# To Practice (Verb)



## RhoKappa

I cannot find the verb to practice in either of my dictionaries.  They do offer the translation of its noun form практика, but is there a Russian verb form?  Specifically, by practice this is usually in the context of sports, that to be good at at a skill it is necessary to practice.  This, of course, applies to anything outside of sports as well.  Here are some examples.

1. Sergei wants to practice golf every morning.
2. Mikhail Baryshnikov practiced ballet endlessly.
3. Maria Sharapova practices tennis every day.

Как сказать по-русски?


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## Q-cumber

Заниматься, упражняться (в чём-то), тренироваться.... We've got the verb "практиковать(ся)" as well, but it has somewhat limited usage.


Сергей хочет упражняться в гольфе каждое утро (ежеутренне).
Михаил Барышников бесконечно практиковался в балете.
Мария Шарапова занимается теннисом ежедневно. (...тренируется каждый день).

RhoKappa практикуется в русском языке.


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## Rosett

RhoKappa said:


> 1. Sergei wants to practice golf every morning.
> 2. Mikhail Baryshnikov practiced ballet endlessly.
> 3. Maria Sharapova practices tennis every day.
> 
> Как сказать по-русски?


1. Сергею хочется играть|упражняться в гольф каждое утро.
2. Михаил Барышников занимался балетом бесконечно.
3. Мария Шарапова тренируется в теннис каждый день.

Практикуют обычно врачи, но это значит, что они работают по профессии, а не тренируются. Можно "практиковать занятие|занятия чем-л.", например, йогой, но относиться это может к широкому спектру чего угодно, включая, например, каннибализм.


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## Q-cumber

Rosett said:


> 1.
> 3. Мария Шарапова *тренируется в теннис *каждый день.


This one doesn't sound well to me.


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## Sobakus

Russian prefers to use appropriate verbs depending on the type of activity. For _те́ннис,_ _го́льф_ and _Call of Duty_ it's _игра́ть_; for _бег, бале́т, фортепиа́но, ерунда́_ it's _занима́ться,_ although you can also _играть на фортепиано_ if it isn't about practicing your skill but simply playing it. _Заниматься гольфом, теннисом _and _Call of Duty_ sound awkward to me. _Упражняться_ implies mental or physical training, not acquiring a skill, although there's obviously some overlap.


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## Rosett

Sobakus said:


> _Упражняться_ implies mental or physical training, not acquiring a skill, although there's obviously some overlap.


OP is about improving of a already acquired skill.


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## Sobakus

Rosett said:


> OP is about improving of a already acquired skill.


That's what I meant when I said "acquiring skill" – you can't say when a skill is already acquired, it can always be improved. You can _упражняться в математике, отжимании, остроумии, _but _упражняться в гольфе_ sounds poor to my ear. _Упражняться в метании мяча (для гольфа)_ sounds all right though, so the border is really vague. In either case it implies some repetitive exercise.


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## Maroseika

RhoKappa said:


> I cannot find the verb to practice in either of my dictionaries.


WR dictionary: to practice - практиковаться, заниматься, тренироваться, учиться.


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## RhoKappa

The word practice in itself has many meanings, as it can be a noun or a verb.  For example as a verb, a doctor can practice medicine.  However, I seek specifically a verb that refers to practice as in to improve a skill, and that is why it is hard to find in my diciontaries.  Is there a difference between практиковаться and упражняться?


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## Sobakus

RhoKappa said:


> The word practice in itself has many meanings, as it can be a noun or a verb.  For example as a verb, a doctor can practice medicine.  However, I seek specifically a verb that refers to practice as in to improve a skill, and that is why it is hard to find in my diciontaries.  Is there a difference between практиковаться and упражняться?


_Практикова́ться_ is ostensibly stilted, but I suppose it matches the English word's meaning best out of everything available and means "to get practice". It may sound awkward though. As I mentioned, _упражня́ться_ normally refers to doing repetitive tasks usually aimed at improving physical or mental "shape", so if you're practicing shooting a golfball, that's the right word, but if you're generally playing the game to get better at it – I wouldn't recommend it. In the latter case, _игра́ть_ or _занима́ться_ works depending on the activity.


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## Drink

I would say that упражняться is mostly equivalent to "exercise".


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## Q-cumber

Sobakus said:


> _Практикова́ться_ is ostensibly stilted, but I suppose it matches the English word's meaning best out of everything available and means "to get practice". It may sound awkward though. As I mentioned, _упражня́ться_ normally refers to doing repetitive tasks usually aimed at improving physical or mental "shape", so if you're practicing shooting a golfball, that's the right word, but if you're generally playing the game to get better at it – I wouldn't recommend it. In the latter case, _игра́ть_ or _занима́ться_ works depending on the activity.


*УПРАЖНЯТЬСЯ* — УПРАЖНЯТЬСЯ, яюсь, яешься; несовер. Постоянными действиями прививать себе какой н. навык, приучать себя делать что н. У. в игре на рояле. У. с гантелями. | сущ. упражнение, я, ср. Толковый словарь Ожегова. С.И. Ожегов, Н.Ю. Шведова. 1949 1992

Упражняться
упражня́ться
_несов. неперех._
*1.*
Систематически выполнять определённые упражнения, развивая, совершенствуя свои навыки, умения.

*2.* _разг._
Пробовать свои силы, способности в какой-либо сфере деятельности.

_Толковый словарь Ефремовой. Т. Ф. Ефремова. 2000._


In my opinion, "упражняться в гольфе" is fine, as far as we talk about developing golf skills.


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## Rosett

Q-cumber said:


> In my opinion, "упражняться в гольфе" is fine, as far as we talk about developing golf skills.


Я тоже так думаю, только в случае участия в играх естественным мне кажется винительный падеж, переносимый с "играть".


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## Sobakus

Q-cumber said:


> In my opinion, "упражняться в гольфе" is fine, as far as we talk about developing golf skills.


I agree that it's fine, but again, only as long as there's an _упражнение_, a _постоянное действие_ involved. In case of golf that would be shooting the golf ball (I don't suppose one would practice driving around in a golf cart ), in case of piano – playing a select passage, in case of dumbbells – lifting and lowering them.


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## Q-cumber

Sobakus said:


> I agree that it's fine, but again, only as long as there's an _упражнение_, a _постоянное действие_ involved. In case of golf that would be shooting the golf ball (I don't suppose one would practice driving around in a golf cart ), in case of piano – playing a select passage, in case of dumbbells – lifting and lowering them.


I don't think so. 
Она постоянно _*упражняется в игре на пианино перед ужином. *_- She always practices the piano before dinner.  This would just mean that she trains her musical abilities on regular basis.


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## Sobakus

Q-cumber said:


> I don't think so.
> Она постоянно _*упражняется в игре на пианино перед ужином. *_- She always practices the piano before dinner.  This would just mean that she trains her musical abilities on regular basis.


The whole sentence smacks of less-than-perfect translation because _постоянно_ does not combine well with regular time references in Russian, being a regular time reference itself, much like _all the time_ doesn't combine with _before dinner_ (unless it means "non-stop" in both languages). The correct word here is _всегда._

As for the verb, I concede that it means "to improve one's piano-playing abilities through practice", but still I feel it implies more repetitive exercise than the English _to practice_ does. Besides, that's what _"practicing piano"_ is all about, unlike _"practicing one's German"_, for instance. There, this verb would be really questionable when describing practice through posting on the Internet or speaking with a friend on the phone or Skype.

Frankly, I'd struggle to come up with the right verb in this instance, probably just _улучша́ть_.


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