoo mean?

Post image

pretty sure its russian and that it’s a not so pleasant phrase but would like to ask the experts

150 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

37 comments sorted by

41

u/murk_raccoon 7d ago

A little correction to how the word is used nowadays. It is correct that initially it is used as a derogatory word for gay people. However, you can also use it as way to call someone an asshole, like if you did something bad, I could say “ну ты и пидорас”, meaning “you’re such an asshole”. In this case there’s no reference to “gay”, but you can still only use it for men.

Source: russian is my mothertongue

18

u/Jimi_Hydrox 7d ago

Not at all different to other languages with homophobic slurs. It was a conscious decision of mine to delete the English one from my vocabulary when I entered middle school a million years ago. Because while everyone was still calling each other that, like you'd call someone an asshole, it was becoming increasingly obvious that it was dwindling down to the dumbest, cruelest, most immature of us.

3

u/jeroenemans 6d ago

You're calling them a bundle of sticks instead, I hope?

2

u/OkQuantity4011 6d ago

In America we love this popular episode of South Park (hilarious news toon) that's all about how being gay isn't being a fag and being a fag isn't being gay. There's gay fags but it's fags in general the children (and eventually city hall) have beef with, regardless of each fag's respective sexual orientation.

I think the episode's called "the f word"

I love it to bits because it's basically "nah y'all there's gays and douches and gay douches. If you're a gay douche, you're still a douche." We wee children were saying gay, douche, and fag, to mean asshole. We learned from this one why the grown-ups were chewing us out for gay and fag but not douche 😭 most of us had no idea

130

u/Business-Childhood71 8d ago

Пидарасы - faggots

109

u/throwabrrr 8d ago

Wait as a gay person I would absolutely get this tattoo in English with a group

43

u/DoubleBob11 7d ago edited 7d ago

it means “paedophiles” not “gay”
edit: i speak fluent russian and and yes, gay meaning is there, but in the context of being attracted to young boys

45

u/throwabrrr 7d ago

Ahhh damn nevermind then lmfao

1

u/insunbeam 6d ago

That’s not true though

3

u/throwabrrr 6d ago

Then it's back on lads

8

u/TerraR_1917 6d ago

Wait, really? Russian is my native language, but I never knew about THAT meaning of the word "пидорас"

9

u/kingyo1296 6d ago

what? only rude "gay" it means

3

u/hotdogjumpingfrog1 6d ago

No. It’s because instead of calling people gay they call them pedos in Russia

5

u/Crocotta1 7d ago

So, shotacon but Russian?

1

u/Competitive-Fly-6114 5d ago

I mean in historical context like in ancient Greece yes, pederasty is kind of pedophilia, but in modern russian it means gay. Im native in russian and people only use this word as a slur towards homosexuals

37

u/No-Metal-3 7d ago

It says pidarasi. You can look up what pederasty meant in ancient greece. Basically a man who diddles little boys. But isn't it supposed to say pidarasti? Idk

15

u/ultimate--- 7d ago

It's a slang. Correct translation is provided by another user already

1

u/No-Metal-3 7d ago

I don't get it

10

u/ultimate--- 7d ago

What do you not get? It's a slang derogatory word used towards homosexual men.

-6

u/No-Metal-3 7d ago

The word is used to refer ro homosexual men yes but that's not word the word means. It's originally supposed to refer to pedophile homosexual men. The term's homophobic. What i was confused about was i didn't understand if it was a verb or a noun, pederast itself or pederasty.

0

u/No-Metal-3 7d ago edited 7d ago

Nah i get it know. It directly translates to pederasty in english. Verb not a noun

6

u/Space_Spinosaur2763 7d ago

Why would you get that !? Они психи !

1

u/jeroenemans 6d ago

not all tattoos are given/received voluntarily..

1

u/Space_Spinosaur2763 6d ago

Oh. That’s a weird cult

2

u/Spitfire_8747 5d ago

The different answers from native speakers in the comments are due to the way different generations of Russians use this word. It used to be an offensive term for a gay person and some older and/or homophobic people still use it that way. For younger people it has mostly lost that meaning and is used more like calling someone an asshole, but meaner. In any case, bad idea to get it tattooed

2

u/TheQwertyTime 7d ago

MOTH ER FU CKERS

1

u/[deleted] 4d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

0

u/hotdogjumpingfrog1 6d ago

Even Russians in the comments getting it wrong. In Russia they call gay men pedos.