# This is an interesting point



## ArtyA

So, I have had one heck of a time looking through dictionaries and also google translate to get a trustworthy translation of "this is an interesting point".

You would think that it would be simple but I keep getting different answers.

Maybe someone could help me with the most common way to say this.

Thanks!

[Mod note: context provided by the OP below]

Context would be:

if you are at a meeting and someone says something about the topic being discussed and then you say, "Yes, that's an interesting point you make."


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## Rosett

= "интересный/любопытный момент", for example, or just "интересно/любопытно" would fit few contexts.


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## ArtyA

Ok that's good to know, because I was starting to get the impression that "момент" meant a "point in time" and not an actual point made by someone in conversation.


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## Q-cumber

ArtyA said:


> You would think that it would be simple but I keep getting different answers.
> 
> Maybe someone could help me with the most common way to say this.
> 
> Thanks!


Hi ArtyA! It's quite simple really: the less context you provide , the greater number of different answers you get.


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## 4356

Yes, the choice should depend on the context. Интересно подмечено would be at once common and neutral enough in the absence of the context. You can be more specific when translating it to Russian. Интересный факт. Интересная мысль. Примечательная идея. Это весьма интересное место. Обращает на себя внимание ...(smth.)


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## Q-cumber

ArtyA said:


> So, I have had one heck of a time looking through dictionaries and also google translate to get a trustworthy translation of "this is an interesting point".
> 
> You would think that it would be simple but I keep getting different answers.
> 
> Maybe someone could help me with the most common way to say this.
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> [Mod note: context provided by the OP below]
> 
> Context would be:
> 
> if you are at a meeting and someone says something about the topic being discussed and then you say, "Yes, that's an interesting point you make."


I'd say: "-Да, вы высказали интересную мысль (идею)!"  Or simply : "Интересная мысль!"


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## Rosett

ArtyA said:


> if you are at a meeting and someone says something about the topic being discussed and then you say, "Yes, that's an interesting point you make."


Is it sarcastic or genuine interest?


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## 4356

In the event of a business meeting that would translate as Это интересно/Вот это интересно. And again, the specific point made matters.


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## ArtyA

It's genuine interest.  I would have mentioned sarcastic if that was what I was looking for.  I genuinely want to say, "that is an interesting point".  I am looking for the word for "point".  

thanks!


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## 4356

There's not a single universal word for 'point' as probably is seen in dictionaries. Интересный довод (argument), интересный вывод (conclusion), интересный тезис, интересная идея, интересная мысль, интересное предложение, интересная интерпретация, etc..


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## Q-cumber

ArtyA said:


> I am looking for the word for "point".
> 
> thanks!


Мысль or idea (an idea) , мнение (opinion), точка зрения (point of view).


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## Rosett

ArtyA said:


> I genuinely want to say, "that is an interesting point".  I am looking for the word for "point".


Besides the suggestions (момент, мысль, идея, мнение, точка зрения, тезис, ...) above, you may want to use "замечание" for "point." Please also consider "любопытный" as a possibly better alternative to "интересный," if you want to underline "genuine."


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## ArtyA

OK.  Thank you.  So, if I say, "Это интересный точка, что вы делаете" does that mean that I liked the idea of the person?  Can I even say, "что вы делаете"?  I know that "делаете" means "to make" or "to do".  Does someone "make" a point in Russian?  I know in other languages one can "make" a point.


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## Rosett

ArtyA said:


> OK.  Thank you.  So, if I say, "Это интересный точка, что вы делаете" does that mean that I liked the idea of the person?  Can I even say, "что вы делаете"?  I know that "делаете" means "to make" or "to do".  Does someone "make" a point in Russian?  I know in other languages one can "make" a point.


If you insist on "делать", then you can say: "Вы сделали интересное замечание(remark)/предложение(suggestion)".
"Делать" doesn't work with other proposed words. Instead, you should use "высказать/выдвинуть" (идею, мысль, мнение, точку зрения, предложение).


