Брести vs. бродить
A pair with differences in translation
As we have already discussed, Russian verbs of motion come in pairs. One verb is unidirectional, describing movement in a certain direction or to a certain point. The other is multidirectional or habitual. They often translate to English as one word, such as “to go” or “to run,” leaving nuances to the context.
Please visit or revisit the ones we have already discussed:
This time, the verbs “брести” and “бродить,” although being a “pair,” also differ in their translations.
The former, “брести,” stands for “to trudge” or “to wander slowly in one direction, often with difficulty or without a clear purpose.”
Мне совершенно всё равно —
Где совершенно одинокой
Быть, по каким камням домой
Брести с кошёлкою базарной… - М. Цветаева
(I don't care at all
Where all alone
To be, on what kind of stones
To trudge home with a market bag... - M. Tsvetaeva)
The latter, “бродить,” in its main meaning (1), stands for "to wander around" or "to roam aimlessly.”
Я не последовал этому примеру, вышел из коляски и пошел бродить по площади. - И. Гончаров
(I did not follow suit, got out of the carriage and went wandering around the square. - I. Goncharov)
Wanderer, I. Repin, 1881
Collocations and fixed expressions
Both verbs are used in collocations and fixed expressions, sometimes in pairs but not always. Let's examine those expressions, as we may use them while conjugating the verbs below.
Брести/бродить без цели or без дела - to trudge or wander aimlessly (emphasizes lack of direction or purpose)
Люблю одно: бродить без цели
По шумным улицам, один… - В. Брюсов
(I love one thing: to wander without purpose
In the noisy streets, alone... - V. Briusov)
Брести как тень, бродить как тень - to trudge (to wander) like a shadow (figurative: emotionally numb, ghost-like)
Брести по жизни - to trudge through life (symbolic: living without energy or purpose)
Еле брести - barely able to trudge (in a state of extreme exhaustion or weakness)
брести/бродить в темноте, брести/бродить сквозь туман - to trudge or to wander in darkness, or fog (either literal or symbolic, describing confusion, uncertainty)
Мысли бродят (в голове) - the thoughts are wandering (inside the head) (metaphorical - daydreaming, introspection)
Бродить по свету, бродить по белу свету - to roam the world (implying physical or spiritual searching)
Ничего на свете лучше нету,
Чем бродить друзьям по белу свету.
Тем, кто дружен, не страшны тревоги.
Нам любые дороги дороги.
(There's nothing better in the world
Than friends roaming the world.
There's no fear for those who are friends.
All roads are dear to us.)
“The Friends’ Song” from the animated film "Town Musicians of Bremen", Soyuzmultfilm, 1969. Music by G. Gladkov, lyrics by Y. Entin, performance by O. Anofriev
Бродят слухи - rumors are going around
Слух чудовищный бродит по городу,
Забирается в домы, как тать. - А. Ахматова
(There's a monstrous rumor going around town,
creeping into homes like a thief. - A. Akhmatova)
Призрак бродит (по Европе) - A spectre is haunting Europe (Russian translation of the opening lines from the Manifesto of the Communist Party by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels: “Ein Gespenst geht um in Europa” often used in a humorous manner)
Бродить - 2. Describes the process of fermentation (Вино еще бродит - The wine is still fermenting.)
Это самое лучшее, что мне дано:
так лежать без движений, без жажды, без цели,
чтобы мысли бродили, как бродит вино,
в моём тёплом, усталом, задумчивом теле. - Б. Чичибабин
(It's the best thing I've ever been given:
to lie like this without movement, without thirst, without purpose,
so that thoughts wandered like wine fermenting,
in my warm, tired, pensive body. - B. Chichibabin)
Бродить - 3. Wade the river in a shallow spot
Раньше взрослы мужики до так мест бродили, а теперь высохло всё. - Словарь говоров Русского севера.
(Before, grown men used to wander up to such places, but now it's all dried up. - Dictionary of Regional Speech of the Russian North.)
Бродить - 4. To catch fish with a hand-held net or other tackle used in shallow water.
Бродят опеть по кулижкам, мелкую рыбу ищут… - Словарь говоров Русского севера.
(Wandering again around the flooded land, looking for small fish... - Dictionary of Regional Speech of the Russian North.)
And now, let's conjugate with examples of use from Russian literature, both classic and modern.
