# not a chance



## gargamel80

Hi everyone,

How does one say 'not a chance' in Russian?
This is a phrase used to show unwillingness/impossibility to do something when asked like this:


- Excuse me sir, do you have any change to spare?
- Not a chance, get a job!


Thanks!


----------



## igusarov

Straightforward translation is possible: "без шансов".

Though, in this particular context (unwillingness to do what was asked of you) I'd opt for:
- Ни за что! Найди себе работу. (neutrally angry; not rude)
- Чёрта с два! Заработай сам. (rude)
- Фиг тебе. Иди работай!  (rude, borderline to offensive)
- Сейчас! А самому заработать? (slang, sarcastic)
- Разбежался! Ступай работать. (slang, sarcastic)
- Так я и дал. Займись делом! (mockingly)


----------



## Ben Jamin

igusarov said:


> - Фиг тебе. Иди работай!  (rude, borderline to offensive)


 It is a surprise that you don't classify this expression as offensive.


----------



## rusita preciosa

Of course it depends on how and when you say it, but nowadays *фиг тебе *is a rather outdated expression that is used mostly jockingly, it is not very offensive.


----------



## Saluton

I'd add to igusarov's answer:
ну уж нет! (not really offensive)
обойдёшься! (rather rude)
ещё чего! (rather rude)

Фиг тебе isn't really offensive either, that's true, but хрен тебе and ruder words in place of хрен are.


----------



## igusarov

Ben Jamin said:


> It is a surprise that you don't classify this  expression as offensive.


Well... The truth is, all these  expressions (save the first one) are _not nice_. "Not niceness" is in every word:  sharp exclamation of refusal, followed by an order. Strictly speaking,  all of them could offend an _average_ man ("Don't you dare  telling me what to do!"). But I reckon the original English expression  was not intended to be polite either, so I tried to match the degree of  "not niceness" and find a phrase to turn the man down in a disrespectful and somewhat rude  manner. So if you are wondering about offensiveness in the absolute  sense, then the answer is: "probably all those phrases can hurt or offend".

I tagged that phrase "borderline offensive"  merely because it uses "фиг", which is a borderline to explicit  language, yet isn't really a profanity, as Rusita Preciosa and Saluton  have explained.
If you want an absolutely neutral expression, which wouldn't reek of  disrespect, then you should refrain from both the exclamation, both the  imperative verb. For example: "Я не подаю. Мог бы и на работу  устроиться."


----------



## gargamel80

Actually I would like to learn a 'medium' way (not too neutral and not too offensive) to say 'not a chance' in Russian. The dialog is an 'example' not the exact thing that I want to be translated into Russian. Consider that I want to learn how to react in the manner of a 'refusal' or 'unwillingness to do something'. Please don't stick on the dialog itself. The rules of the forum asks for exact contexts and that's why I put an example but my intention is still to learn how to say it in Russian in order to use it in general when necessary. I am not a translator but an amateur Russian learner. Nevertheless, as far as I understand, 'ну уж нет' looks like the fittest one to my intention.


----------



## Ben Jamin

gargamel80 said:


> Actually I would like to learn a 'medium' way (not too neutral and not too offensive) to say 'not a chance' in Russian. The dialog is an 'example' not the exact thing that I want to be translated into Russian. Consider that I want to learn how to react in the manner of a 'refusal' or 'unwillingness to do something'. Please don't stick on the dialog itself. The rules of the forum asks for exact contexts and that's why I put an example but my intention is still to learn how to say it in Russian in order to use it in general when necessary. I am not a translator but an amateur Russian learner. Nevertheless, as far as I understand, 'ну уж нет' looks like the fittest one to my intention.


To make an exact match of two colloquial expressions in two different languages, according to their degree of rudeness is extremely difficult, as the judgement is very individual, depending also on the social stratum, and the scales are never comparable. Try to find, for example, an exact equivalent of "Va t'en, vieux con" in English.