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## Q-cumber

ArtyA said:


> OK.  Thank you.  So, if I say, "Это интересный точка, что вы делаете" does that mean that I liked the idea of the person?  Can I even say, "что вы делаете"?  I know that "делаете" means "to make" or "to do".  Does someone "make" a point in Russian?  I know in other languages one can "make" a point.


You are attempting to do verbatim translation of an idiomatic (figurative) expression ('to make a point').  It doesn't work that way.


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## ArtyA

But it works fine in other languages.  I see what you are saying, Q-cumber, however, it other languages you can make a verbatim translation with certain expressions.  I know that it doesn't always work that way.  But it can.  So, I am trying to see if it does in this case.

thank you


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## 4356

You have made an interesting point. Интересно подмечено. It is almost a translation verbatim that does work fine as well as what Rosett last  mentioned above.
However there is no translation verbatim of cases like 'to make a point of thanking someone'.


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## Sobakus

The problem here is threefold. Firstly, there's no universal translation for the English "point". Secondly, the words «интересный/любопытный» are significantly more likely to sound dismissive rather than show a genuine interest: "that was a nice little tidbit, but let's get back to the topic".

Finally, Russian, unlike many (all?) Germanic languages, doesn't posses any parallel to the cleft construction "that's an _adjective noun_ that you _verb_" (this would make a genuine compound sentence). Instead, it uses the normal "you _verb_ an _adjective noun_" or the expressive "an _adjective noun_ you _verb_".


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## 4356

There is no likelihood that these expressions will ever be taken as dismissive. I suspect that this might be a peculiarity of the Saint Petersburg dialect of Russian. Many of them are rather gloomy people with sarcasm and black humour intrinsic to them which can pop up even at a business meeting.


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## Sobakus

4356 said:


> There is no likelihood that these expressions will ever be taken as dismissive. I suspect that this might be a peculiarity of the Saint Petersburg dialect of Russian. Many of them are rather gloomy people with sarcasm and black humour intrinsic to them which can pop up even at a business meeting.


I'd argue that from Odessa to St. Petersburg to Vladivostok, _интересный_ when coupled with attributes of an individual has a strong undercurrent of _необычный, специфичный, неортодоксальный. _This is not the case in _интересная книга_ (=an engrossing book) but is very obvious in _интересное мнение _(=an opinion I don't necessarily agree with but wouldn't outright dismiss) or _интересный выбор платья_ (~questionable).

I don't think one's personal sense of humour has anything to do with this – we don't normally use the word _интересный_ as an invitation to a discussion, but as a way to acknowledge someone's opinion and move away from it. This is in direct contrast to the English usage which invites a discussion.


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## Sobakus

Rosett said:


> That's how wrong conclusions are often drawn: with prejudice.


The OP example can certainly be an introduction of disagreement (a type of discussion itself), I'm just outlining the general usage. The linguistic term for "prejudice" is "connotation" – no word is free from it, it's the driving force of all word usage.


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## Rosett

Sobakus said:


> The OP example can certainly be an introduction of disagreement (a type of discussion itself), I'm just outlining the general usage. The linguistic term for "prejudice" is "connotation" – no word is free from it, it's the driving force of all word usage.


In the given case, there is no difference between Russian and English connotation. The only thing that may weigh in is personal prejudice.


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## Q-cumber

Sobakus said:


> I'd argue that from Odessa to St. Petersburg to Vladivostok, _интересный_ when coupled with attributes of an individual has a strong undercurrent of _необычный, специфичный, неортодоксальный. _This is not the case in _интересная книга_ (=an engrossing book) but is very obvious in _интересное мнение _(=an opinion I don't necessarily agree with but wouldn't outright dismiss) or _интересный выбор платья_ (~questionable).
> 
> I don't think one's personal sense of humour has anything to do with this – we don't normally use the word _интересный_ as an invitation to a discussion, but as a way to acknowledge someone's opinion and move away from it. This is in direct contrast to the English usage which invites a discussion.


You've got a point. To be on the safe side, the adverb "очень" (весьма) can be added. "Очень интересная мысль/идея".


