# Нормально



## PatrickK1

Example: Let's say you ask your friend if he wants to meet at 7, and he says "I actually have to work late, tomorrow night I'm free though."

I know that "хорошо" works fine here, but I noticed when I was in Russia that they say нормально a lot. Can you use "нормально" to express "Ok/That's fine"? If so, is there any kind of subtle difference in tone or meaning?


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## Sobakus

It means "Ok/That's fine/сойдёт" when you answer a question like "Завтра вечером я свободен, в 7 тебя устроит?" "В 7 нормально". But you can't use it in your example because it's not a question. You can't use it to answer a question like "Давай встретимся в 7?" either. Actually, I'm a bit puzzled myself here  If you like, you can give some examples and I'll say if you can or can't use it there.


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## bedtimestorynyc

Нормально describes/сharacterizes something:

"как ты? - нормально"
"как тебе эта песня? - нормально/ая"
"ты хорошо поел? - да, нормально"

In this case "хорошо" is appropriate as a *one-word response*, because you are agreeing to something:

"ты хочешь встретиться в семь? - хорошо"
"давай пойдём в музей! - хорошо"

 You would only use нормально in those responses if you want to say that *meeting* at 7 *is good*, or *going* to the museum *is good*. Thus you are not agreeing, but rather saying that it would be nice to meet at 7 or go to the museum.

"ты хочешь встретиться в семь? - да, в семь - нормально!"
"ты хочешь пойти в музей? - да, было бы нормально!"


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## ExMax

I guess the meaning of the Russian word "нормально" in your example fully corresponds to the English word "normal" in its meaning defined in the Merriam-Webster (the entry 2), "*a* *:* according with, constituting, or not deviating from a norm, rule, or principle *b* *:* conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern." Anyway, you can use "нормально" as a sign of the concordance in your response. Usually I use "нормально" when I want to say that a proposal/a situation/etc. isn't perfect but "not deviating from a norm", and I agree to accept it (for instance, "A is perfect, B is good, and C isn't perfect but normal - "нормально").


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## Sobakus

bedtimestorynyc said:


> You would only use нормально in those responses if you want to say that *meeting* at 7 *is good*, or *going* to the museum *is good*.
> "ты хочешь пойти в музей? - да, было бы нормально!"


I wouldn't say нормально if I wanted to say it's good. I'd say "было бы хорошо!" in this case, and нормально - if it's acceptable, for ex. "Давай куда-нибудь сходим? Как насчёт в музей?" "В музей нормально". It still sounds a bit incorrect to me.


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## bedtimestorynyc

ExMax said:


> I guess the meaning of the Russian word "нормально" in your example fully corresponds to the English word "normal"



In this case it does not.
In English, the equivalent of нормально is "fine", "good", "nice", "ok", "alright".


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## bedtimestorynyc

Sobakus said:


> I wouldn't say нормально if I wanted to say it's good. I'd say "было бы хорошо!" in this case, and нормально - if it's acceptable, for ex. "Давай куда-нибудь сходим? Как насчёт в музей?" "В музей нормально". It still sounds a bit incorrect to me.


It's not exactly literature-correct, and I wouldn't say it either. However in a colloquial, simplistic language I hear that all the time.


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## ExMax

bedtimestorynyc said:


> In this case it does not.
> In English, the equivalent of нормально is "fine", "good", "nice", "ok", "alright".


Yes and no. Indeed, you can say "нормально" when you agree with something, and you want to show your general acceptance of something; therefore, all these words are acceptable, of course. However, accordingly to the definition of this word, "нормальный" means "corresponding to the norm", so it's good idea to use some other words when you want to emphasize that a proposal (for instance) is really good, really fine, but not simply "normal."


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## bedtimestorynyc

^Isn't that what I said?


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## Andrey05

bedtimestorynyc said:


> It's not exactly literature-correct, and I wouldn't say it either. However in a colloquial, simplistic language I hear that all the time.


 
You may hear many things but it won't mean they are correct. Нормально should not be used in this example, and it's definitely not worth learning for a foreigner! 

Btw, I've never heard it used in this way (Как насчёт в музей?" "В музей нормально").


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## bedtimestorynyc

I think a foreigner should be able distinguish right from wrong. Especially if native speakers DO use some phrases incorrectly as a norm.

In English, my second language, I would never use a phrase like: "I ain't going nowhere", but when I was learning the language, I needed to be able to understand what something like that meant, and accept the fact that people use it.


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## Andrey05

bedtimestorynyc said:


> I think a foreigner should be able *to *distinguish right from wrong. Especially if native speakers DO use some phrases incorrectly as a norm.
> 
> In English, my second language, I would never use a phrase like: "I ain't going nowhere", but when I was learning the language, I needed to be able to understand what something like that meant, and accept the fact that people use it.


 
Can that be why you've omitted 'to' above? 
I think only correct connotations should be learnt in the beginning, so that the learner can later realize mistakes even in native speakers' talks. Moreover, I don't think the example we're talking about is used "as a norm" by Russians.


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## Q-cumber

Andrey05 said:


> You may hear many things but it won't mean they are correct. *Нормально should not be used in this example, and it's definitely not worth learning for a foreigner! *


I second your opinion  



> Btw, I've never heard it used in this way (Как насчёт в музей?" "В музей нормально").



Me neither. The phrase sounds odd to me.


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## bedtimestorynyc

Andrey05 said:


> Can that be why you've omitted 'to' above?


Thanks for correcting my typo!



> I think * that *only correct connotations should be learnt in *from *the beginning (_no comma necessary_) so that the learner can later realize *the* mistakes even in native speakers' talks *the *native speakers make. Moreover, I don't think the example we're talking about is used "as a norm" by *the *Russians.



