Bedeutung
The required response to 'good luck'.
Kultureller Hintergrund
Students are the biggest users of this phrase. It's common to see groups of students outside an exam hall all shouting 'К чёрту!' in unison after a teacher wishes them luck. Actors never wish each other 'Good luck' before a show. It's always 'Ни пуха, ни пера' followed by 'К чёрту'. They also believe dropping a script is bad luck unless you sit on it immediately. The original source. Hunters would be offended if you wished them a good hunt directly. They still use this ritual to keep the 'forest spirits' from hiding the animals. In cities, the phrase has lost its 'devilish' weight and is used as a general exclamation of dismissal, similar to 'Whatever' or 'Forget it'.
The Spit Ritual
For maximum 'native' points, say 'К чёрту!', then mock-spit three times over your left shoulder. It shows you really know the culture!
Not for Church
Even though it's common, don't use it in a church or with a priest. They take the 'devil' part literally.
Bedeutung
The required response to 'good luck'.
The Spit Ritual
For maximum 'native' points, say 'К чёрту!', then mock-spit three times over your left shoulder. It shows you really know the culture!
Not for Church
Even though it's common, don't use it in a church or with a priest. They take the 'devil' part literally.
The 'Thank You' Trap
If you accidentally say 'Спасибо', just quickly add 'Ой, то есть к чёрту!' to fix the luck.
Teste dich selbst
Complete the dialogue with the correct superstitious response.
Анна: 'Завтра у меня важный тест. Ни пуха, ни пера!' Иван: '________!'
In response to 'Ни пуха, ни пера!', the only correct ritual response is 'К чёрту!'.
Which sentence expresses frustration with an object?
Choose the best option:
'К чёрту + Noun' is the standard way to express 'To hell with [something]'.
Match the phrase to the situation.
Situation: Someone says 'Удачи!' (Good luck!) to you.
You only say 'К чёрту' for 'Ни пуха'. For 'Удачи', you say 'Спасибо'.
Fill in the missing word in the dative case.
Иди к ________! (чёрт)
The preposition 'к' requires the dative case ending '-у' for masculine nouns.
🎉 Ergebnis: /4
Visuelle Lernhilfen
Uses of 'К чёрту!'
Ritual
- • Response to luck
- • Exams
- • Interviews
Dismissal
- • Bad ideas
- • Annoying people
- • Old things
Frustration
- • Traffic
- • Broken tech
- • Failure
Aufgabensammlung
4 AufgabenАнна: 'Завтра у меня важный тест. Ни пуха, ни пера!' Иван: '________!'
In response to 'Ни пуха, ни пера!', the only correct ritual response is 'К чёрту!'.
Choose the best option:
'К чёрту + Noun' is the standard way to express 'To hell with [something]'.
Situation: Someone says 'Удачи!' (Good luck!) to you.
You only say 'К чёрту' for 'Ни пуха'. For 'Удачи', you say 'Спасибо'.
Иди к ________! (чёрт)
The preposition 'к' requires the dative case ending '-у' for masculine nouns.
🎉 Ergebnis: /4
Häufig gestellte Fragen
10 FragenNo, it's considered 'mild' or 'expressive'. It's not 'mat' (Russian hardcore profanity). You can say it in front of your parents, but maybe not your boss.
If your teacher says 'Ни пуха, ни пера!', you SHOULD say 'К чёрту!'. It's the expected ritual response regardless of the power dynamic.
It will sound like you are telling the person to go to hell. Avoid this!
Yes, 'К лешему' (To the forest spirit) or 'К шуту' (To the jester) are softer.
It covers both types of hunting: animals (fur) and birds (feathers). Wishing for neither means wishing for a successful hunt in 'reverse'.
Absolutely. It's one of the most persistent idioms in modern Russian.
Yes, 'К чёрту его!' is a very common way to dismiss someone annoying.
No, the idiom is fixed in the singular.
Yes, almost every Russian movie with an exam scene will feature this phrase.
It is 'чёрту'. The preposition 'к' always takes the dative.
Verwandte Redewendungen
Чёрт возьми!
similarDamn it!
Ни пуха, ни пера
builds onBreak a leg
К лешему
synonymTo the forest spirit
Пошёл к чёрту
specialized formGo to hell
Чертовски
relatedDevilishly / Extremely
