# All Slavic Languages: Towel



## Mac_Linguist

Another odd question. 

How do you say _towel_ in your respective languages, and how do you differentiate between the different types of towels (bath towels, beach towels, foot towels, dish towels, etc.)?


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## Setwale_Charm

*Russian:* полотенце (банное полотенце, пляжное полотенце, полотенце для ног, кухонное полотенце....) respectively.


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## _Tasha_

In Slovenian a towel is _brisača_. We differentiate between different types towels in the sense: "a towel for something" 

bath towel = _brisača (za kopanje)_
beach towel = _brisača za na plažo_
foot towel = _brisača za noge, _etc. 

Only a dish towel is called _kuhinjska brisalka_.


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## skye

_Tasha_ said:


> In Slovenian a towel is _brisača_. We differentiate between different types towels in the sense: "a towel for something"
> 
> bath towel = _brisača (za kopanje)_
> beach towel = _brisača za na plažo_
> foot towel = _brisača za noge, _etc.
> 
> Only a dish towel is called _kuhinjska brisalka_.


 
I call the dish towel kuhinjska krpa. I never heard anyone say brisalka before.


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## JakubikF

ręcznik (from the word ręka (hand)): ręcznik plażowy (beach towel) ręcznik do stóp/głowy etc. (foot towel) - here can be any part of human body however it sounds a bit strange to differentiate these "types of towels" ręcznik kąpielowy (swimming pool towel) ścierka ("kitchen" towel) - from the verb ścierać (wipe away)


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## dudasd

Serbian: 
- *peškir *(Turkish word, Persian origin) - covers all the kinds of towels that serve for drying of human body: *peškir za kupanje*, *peškir za ruke/lice/noge*,* peškir za plažu* itd. (Of course, plaža (beach) is not a part of your body, but beach towel you also use to dry yourself.  )
- *ubrus *(Slavic origin) - rarely used in the previous meaning (though can cover all of them), but always used for paper tissue towels
- *krpa* - dish towel (krpa can mean any piece of any cloth), together with good old *pačavra *(Turkish, of Persian origin) - very old rag that can serve for anything and thus it's dirty; rare in that meaning nowadays, but very alive in meaning "dirty and untidy person").


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## Tolovaj_Mataj

skye said:


> I call the dish towel kuhinjska krpa. I never heard anyone say brisalka before.


I'd like to join your statement, Skye. I didn't even know this word "brisalka" exists. To me it would mean a woman who wipes. 
But this word does exist in the on-line SSKJ.


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## _Tasha_

Tolovaj_Mataj said:


> I'd like to join your statement, Skye. I didn't even know this word "brisalka" exists. To me it would mean a woman who wipes.
> But this word does exist in the on-line SSKJ.


 
 Of course, the word _brisalka_ exists. I am truely amazed that you have never heard of it before. It is true, though, that dish towel is normally called _kuhinjska krpa_, but _(kuhinjska) brisalka_ is in use as well.


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## Tolovaj_Mataj

Just wonder where. Here in Ljubljana? I better not even try to ask this question tomorrow in my office.


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## _Tasha_

I don't live in a God forsaken place, you know.  And don't even get me started on Ljubljana dialect.

Sorry for getting off topic.


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## kelt

Ručník is the general Czech word for the towel. I don't think that we differentiate that much as English, apart from that we call the dish towel utěrka and commonly say ručník na pláž for the beach towel.

Hope that helps you in the research )


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## Mac_Linguist

kelt said:


> Hope that helps you in the research )



Yes, you've all been very helpful. Could someone add something about Croatian?

Thank you.


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## Tolovaj_Mataj

_Tasha_ said:


> I don't live in a God forsaken place, you know.  And don't even get me started on Ljubljana dialect.
> 
> Sorry for getting off topic.