Following your theory, here is how you should say your sentence correctly. I don't think you are a beginner though. And I wasn't sure if the poster of the original post is the beginner or not, but I still want him/her to distinguish right from wrong.


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## palomnik

Some of my knowledge of Russian colloquialisms is out of date, although this one has been around for a generation or two.  My impression is that if you can say "no problem!" as a response to a question in English, then you can probably say нормально in the same situation in Russian without being too far out of line.


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## Andrey05

bedtimestorynyc said:


> Following your theory, here is how you should say your sentence correctly. I don't think you are a beginner though. And I wasn't sure if the poster of the original post is *the* *a* beginner or not, but I still want him/her to distinguish *the* right from *the* wrong.


 
Your rephrasing my sentences has nothing to do with your example! Omitting 'that' in conjunctions like "I think [that] only correct connotations should be learnt" is perfectly allowed and used off a lot even by BBC and CNN, "in / from the beginning" are both perfectly grammatical and fit in the sentence, with a slight difference in the meaning, etc.

However, your example of "нормально" sounds odd and unnatural and is NOT used in any trustworthy media. Since three senior forum members and native Russian speakers have pointed that out to you and you still keep being stubborn, I can only conclude that you've spent too much time abroad and lost your ties with the Russian language.


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## cyanista

*MOD NOTE*

Just a short reminder:



> *The Forums promote learning and maintain an atmosphere that is serious, academic and collaborative, with a respectful, helpful and cordial tone.*


Please keep that in mind, dear foreros.


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## bedtimestorynyc

Andrey05 said:


> Your rephrasing my sentences has nothing to do with your example! Omitting 'that' in conjunctions like "I think [that] only correct connotations should be learnt" is perfectly allowed and used off a lot even by BBC and CNN, "in / from the beginning" are both perfectly grammatical and fit in the sentence, with a slight difference in the meaning, etc.
> 
> However, your example of "нормально" sounds odd and unnatural and is NOT used in any trustworthy media. Since three senior forum members and native Russian speakers have pointed that out to you and you still keep being stubborn, I can only conclude that you've spent too much time abroad and lost your ties with the Russian language.


When have I ever mentioned that it was used in a trustworthy media? When have I said that it is a correct usage of the word? It is NOT correct! But it's what people use, it is what I have heard (in the former USSR), whether you like it or not, whether you've heard it or not.

PS: I'm not elaborating any further on the correct usage of the English articles in the Russian forum.


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## Andrey05

bedtimestorynyc said:


> When have I ever mentioned that it was used in a trustworthy media? When have I said that it is a correct usage of the word? It is NOT correct! But it's what people use, it is what I have heard (in the former USSR), whether you like it or not, whether you've heard it or not.


 
If someone is using it, such a usage is incorrect, and not at all "a norm" as you claim, whereas your "corrections" of my text (such as omitting 'that') ARE used "as a norm", that's why I had to reply and point out that the two "deviations from the norm" have nothing to do with one another and cannot be equated (one is acceptable and common, and the other is wrong). 

Having said that, I hope it's clear that this use of "нормально" is erroneous, so I leave it up to every learner to decide whether to memorize it or not.


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## learnerr

Sobakus said:


> It means "Ok/That's fine/сойдёт" when you answer a question like "Завтра вечером я свободен, в 7 тебя устроит?" "В 7 нормально". But you can't use it in your example because it's not a question. You can't use it to answer a question like "Давай встретимся в 7?" either. Actually, I'm a bit puzzled myself here


По-моему, "нормально" в первом случае используется, потому что отвечает на вопрос "устроит?". Можно тот же вопрос по-другому задать: "в 7 часов сойдёт?" или даже "в 7 часов будет нормально?" Что же до второго случая, то внутри вопроса не было сказано ничего подобного.


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## RhoKappa

An even more complex use of нормально is when referring to something that is safe for consumption, as I understood from abroad.  For instance, I was at a distant restaurant in a rustic town and I wanted some water to drink.  The waitress gave me a glass of ice water, but I wanted bottled water, which she said they did not have.  I was trying to figure out how to ask if the water is safe to drink, and the correct word for safe in this context is нормально.


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## viesis

RhoKappa said:


> An even more complex use of нормально is when referring to something that is safe for consumption, as I understood from abroad.  For instance, I was at a distant restaurant in a rustic town and I wanted some water to drink.  The waitress gave me a glass of ice water, but I wanted bottled water, which she said they did not have.  I was trying to figure out how to ask if the water is safe to drink, and the correct word for safe in this context is нормально.



Well... If you ask "Это нормальная вода?" I fear the only possible answer you get is "Конечно нормальная! Какая же еще?!" From my experience Russians (especially waitresses) don't like such vague questions. What does "нормальная вода" mean? Simple water. 

If you want to ask whether the water is safe to drink, you should ask directly "Эту воду можно пить?" or "Эта вода безопасна для питья?". But even then all that you can hear would be "Все пьют, и ничего!" 

Anyway, you don't expect the waitress to perform chemical analysis on that water, do you? If you are not sure, just don't drink.


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## Great Dane

PatrickK1 said:


> Example: Let's say you ask your friend if he wants to meet at 7, and he says "I actually have to work late, tomorrow night I'm free though."
> 
> I know that "хорошо" works fine here, but I noticed when I was in Russia that they say нормально a lot. Can you use "нормально" to express "Ok/That's fine"? If so, is there any kind of subtle difference in tone or meaning?


нормально = хорошо = feeling situation as normal i.e. in good condition
хорошо = direct agreement, but нормально is a just good condition


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