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## Sobakus

Rosett said:


> In the given case, there is no difference between Russian and English connotation. The only thing that may weigh in is personal prejudice.


One could call the above your own personal prejudice, but typically this argument is only employed for the lack of better ones.

The given case was retroactively added to the OP by a moderator because originally no context was provided. But even if we suppose the author was indeed looking for the translation of the expression only in this particular context – which they aren't – elaborating on the wider usage would still be the right thing to do in my opinion.


Q-cumber said:


> To be on the safe side, the adverb "очень" (весьма) can be added. "Очень интересная мысль/идея".


This to me looks much closer to the English phrasing.


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## igusarov

ArtyA said:


> in other languages you can make a verbatim translation with certain expressions


It may work only if the verbatim translation of each word conveys the same meaning and can be generally used in the same way. However, noun "точка" in Russian never means anything along the line of "idea, comment, opinion". And the verb "make" is no less troublesome.


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## 4356

Sobakus said:


> I don't think one's personal sense of humour has anything to do with this – we don't normally use the word _интересный_ as an invitation to a discussion



What invitation on Earth are you talking about? The discussion is already under way.


ArtyA said:


> someone says something about the topic being discussed



As a native speaker of the standard Russian I would like to reassure everyone interested that the word интересный is never normally used to mean anything but "interesting".
[...]
Mod note: Let's be nice. Please review  rule 7


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## Sobakus

4356 said:


> What invitation on Earth are you talking about? The discussion is already under way.


Why, an invitation to discuss the point that the speaker refers to, naturally.


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## Rosett

Sobakus said:


> One could call the above your own personal prejudice, but typically this argument is only employed for the lack of better ones.


You fail to provide whatsoever in support of your point of view, other than a personal attack.
Contextually, both words, English "interesting" and Russian "интересный", correspond very well to each other, given the OP sense, although few other Russian synonyms are also possible.

*Interesting* — In ter*est*ing, a. Engaging the attention; exciting, or adapted to excite, interest, curiosity, or emotion; as, an interesting story; interesting news.
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

*interesting* — in|ter|est|ing [ ıntrəstıŋ ] adjective *** something that is interesting makes you want to know about it or take part in it: She s an interesting new writer. That brings up an interesting point that we haven t talked about yet. it is interesting… …
Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

"His Majesty made an _interesting point_ about Moses, when he was reading the Bible.
Его Величество высказал _интересное замечание_ о Моисее, когда читал Библию.

Actually, that's an _interesting point_.
На самом деле, это _интересный вопрос_."

An attenuated meaning of "interesting" in English requires a similar attenuation in Russian.

"Well, now, that is an _interesting point_.
Что ж, вообще, это _интересная мысль_."

The examples above are borrowed at reverso.net


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## Q-cumber

Here are the samples that convey some disapproval:
Интересное кино! (Figurative)
Интересное дело! (Fig.)
"Интересный расклад!" (Fig. )
"Интересно у вас выходит. Во что верите вы - то Истина. Во что верят или не верят другие - ересь" (с) Ночной Дозор
"Интересно вы рассуждаете, Николай Игнатьевич. Вас послушать, так получается, что мы — такие умницы, .."
"Интересная точка зрения. ... Интересная. Тупая, необоснованная, но интересная...."
"Хммм... интересный выбор. Чем руководствовались при выборе? Цвета салона, в смысле. "


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## Sobakus

Rosett, I'm saying that _интересный_ can mean both A and B among other things. You're showing me that it can mean A as you usually do. How does this disprove my point? How do you even disprove that it can mean B? It's simple: you can't. All you can do is disagree.

As for "personal attack", pray, you yourself simply dismissed my argument as a "personal prejudice" with zero substantiation – that's called a personal attack. I merely remarked upon this fact as a show of your lack of arguments, which it is.

That's beside the fact that the English _interesting_ can also have the very same euphemistically disapproving meaning.


