# All Slavic: "Breasts": Differences between grudi, prsi, dojki, njedro



## bardistador

Slavic languages have many words for breasts and these are just some of the non-vulgar ones: 

1. Prs, pierś, prsia, prsi
2. Njedro, ňadro, 
3. grudi, hrudy, гърда́
4. dojka, dojki,

No language (To my knowledge) has all of them, but for those that have 2 or 3 - what is the difference between them?

What is the correct usage for learners wanting to avoid saying awkward things like "bosom cancer," "the ball hit his breasts", "cow's boobs" or something of that sort.

These are some examples in English where the right word must be used and the wrong word can create sentences that range from the awkward to completely false (medical: thoracic vs mammary). 

1. Lactation, breast-feeding - human
2. Milk production: animal
3. A male's breast, literal or figurative (runs to the bosom of our lord)
4. Breast as in breast cancer
5. Chest, not breast, in sports, male (he chested the ball down, it hit his chest, etc)
6. Chest pain (cardiac symptom) vs breast pain (hormonal)
6. Poetic, bosom - location of protection, security, home, comfort.  ("He returned to the bosom of the Catholic Church" - no actual thorax there)
7. Generic non-vulgar breasts - nude photography/art, "the shadow under her breasts"

These are some examples off the top of my head.  

Between prsi, njedra, grudi and dojki - am I missing any?  And which is used in what context?


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## Panceltic

In Slovenian, we have them all 

1. *Prsi* (plural, feminine); colloquially also *prsa* (plural, neuter)
2. *Nedrje* (singular, neuter)
3. *Grudi* (plural, feminine)
4. *Dojka* (singular, feminine)

_Prsi_ is the neutral expression, covering practically everything, can apply to women and men. It is also widely used in cooking as _piščančje prsi / piščančja prsa_ (chicken breast).
_
Nedrje_ and _grudi_ are very poetic and high-sounding, perhaps something an infatuated lover would use in a poem - nowadays rather archaic. They are used for female breasts only; but can also be used in expressions like _Zemlja jih je priklenila na svoje grudi; Rudna bogastva v nedrjih zemlje_ (source: SSKJ)

_Dojka_ is a somewhat technical expression, meaning "one female breast" and is used mainly in a medical sense. _Rak na dojki_ is a fixed expression concerning cancer.

For animals, the word for "udder" is *vime* (singular, neuter), while the individual "breast" is *sesek* (singular, masculine).


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## rusita preciosa

Russian:
1. Lactation, breast-feeding - human - грудь
2. Milk production: animal  - сосок (nipple/teet);  вымя (udder)
3. A male's breast, literal or figurative (runs to the bosom of our lord) - male breast: грудь; figurative/Lord: ??
4. Breast as in breast cancer -  грудь
5. Chest, not breast, in sports, male (he chested the ball down, it hit his chest, etc) - грудь
6. Chest pain (cardiac symptom) vs breast pain (hormonal) - грудь
6. Poetic, bosom - location of protection, security, home, comfort. ("He returned to the bosom of the Catholic Church" - no actual thorax there) - перси (poetic reference to woman's breasts); лоно (location of protection - literal meaning is 'womb")
7. Generic non-vulgar breasts - nude photography/art, "the shadow under her breasts" - груди (plural)


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## marco_2

Polish:
1. Lactation, breast-feeding - human - *pierś; karmienie piersią *(= breast-feeding) Nipples = *sutki *(both male and female).
2. Milk production: animal - *wymię - *plural: *wymiona *(in some rural dialects *dójki*)
3. A male's breast, literal or figurative (runs to the bosom of our lord) - male breast: *pierś, klatka piersiowa *(=chest), *tors*
4. Breast as in breast cancer - *pierś; rak piersi *= breast cancer
5. Chest, not breast, in sports, male (he chested the ball down, it hit his chest, etc) - *pierś *(in slang: *klata*, from _klatka piersiowa_)
6. Chest pain (cardiac symptom) vs breast pain (hormonal) - chest pain = *ból w klatce piersiowej*, breast pain = *ból piersi *(?)
6. Poetic, bosom - location of protection, security, home, comfort. ("He returned to the bosom of the Catholic Church" - *Wrócił na łono Kościoła* (poetic reference to woman's breasts); though generally *łono *is situated at the bottom of human body (*owłosienie łonowe = *pubic hair) or inside the body, then *łono *= womb, uterus.
7. Generic non-vulgar breasts - nude photography/art, "the shadow under her breasts" - *piersi* (plural)


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## bibax

Czech:

*prs* (masc. sing.) - *prsy* (masc. plur.) = mamma - mammae (female, but the men have them, too);
prsní/mléčná žláza = glandula mammaria;
karcinom prsu;

*prsa* (neuter plur., na prsou - dual) or *hruď* (fem. sing.): bil se v prsa/hruď (like a gorilla), vypjal prsa/hruď; hřál si na prsou hada;
kuřecí prsa = chicken breast (meal);
plněná telecí hruď = stuffed breast of veal (meal);
also prsa = breaststroke, a swimming style (żabka in Polish);

*ňadro* (neuter sing.) - *ňadra* (neuter plur.) = only female, poetic (krásná ňadra);

*výmě/vémě/vemeno* (neuter sing., n-stem), gen. vemene - vemena (plur.): only animals;

*cecek/cecík* (masc. sing) - *cecky/cecíky* (plur.): mostly animals; vulg. about women (ta má cecky);

Vulg. koza (pl. kozy) = she-goat (capra); dudy (plur.) = bagpipes; etc.


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## marco_2

bibax said:


> Czech:
> 
> *cecek/cecík* (masc. sing) - *cecky/cecíky* (plur.): mostly animals; vulg. about women (ta má cecky);



In Polish is *cycek - cycki *(or: *cyc - cyce*), in Russian: *титьки*, in English: *tits* - it must be something Indo-European.


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## Karton Realista

Also, in Polish there are many euphemisms and slang expressions for breasts, like: balony (baloons), kule do kręgli (bowling balls, used to describe really big ones), cyce jak donice (boobs like flower pots), płaska deska (flat plank, for flat chest), krągłości (round places, it goes also for bottoms), bimbałki, bufory, dyndałki, bezy, zderzaki, etc.


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## ilocas2

> Karton Realista said:
> cyce jak donice



we have rhyme _kozy jak vozy_



> marco_2 said:
> in English: *tits*



in English *tit* is also a bird (_sýkora_ in Czech)


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## marco_2

ilocas2 said:


> in English *tit* is also a bird (_sýkora_ in Czech)



In Polish *sikora*, but in this case _tit _is probably an imitation of "littleness", whereas _tit /teat _as "breast" has different origin.


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## Karton Realista

ilocas2 said:


> we have rhyme _kozy jak vozy_


That's really extreme.  
Does vozy mean cartloads? It it really similar to Polish wozy, but false friends creep everywhere in our languages.


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## ilocas2

To say truth, I don't know how to translate the word vůz, plural vozy most precisely into English. Once I wanted to write an idiom with this word here on WR but finally I decided not to write it because I wasn't sure how to translate it into English.

In the meantime I also recalled a rhyme _Dobrý den, kozy ven_ (Good day, boobs out)


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