Russian Diminuitives - Regular, Familiar and Slang - for Semyon

Day Agent

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This is one for Russian native-speakers. What are the familiar and slang diminiutives for Semyon?

I'm aware of the regular one (Sema), but I imagine there's a deal more of them.
 

robjvargas

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I've used this link for Russian-style diminutives in the past, but it only shows Sema for your example.
 

Day Agent

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Same page as I got Sema from :)

You may get some good b-road milage out of these pages on wikipedia and tvtropes. It was a bit of a surprise to find there are three (and I believe even more) catagories of diminuitives in slavic names.
 

Chekurtab

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Stick with Sema. You can go Semchik if you want to get affectionate.
Hope it helps.
 

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That's the stuff.

Would Semchik be something a lover uses or his mother? Do you know any derogative diminuitives for Semyon? Might his father or brother use it?
 
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Chekurtab

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Semchik for friends mostly, maybe relatives. Unlikely a lover would go there, but will depend on the relationship. Derogative will have to be made up because there is no universal one in use.
Hope it helps.
 

Day Agent

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I'm intrigued; why wouldn't a lover go there?

@King Neptune:
Cимуon Simon
Самуил Samuel
Сэм Sam
Сэмми Sammy

Those are anglicizations, English forms of Russian names. What I'm looking for are diminuitives of Russian names - as pronounced by Russians - written in the Latin alphabet. Check out the links above to the wikipedia and tvtropes pages on the subject. Interesting stuff. Thanks all the same, however.
 
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King Neptune

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I'm intrigued; why wouldn't a lover go there?

@King Neptune:


Those are anglicizations, English forms of Russian names. What I'm looking for are diminuitives of Russian names - as pronounced by Russians - written in the Latin alphabet. Check out the links above to the wikipedia and tvtropes pages on the subject. Interesting stuff. Thanks all the same, however.

As you know, the diminutives are many and varied, as is true in other languages, but Sam and Sammy are diminutives of Samuel, and the sources indicate that Simon and Samuel kind of slide together in Russian. But I understand what you want. In most languages such forms are ad hoc, rather than being fixed forms.
 

Chekurtab

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You got me thinking, day agent. The parents would call him Semchik, which is an affectionate 'little Sema'; I'll let you decide if a lover would go there. By the way, the friends are more likely to call him Semka rather than Semchik.
 

Chekurtab

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I put on my thinking cap and came up with Semochka. The most affectionate name both a lover and parents would use.
 

Day Agent

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Sweet.

This is how I've got the formalities in my head.

Semyon
|
Sema, Semya, Semka (personal connections) -
Semochka (diminutive for a man, intimate overtones)
|
Semchik (diminutive for a child, parental overtones)

 

Chekurtab

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I've never heard of Semya. Semochka isn't diminutive but intimate and familiar. Semchik is familiar , somewhat diminutive. Sema is short and most widely used, including friends and family.