Significado
To show annoyance or disbelief through body language.
Contexto cultural
In Russian schools, eye-rolling is a major 'red flag' for teachers. It is often cited in school reports as a sign of 'demonstrative behavior' or lack of discipline. The 🙄 emoji is almost always translated as 'закатывать глаза' in Russian social media contexts, making it a key phrase for digital literacy. Classic literature uses the phrase literally for fainting. If you see it in a 19th-century novel, check if the character is actually falling down! While common in private, doing this in a Russian business meeting is a 'career killer.' It is seen as much more offensive than in some Western cultures.
Use with 'Ну'
Pairing the gesture with 'Ну...' (Well...) or 'Опять...' (Again...) makes it sound 100% natural.
Watch the Aspect
Don't say 'Я закатил глаза' if you mean you do it all the time. Use 'закатываю'.
Significado
To show annoyance or disbelief through body language.
Use with 'Ну'
Pairing the gesture with 'Ну...' (Well...) or 'Опять...' (Again...) makes it sound 100% natural.
Watch the Aspect
Don't say 'Я закатил глаза' if you mean you do it all the time. Use 'закатываю'.
The 'Internal' Eye Roll
You can say 'Я мысленно закатил глаза' (I rolled my eyes mentally) if you were in a formal situation where you couldn't do it physically.
Teenager Talk
If you want to sound like a Russian teen, this is your go-to phrase for describing school life.
Teste-se
Fill in the correct form of the verb (закатывать or закатить).
Когда он начал петь караоке, все гости дружно ___ глаза.
We use the perfective 'закатили' because it describes a specific, completed reaction to a single event.
Which sentence is the most natural for a teenager reacting to their parents?
Мама: 'Ты должен убраться в комнате!' Подросток: '...'
This is the most common informal reaction in a family setting.
Match the phrase to the most likely situation.
Ситуация: Ваш коллега в десятый раз рассказывает, какой он умный.
'Закатывать глаза' expresses the annoyance felt when someone brags repetitively.
Complete the dialogue.
— Почему ты так на меня смотришь? — Я не смотрю, я просто ___ на твою новую идею.
The context implies a negative reaction to an idea.
🎉 Pontuação: /4
Recursos visuais
Eye Idioms
Banco de exercicios
4 exerciciosКогда он начал петь караоке, все гости дружно ___ глаза.
We use the perfective 'закатили' because it describes a specific, completed reaction to a single event.
Мама: 'Ты должен убраться в комнате!' Подросток: '...'
This is the most common informal reaction in a family setting.
Ситуация: Ваш коллега в десятый раз рассказывает, какой он умный.
'Закатывать глаза' expresses the annoyance felt when someone brags repetitively.
— Почему ты так на меня смотришь? — Я не смотрю, я просто ___ на твою новую идею.
The context implies a negative reaction to an idea.
🎉 Pontuação: /4
Perguntas frequentes
12 perguntasThe phrase itself isn't rude, but the action it describes is. You can use the phrase to describe someone else's behavior without being rude.
Only if you are very close with the colleague. Otherwise, it's too informal.
'Закатывать' is specifically upward. 'Вращать' (rotate) implies a circular motion and often means someone is looking for an exit or is very nervous.
People often just say 'сделать 🙄' or use the English word 'eye-roll' in transliteration (айролл), though it's rare.
Я закачу, ты закатишь, он закатит, мы закатим, вы закатите, они закатят.
No, it's always plural 'глаза'.
95% of the time, yes. Occasionally it can mean 'I'm so overwhelmed by how good this food is,' but that's rare in Russian.
Looking someone straight in the eye (смотреть прямо в глаза) to show sincerity.
Yes, very often in modern prose to show character conflict.
Yes, the diminutive 'глазки' makes it sound more sarcastic or describes a child doing it.
Yes, it is a universal idiom across Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, etc.
The preposition 'на' (at) followed by the Accusative case.
Frases relacionadas
делать фейспалм
similarTo put one's face in one's hand in exasperation.
вздыхать
builds onTo sigh.
смотреть с презрением
specialized formTo look with contempt.
строить глазки
contrastTo flirt.
хлопать глазами
similarTo blink in confusion.