Tasha, Slovene which we _speak_ here in Ljubljana has nothing to do with a word brisalka. And I'm more than sure I _do_ distinguish between our regional talk and slovenski (knjižni) pogovorni jezik.


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## cajzl

> Ručník is the general Czech word for the towel.


The general word for 'towel' is rather *osuška* (from the verb osušiti = to dry, from suchý = dry) than *ručník* (from ruka = hand).


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## Duya

Mac_Linguist said:


> Yes, you've all been very helpful. Could someone add something about Croatian?



In Croatian, *ručnik *is used where Serbian uses "peškir". For dish towels, one may use *krpa *or *ubrus *(the latter sounds overly formal as far as I know).


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## kelt

cajzl said:


> The general word for 'towel' is rather *osuška* (from the verb osušiti = to dry, from suchý = dry) than *ručník* (from ruka = hand).




Hey Cajzl,

I don't think that anyone I know, would ever say osuška in a daily conversation. I find it rather bookish or perhaps old-fashioned.

I'd say you may hear it in parts of Moravia, since they are more likely to use such a word.


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## lordfrikk

kelt said:


> Hey Cajzl,
> 
> I don't think that anyone I know, would ever say osuška in a daily conversation. I find it rather bookish or perhaps old-fashioned.
> 
> I'd say you may hear it in parts of Moravia, since they are more likely to use such a word.



I agree that it is rather bookish or perhaps old-fashioned. People of Moravia don't tend to use it more likely than in any other parts.


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## cajzl

It seems that you never buy the towels.

The stores usually distinguish:

*malý ručník* 30x50 cm - small towel
*ručník* 50x100
*osuška* 70x140
(maxiosuška 100x200)

*plážová osuška* - beach towel
*osuška s kapucí* - towel with a hood
etc.


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## Cepkah

*Бulgarian*: xавлия–пешкир

Пешкир is rather used for the cloth (such as large towel) that the female villagers put on while they are cooking something.

Havliya (in Turkish havlu)
Peshkir (in Turkish peşkir) but this word doesn't exist in modern turkish anymore but still being used among the balkan turks (and the old generation of the balkan emigrants in Turkey)

хавлия за баня
хавлия за кухня
хавлиена кърпа
бебешка хавлия
детска хавлия
плажна хавлия


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## Jana337

lordfrikk said:


> I agree that it is rather bookish or perhaps old-fashioned. People of Moravia don't tend to use it more likely than in any other parts.


We use it where I live. 
But not this way:


> *osuška* 70x140
> (maxiosuška 100x200)


When I was a small child, my mother would bath me and wrap me into _osuška_, a piece of white cotton fabric (that looked like a diaper, just more solid and larger). I have never heard the word _osuška _used for terry cloth.


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## lordfrikk

Jana337 said:


> lordfrikk said:
> 
> 
> 
> I agree that it is rather bookish or perhaps old-fashioned. People of Moravia don't tend to use it more likely than in any other parts.
> 
> 
> 
> We use it where I live.
Click to expand...


We as in your family or larger group of people? Where I live it is used only by people who tend to express themselves in rather formal manner.


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## amaguk

In Slovak
towel = uterák from the word "utierať" = to wipe (although some people would also use "ručník", but that's more diallect)
big towel = osuška
beach towel = plážová osuška
dish towel = utierka 

Hope this helps


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## Duya

amaguk said:


> In Slovak
> towel = uterák from the word "utierať" = to wipe



Hm, I'll remember that false friend...  http://www.krstarica.com/dictionary/index.php?u=uterati

Yes, obscene interpretation *does *exist...


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## amaguk

Hmm, I'm not quite sure what you mean. In Slovak it does not have any obscene connotation


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## Jana337

lordfrikk said:


> We as in your family or larger group of people? Where I live it is used only by people who tend to express themselves in rather formal manner.


