Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Russian term or phrase:
вор в законе
English translation:
mafia boss
Added to glossary by
Levan Namoradze
Jul 7, 2005 11:56
18 yrs ago
1 viewer *
Russian term
kvaloy (X)
вор в законе
Russian to English
Other
Slang
В законопроекте уточняется, что "вором в законе" следует считать члена "воровского мира", который стоит во главе преступной группировки, управляемой им "воровскими законами".
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +4 | mafia boss |
Levan Namoradze
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| 4 +2 | thief in law |
Robert Donahue (X)
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| 3 +3 | professional criminal |
GaryG
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| 4 | full-fledged criminal |
JoeYeckley (X)
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| 4 | confirmed thief---not for grading |
Simon Gregory
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| 4 | "A Wise Guy" |
TranslatonatoR
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| 4 -1 | capo del capo |
Vladimir Glushkov
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Proposed translations
+4
1 min
Levan Namoradze
Georgia
Georgia
Georgia
Translation & Interpretation in Georgia
Native in: Georgian 
Works in: English to Georgian, Georgian to English
Related KudoZ points
:
4
Russian term (edited):
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Selected
mafia boss
...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Graded automatically based on peer agreement."
+2
7 mins
Russian term (edited):
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thief in law
This also works for the US. There have been a lot of books written about the Russian mob and this expression is commonly used.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vor_v_zakone
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vor_v_zakone
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
danya
: sounds like a relative - mother-in-law, etc.
19 mins
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Haha...I like мать в законе. : ) Seriously though, it depends on your audience. You can also use "vor v zakone" in quotes. For a more general audience the options proposed by Levan and Gary could be more appropriate.
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| agree |
Vlad Pogosyan
54 mins
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Thank you Vlad.
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| agree |
Yuri Geifman
: quotation marks might be appropriate.... this is one of those terms that should be transplanted as a concept, like perestroika, glasnost, the near abroad, etc.
1 hr
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I agree Yuri. This term has a "flavor" all its own. It really does depend on who this is intended for. For those familiar with organized crime in Russia this term should work with no problems.
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| agree |
Aleksandr Okunev (X)
8 hrs
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Thank you Aleksandr.
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| disagree |
Mariusz Kuklinski
: Linguistic calque
3565 days
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+3
13 mins
professional criminal
If one were to use Mafia terminology one would say "made man", but this is as ethnocentric as "thief in law" - not understood outside its context by the average reader.
As I understand that term, вор в законе is not necessarily the boss of a group, only one sworn into the "brotherhood"'s practices
As I understand that term, вор в законе is not necessarily the boss of a group, only one sworn into the "brotherhood"'s practices
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
JoeYeckley (X)
: Still seems to need more specificity. Would "member of the professional criminal class" be too expansive?
21 mins
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| agree |
Kevin Kelly
: Best choice for a general audience.
1 hr
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| neutral |
Yuri Geifman
: I think this is a bit too bland... like career criminal... there's a special meaning to vor v zakone, it's a way of life with a very rigid code of behavior, at least it used to be that way
1 hr
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| agree |
David Knowles
: This is exactly what I would put. There's no equivalent, but this is the best general translation. I've written a whole essay on the subject, but I'll spare Prozians!
4 hrs
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Thaks, David, although perhaps his "managerial position" can also be indicated in this case by something along Levan's idea
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56 mins
Russian term (edited):
��� � ������
full-fledged criminal
May still take a parenthetical transliteration for the benefit of area studies specialist.
6 hrs
Russian term (edited):
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confirmed thief---not for grading
It seems to me that clumsy Russian “vor v zakone” is translation from the smooth English definition “confirmed thief” – in meaning “tough gay”, kind of “member of underground trade union of thieves” or “passed confirmation by thief society” that sounds stilted. But subject matter would be quite clear for a reader. However, the source itself contains clear hint on “Mafia boss”, not on ordinary impenitent thief and “Mafia boss” is the most appropriate choice.
14 hrs
TranslatonatoR
Native in Russian
"Bi-Cultural & Bi-Lingual"
Native in: Russian 
Works in: English to Russian, Russian to English
Russian term (edited):
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"A Wise Guy"
---
-1
2 days 1 hr
Vladimir Glushkov
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Native in Russian
Russian Federation
Customer! Quality! Deadline!
Native in: Russian
Works in: English to Russian, Russian to English
Russian term (edited):
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capo del capo
Вспоминаются недавние события, когда в Испании местными властями были задержаны грузинские воры. Так испанская пресса назвала всё это очередным проявлением русской мафии и, не найдя подходящего слова в испанском языке для перевода русского "вор в законе", воспользовалась наиболее подходящим итальянским аналогом "capo del capo".
На англоязычных сайтах о-очень редко ссылочки. Вот нашёл одну
http://www.russia.com/forums/showthread.php3?threadid=18560&...
A classic case is when the Mafia capo del capo explains why it is important to get the disinformation about biotechnology published before the facts get out:...
Остальные все, похоже, на итальянских 8-)
Удачи!
На англоязычных сайтах о-очень редко ссылочки. Вот нашёл одну
http://www.russia.com/forums/showthread.php3?threadid=18560&...
A classic case is when the Mafia capo del capo explains why it is important to get the disinformation about biotechnology published before the facts get out:...
Остальные все, похоже, на итальянских 8-)
Удачи!
Peer comment(s):
| disagree |
jennifer newsome (X)
: Извините но ваш ответ здесь не подходит. «Capo del capo» только относится к итальянскии мафии.
3 hrs
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мне кажется, я уже всё объяснил 8-)
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