Time Flies (and Crawls)
Just like in English, Russian uses verbs of motion to describe the passage of time. When you are having a good time, an evening "flies by" (пролетать / пролететь), often paired with незаметно (unnoticeably).
| When you are with friends, the evening flies by unnoticeably. | Когда ты с друзьями, вечер пролетает незаметно. |
| This year flew by completely unnoticeably. | Этот год пролетел совершенно незаметно. |
Conversely, when you are waiting or bored, time doesn't fly—it crawls (ползти).
| The more we wait, the slower time crawls. | Чем больше мы ждём, тем медленнее ползёт время. |
Slipping the Mind
When you completely forget something, Russian paints a vivid picture: the thought literally "flies out" (вылетать / вылететь) of your head.
Use the imperfective вылетать из головы for things you frequently forget, and the perfective вылететь из головы when a specific fact slips your mind on a single occasion.
| I have a bad memory, everything always flies out of my head. | У меня плохая память, всё всегда вылетает из головы. |
| Her name flew out of my head again. | Её имя опять вылетело у меня из головы. |
The Flow of Speech
The noun речь means "speech" or "conversation." One of the most essential idiomatic phrases in Russian is речь идёт о... ("the conversation is about..." or "it is about..."). Notice how the verb идти (to go) drives the topic forward.
| The conversation is about my brothers. | Речь идёт о моих братьях. |
When a conversation or speech happens without awkward pauses, it "flows" (течь), often paired with the adverb плавно (smoothly).
| His speech flows smoothly and beautifully. | Его речь течёт плавно и красиво. |
| The evening is quiet, and the conversation flows smoothly. | Вечер тихий, и беседа течёт плавно. |