I checked with my parents: They believe that _osuška _is generally used here, not just in the family. And they corrected me, too. The white cotton piece cloth is not the only usage of _osuška_. According to their explanation, Cajzl's classification is quite correct and corresponds to how they use the words. However, people would often simply say _velký ručník_ instead of _osuška_.


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## nickitha

ON CROATIAN: bath towel - ručnik za kupaonu
beach


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## nickitha

nickitha said:


> ON CROATIAN: bath towel - ručnik za kupaonu
> beach towel - ručnik za plažu, foot towel - ručnik za noge , dish towel - krpa za suđe


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## Kolan

In Russian it is *полотенце* with corresponding adjectives: банное, пляжное, вафельное, бумажное, электрическое - hand dryer, etc. Also *утиральник* - old-fashioned and, nowadays, may be even vulgar.


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## Medusa_allo_specchio

Cepkah said:


> *Bulgarian*: xавлия–пешкир
> 
> Пешкир is rather used for the cloth (such as large towel) that the female villagers put on while they are cooking something.
> 
> Havliya (in Turkish havlu)
> Peshkir (in Turkish peşkir) but this word doesn't exist in modern turkish anymore but still being used among the balkan turks (and the old generation of the balkan emigrants in Turkey)
> 
> хавлия за баня
> хавлия за кухня
> хавлиена кърпа
> бебешка хавлия
> детска хавлия
> плажна хавлия


 
Hi,
I do not agree about the word *peshkir*. I have never heard of it with reference to the cloth, which would be, as you say, "хавлия за баня" or just "хавлия". The one used for hands or feet is _кърпа_ or again _хавлия._
Anyway _кърпа_ is the most generic one.


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## whipsnade

nickitha said:


> nickitha said:
> 
> 
> 
> ON CROATIAN: bath towel - ručnik za kupaonu
> beach towel - ručnik za plažu, foot towel - ručnik za noge , dish towel - krpa za suđe
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I would say in Dalmatia (a region in Croatia) we use *šugoman* more than *ručnik*, but I guess the person who started the thread is not looking for regional forms.
Click to expand...


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## Cepkah

Medusa_allo_specchio said:


> Hi,
> I do not agree about the word *peshkir*. I have never heard of it with reference to the cloth, which would be, as you say, "хавлия за баня" or just "хавлия". The one used for hands or feet is _кърпа_ or again _хавлия._
> Anyway _кърпа_ is the most generic one.



Hi,

Well, as far as i know and hear, the Bulgarians and the Pomaks (the official demonination of Bulgarian State; Muslim Bulgarians) who inhabit in Rhodopean region of Bulgaria use this word (Peshkir) in this meaning  colloquially. I don't mention the lexis which is used in big cities. Don't forget that the Bulgarian language isn't used just in big cities.


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## Medusa_allo_specchio

> Don't forget that the Bulgarian language isn't used just in big cities.


 
Hey, I never mentioned this! Both cities and villages are part of the country, you should not forget it as well. I have been to Rhodopean region, Rila region, Piriin region, to cities and villages. I have never heard the word in such meaning: I know this does not mean it is not used. And maybe different uses of the word occur in the regions where Turkish is spoken.


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## Cepkah

Medusa_allo_specchio said:


> Hey, I never mentioned this! Both cities and villages are part of the country, you should not forget it as well. I have been to Rhodopean region, Rila region, Piriin region, to cities and villages. I have never heard the word in such meaning: I know this does not mean it is not used. And maybe different uses of the word occur in the regions where Turkish is spoken.



No, I've heard this usage from Bulgarians and Pomaks as well and you say that you've been to there but me, i've lived in this region many years along By the way i'm half-Bulgarian.


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## Lanica

In many parts of southern Croatia (Dalmatia) they use the word *šugaman* (Italian origin). *Ručnik *is most commonly used, however, around the borders with Bosnia and Serbia *peškir *is also used to a lesser degree.


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## kvvic

In Ukrainian _towel_ is _рушник_. As far as I understand, it's similar to Ručnik.


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