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## Rosett

Q-cumber said:


> Here are the samples that convey some disapproval:
> Интересное кино! (Figurative)
> Интересное дело! (Fig.)
> "Интересный расклад!" (Fig. )
> "Интересно у вас выходит. Во что верите вы - то Истина. Во что верят или не верят другие - ересь" (с) Ночной Дозор
> "Интересно вы рассуждаете, Николай Игнатьевич. Вас послушать, так получается, что мы — такие умницы, .."
> "Интересная точка зрения. ... Интересная. Тупая, необоснованная, но интересная...."
> "Хммм... интересный выбор. Чем руководствовались при выборе? Цвета салона, в смысле. "


Other than three figurative examples that may have the same figurative meaning of disapproval in English, the rest is resulting from lengthy contextual explanations that would require similar explanations in English.


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## Rosett

Sobakus said:


> Rosett, I'm saying that _интересный_ can mean both A and B among other things. You're showing me that it can mean A as you usually do. How does this disprove my point? How do you even disprove that it can mean B? It's simple: you can't. All you can do is disagree.


There is no longer the "B" option, as you describe it, after OP was amended with the context. Please refer to the history of posting.


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## Sobakus

Rosett said:


> There is no longer the "B" option(=a Russian word has lost one of its meanings) after OP was amended with the context.


An interesting opinion.


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## Q-cumber

Rosett said:


> Other than three figurative examples that may have the same figurative meaning of disapproval in English, the rest is resulting from lengthy contextual explanations that would require similar explanations in English.


The explanations aren't really necessary. These expressions would work standalone as well.

Интересное у вас обо мне мнение, Rosett! (Интересного же вы обо мне мнения, Rosett!)


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## 4356

Q-cumber said:


> Интересное у вас обо мне мнение, Rosett! (Интересного же вы обо мне мнения, Rosett!)


This has nothing to do with "an interesting point you make", it is of no help to the topic starter. 
[...]
Mod note: please let moderators moderate posts


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## Q-cumber

4356 said:


> This has nothing to do with "an interesting point you make", it is of no help to the topic starter.
> [...]
> Mod note: please let moderators moderate posts


Салют, 4356!
   Речь шла от том, что прилагательное "интересный", как ни крути, используется в таких значениях как "забавный, занимательный, странный, необычный, неоднозначный, любопытный " и т.д. Я привёл некоторые примеры, которые выделяют подобные значения слова. Поэтому, скажем, выражения "интересное мнение", "интересное замечание", "интересная точка зрения " могут быть - в принципе, хотя отнюдь не обязательно - истолкованы как неодобрительные, пренебрежительные или выражающие сомнение. Разумеется, многое зависит от интонаций, общей канвы разговора, статуса сторон и т.д. Сначала я сам не заметил этот "подводный камень", но комментарий Sobakusa напомнил мне о такой возможности. С уважением, Q.


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## Rosett

Q-cumber said:


> Речь шла от том, что прилагательное "интересный", как ни крути, используется в таких значениях как "забавный, занимательный, странный, необычный, неоднозначный, любопытный " и т.д. Я привёл некоторые примеры, которые выделяют подобные значения слова. Поэтому, скажем, выражения "интересное мнение", "интересное замечание", "интересная точка зрения " могут быть - в принципе, хотя отнюдь не обязательно - истолкованы как неодобрительные, пренебрежительные или выражающие сомнение. Разумеется, многое зависит от интонаций, общей канвы разговора, статуса сторон и т.д. Сначала я сам не заметил этот "подводный камень",


Вы, должно быть, будете удивлены, что и у английского прилагательного  "interesting" имеются в наличии точно такие же значения. Более того, данные значения точно так же, как и в русском, во многом зависят "от интонаций, общей канвы разговора, статуса сторон и т.д."


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## Q-cumber

Rosett said:


> Вы, должно быть, будете удивлены, что и у английского прилагательного  "interesting" имеются в наличии точно такие же значения. Более того, данные значения точно так же, как и в русском, во многом зависят "от интонаций, общей канвы разговора, статуса сторон и т.д."


Почему я должен быть удивлён? Эти значения и в словарях зафиксированы.


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