# All Slavic: Naked: Differences between nagi and goli



## bardistador

This includes variants like nahý/holý, nagoj, etc.  

Is there a difference in usage?  Or in frequency of usage?  
Is one used more for "the naked eye" - without seeing aids, scopes?  

Is one more formal than the other?
Is one used more for animals without fur vs the other?

Even if they are 1:1 synonyms, there surely must be differences in usage: bare, naked and nude mean the same thing but are used differently:

naked eye (unaided with tools), naked ear (no tools), naked truth (uncovered, pure) 
nude models, nude art, nude beaches
bare - bare hands, bare eyes, barefoot 

Naked also has a sense of inappropriate, shameful, accidental vs nude which is intentional.  

One dreams of being naked in front of crowd - not nude.

"I felt so naked" has a sense of exposed.

One would say "nude photography" for artistic photography.
Parents would use "magazines with photos of naked girls" to describe the shock, horror and disgust of what they found under their son's bed.  
One would not say "naked photography"; "magazines with photos of nude girls" has less shock, feeling of disgust and shame.

One accidentally walks into a room where someone is naked - sounds like the person was getting dressed and was not expecting anyone to come.
Using "nude" in this case does not remove the unexpected meaning, but gives the meaning that the unclothed person walks in the nude in his/her house.

Are there such differences in usage between nagi and goli?


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## Mori.cze

I cannot speak for other languages, but in Czech they are not synonymous. "Nahý" means "without clothes" and "holý" "without anything on their skin, i. e. no hair, no feathers etc.", so it can commonly relate e.g. to a young bird, a bald head or a man's chest.

"naked eye" would be "prosté oko", meaning more something like "simple eye"; "holé oko" is slightly awkward, but possible, and "nahé oko" really does not convey the message.
"naked truth" might be "holá pravda" and less commonly also "obnažená pravda", which is related to "nahý", but emphasizes the process of stripping it naked.
With the embarassing dreams the word is "nahý", too, but the photographies (/paintings/whatsoever) would probably be described as erotic photos, or with a noun "akt".

There is also an adjective "nahatý", formed from "nahý", which I feel somewhat less serious: you would not use it in a poem, but it is the word to choose when you describe a year-old child playing with no clothes on.


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## Lubella

naked eye неозброєне око
naked truth гола правда
embarassing dreams еротичні сни
nude beaches нудистські пляжі
нагий/голий/оголений/роздягнений/неодягнений:
нагий - the same as голий, but antiquated
голий - undressed, naked, uncovered, exposed, not covered by plants or hair, wool, leaves, etc.; poor, badly dressed
Під голим небом - outdoors
голі слова - naked words, no explanation and no evidence
брати щось голими руками  - 2 take something with bare hands, without gloves, without the protection 2 unarmed, easy conquer, win


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## rusita preciosa

In Russian they are synonyms; *нагой* is more formal, almost poetic, *голый* is neutral. There is also *обнаженный* ( nude), it has the same root наг/наж as нагой.

Naked eye - невооруженным глазом (unarmed eye)
Bare hands - голыми руками (naked hands)
Nude photo - обнаженная мoдель (nude model)
Naked truth - голая правда
Hairless cat - бесшерснтая кошка (furless cat) or more colloquial, лысая кошка ( bald cat)


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## Azori

In Slovak, the adjective _holý_ has the following meanings:

1. not covered with clothes, undressed
2. bald, lacking hair / covering, growth - _holá hlava (head), holé kopce (hills)_
3. uncovered, bare - _holá zem (ground/floor), holá kosť (bone)_
4. unadorned, without decoration - _holé steny (walls), holá miestnosť (room)_
5. clear, pure, genuine - _holá pravda (truth), holá skutočnosť (fact)_

The adjective _nahý _has fewer meanings:

1. not covered with clothes, undressed
2. clear, pure, genuine - _nahá pravda (truth), nahá skutočnosť (fact)
_
I would say that _holý_ and _nahý_ in the meaning "undressed" are interchangeable, but in my opinion, _nahý_ is more formal whereas _holý_ sounds more colloquial (at least to me).

(observable) with the naked eye - (pozorovateľný) voľným okom (_voľný = free)_
bare hands - holé ruky
nude (photography) - akt
hairless cat - bezsrstá mačka


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## Panceltic

In Slovenian, *nag* and* gol* mean the same, but _nag_ is used more often in colloquial speech whereas _gol_ is a more formal word. There is also *razgaljen* which implies shame.

'with naked eye' is _s prostim očesom_ (with free eye)
'naked truth' is _gola resnica_


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## Barubek

This is a remarkable difference between Czech and Slovak. In Czech holý is never used for undressed.

I looked at photos of naked men.

Prohlížela jsem si fotky holých chlapů. (It would mean that they are bald or they don't have beard or they don't have hairs on body)

Prohlížela jsem si fotky nahých/nahatých chlapů.


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## Karton Realista

In Polish, nagi is more official than goły.

 Also, there are some coined expressions with both of them, like nagi miecz (naked sword, without sheath), naga prawda (naked truth, truth with all its bad and good elements), gołosłowny (baseless).
There is also "bosy", which applies to feet and means bare.


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## marco_2

Karton Realista said:


> In Polish, nagi is more official than goły.
> 
> Also, there are some coined expressions with both of them, like nagi miecz (naked sword, without sheath), naga prawda (naked truth, truth with all its bad and good elements), gołosłowny (baseless).



And *gołym okiem *(with the naked eye), *z gołą głową *(bare-headed), *z gołymi/pustymi rękami *(with bare hands, but also: /to come/ empty-handed). _Goły _can also mean _poor_ (*goły jak święty turecki *- poor as a church mouse; in Russian: _гол как сок*о*л_)


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