----------



## Maroseika

gargamel80 said:


> Actually I would like to learn a 'medium' way (not too neutral and not too offensive) to say 'not a chance' in Russian. The dialog is an 'example' not the exact thing that I want to be translated into Russian. Consider that I want to learn how to react in the manner of a 'refusal' or 'unwillingness to do something'.



I'm afraid you have to provide exact context separately for each case of this expression usage. Otherwise it is hardly possible understand for others what exactly grade of "offence" you mean. Note, that besides the context, emotional sense of each utterance of this kind is strongly connected with the intonation, facial expression and background between two people. 



> Nevertheless, as far as I understand, 'ну уж нет' looks like the fittest one to my intention.


I'm not quite sure what's your intention exactly, but at least in the situation you described in you initial post "ну уж нет" is not applicable at all.


----------



## gargamel80

'To make an exact match of two colloquial expressions in two different languages, according to their degree of rudeness is extremely difficult'. Yes! That's why I am asking for an average/medium equivalent, a bit more or less showing impossibility. And unfortunately 'not a chance' is not something really really distinct in English as you depict it with reference to social stratum, emotions, etc. You an use it in many different contexts. I am sorry for that fact! If you have some respect to this online dictionary, for some other languages there are specific entries for 'not a chance'. You can also check them. So please get relaxed and try to look for a medium way of saying it in Russian. If there is not, please tell me that there is no such expression in Russian at all. It can also be the case of course and I will fully respect your reply.


----------



## Maroseika

gargamel80 said:


> If there is not, please tell me that there is no such expression in Russian at all.



The problem is quite opposite: there are too many of them (and some have been already provided above). Therefore hardly there is one which is applicable in all the cases as "a medium way". In some aspects Russian is much more specific than English, so better to depart from the exact situation. Otherwise you may sound unnatural, out of place or out of style.
By the way, this is one of the reasons of the tendency in modern Russian to substitute the variety of Russian synonymous words and expressions by a loaned cliché. In particalur, I would not wonder having heard in any of the situations described in this thread, including the one from your initial post: Без шансов. Sounds ugly, though.


----------



## willem81

I would assume that "not a chance" is equivalent to the Russian expression "ни в коем случае" (or "ни в коем разе"). It can be applied in various contexts.
Literally ни в коем случае means "in no case", maybe that's what the topic starter is looking for.


----------



## Maroseika

willem81 said:


> I would assume that "not a chance" is equivalent to the Russian expression "ни в коем случае" (or "ни в коем разе"). It can be applied in various contexts.
> Literally ни в коем случае means "in no case", maybe that's what the topic starter is looking for.



I'm afraid this expression is far not so universal as may seem; in particlualr, it doesn't work in the very situation described in the first post:

- Excuse me sir, do you have any change to spare?
- Not a chance, get a job!


----------



## igusarov

Why? I think the answer "ни в коем случае" sounds good if used in reply to a suggestive question with "не". (Вы мне не поможете?, Вы не уступите мне место?)

- У вас мелочи не найдётся?
- Ни в коем случае! Устроился бы лучше на работу.


----------



## Maroseika

On my ear it sounds quite unnatural. I wonder though what others will say.


----------



## willem81

It may sound somewhat artificial, however such a dialogue does have the right of existence. There is a great variety of other ways to express that. At the moment I can suggest another option:

- У вас мелочи не найдётся?
- Я что, похож на банкира Ротшильда?

However, the question is about the expression "not a chance", which seems to me quite equivalent to "ни в коем случае". Perhaps the initial example instanced by the topic starter is not very suitable to demonstrate their equivalence, who knows?))


----------



## Maroseika

willem81 said:


> However, the question is about the expression "not a chance", which seems to me quite equivalent to "ни в коем случае".


Well, looks like our discussion proved that without a context "not a chance" has a lot of possible translations, none of which is universal. Quite typical for such kind of expressions, what?


----------



## FreedomOfFire

"ни в коем случае" sounds too direct to me. It means "under no circumstances" and is suitable for certain direct questions like "Ты пойдешь туда?", not for a question "У вас мелочи не найдётся?", which is some kind of manipulation.


----------

