The Brothers Karamazov — Page 1
Fyodor Pavlovitch Karamazov
Fiódor Pávlovitch Karamázov
Alexey Fyodorovitch Karamazov was the third son of Fyodor Pavlovitch Karamazov, a land owner well known in our district in his own day, and still remembered among us owing to his gloomy and tragic death, which happened thirteen years ago, and which I shall describe in its proper place.
Alejo Fiódorovitch Karamázov era el tercer hijo de Fiódor Pávlovitch Karamázov, un terrateniente muy conocido en nuestro distrito en su época, y aún recordado entre nosotros a causa de su lúgubre y trágica muerte, ocurrida hace trece años, y que describiré en su momento oportuno.
For the present I will only say that this "landowner"—for so we used to call him, although he hardly spent a day of his life on his own estate—was a strange type, yet one pretty frequently to be met with, a type abject and vicious and at the same time senseless.
Por ahora me limitaré a decir que este «terrateniente» —pues así solíamos llamarle, aunque apenas pasó un día de su vida en su propia hacienda— era un tipo extraño, aunque bastante frecuente, un tipo abyecto y vicioso y al mismo tiempo insensato.
But he was one of those senseless persons who are very well capable of looking after their worldly affairs, and, apparently, after nothing else.
Pero era uno de esos individuos insensatos que son muy capaces de atender sus asuntos mundanos, y, al parecer, nada más.
Fyodor Pavlovitch, for instance, began with next to nothing; his estate was of the smallest; he ran to dine at other men's tables, and fastened on them as a toady, yet at his death it appeared that he had a hundred thousand roubles in hard cash.
Fiódor Pávlovitch, por ejemplo, comenzó con casi nada; su hacienda era de las más pequeñas; corría a cenar a mesas ajenas y se pegaba a los demás como un adulador, pero a su muerte resultó que tenía cien mil rublos en dinero contante y sonante.
At the same time, he was all his life one of the most senseless, fantastical fellows in the whole district.
Al mismo tiempo, fue durante toda su vida uno de los individuos más insensatos y estrafalarios de todo el distrito.
I repeat, it was not stupidity—the majority of these fantastical fellows are shrewd and intelligent enough—but just senselessness, and a peculiar national form of it.
Repito, no era estupidez —la mayoría de estos sujetos estrafalarios son bastante astutos e inteligentes— sino simplemente insensatez, y una forma peculiarmente nacional de ella.
He was married twice, and had three sons, the eldest, Dmitri, by his first wife, and two, Ivan and Alexey, by his second.
Se casó dos veces y tuvo tres hijos: el mayor, Dmitri, con su primera esposa, y dos, Iván y Alejo, con la segunda.
Vocabulary
- era
- Past tense of 'ser'; was, describing a state or identity.
- el
- Definite masculine singular article meaning 'the'.
- tercer
- Ordinal adjective meaning third in a sequence.
- hijo
- Noun meaning son or child of someone.
- de
- Preposition meaning of or from.
- un
- Indefinite masculine singular article meaning a or an.
- terrateniente
- Noun meaning landowner, person who owns large land.
- muy
- Adverb meaning very, used to intensify adjectives or adverbs.
- conocido
- Adjective meaning well-known or familiar to many people.
- en
- Preposition meaning in or at a location.
- nuestro
- Possessive adjective meaning our, belonging to us.
- distrito
- Noun meaning district, an administrative geographic division.
- su
- Possessive adjective meaning his, her, its, or their.
- época
- Noun meaning era, epoch, or historical period of time.
- y
- Conjunction meaning and, connecting words or clauses.
- aún
- Adverb meaning still or yet, indicating continuation.
- recordado
- Past participle of recordar; remembered by people.
- entre
- Preposition meaning among or between multiple things or people.
- nosotros
- First person plural pronoun meaning we or us.
- a
- Preposition meaning to, at, or by.
- causa
- Noun meaning cause or reason behind an event.
- lúgubre
- Adjective meaning gloomy, mournful, or dismal in character.
- trágica
- Adjective meaning tragic, involving great suffering or disaster.
- muerte
- Noun meaning death, the end of a person's life.
- ocurrida
- Past participle of ocurrir; that occurred or happened.
- hace
- Used with time expressions meaning ago or since.
- trece
- Cardinal number meaning thirteen.
- años
- Plural noun meaning years, units of time.
- que
- Relative pronoun or conjunction meaning that or which.
- describiré
- Future tense of describir; I will describe in detail.
- momento
- Noun meaning moment or point in time.
- oportuno
- Adjective meaning opportune, timely, or appropriate.
- Por
- Preposition meaning for, by, or through in context.
- ahora
- Adverb meaning now, at the present moment.
- me
- Reflexive or object pronoun meaning me or myself.
- limitaré
- Future of limitarse; I will limit or restrict myself.
- decir
- Infinitive verb meaning to say or to tell.
- este
- Demonstrative adjective or pronoun meaning this.
- pues
- Conjunction or adverb meaning well, then, or since.
- así
- Adverb meaning so, thus, or in this way.
- solíamos
- Imperfect of soler; we used to do habitually.
- llamarle
- Infinitive with pronoun; to call him by a name.
- aunque
- Conjunction meaning although, even though, or even if.
- apenas
- Adverb meaning hardly, scarcely, or barely.
- pasó
- Preterite of pasar; he spent or passed time.
- día
- Noun meaning day, a 24-hour period.
- vida
- Noun meaning life or one's existence.
- propia
- Adjective meaning own, belonging specifically to oneself.
- hacienda
- Noun meaning estate, large rural property or ranch.
- tipo
- Noun meaning type, kind, or fellow informally.
- extraño
- Adjective meaning strange, odd, or unusual.
- bastante
- Adverb or adjective meaning quite, enough, or rather.
- frecuente
- Adjective meaning frequent or common, occurring often.
- abyecto
- Adjective meaning abject, despicable, or morally degraded.
- vicioso
- Adjective meaning vicious, depraved, or given to vice.
- al
- Contraction of a + el meaning to the or at the.
- mismo
- Adjective meaning same or even, used for emphasis.
- tiempo
- Noun meaning time or weather.
- insensato
- Adjective meaning senseless, foolish, or lacking good judgment.
- Pero
- Conjunction meaning but, introducing a contrast or exception.
- uno
- Numeral or pronoun meaning one or someone.
- esos
- Demonstrative adjective meaning those, referring to nearby things.
- individuos
- Plural noun meaning individuals, persons, or fellows.
- son
- Third person plural of ser; they are.
- capaces
- Plural adjective meaning capable or able to do something.
- atender
- Infinitive meaning to attend to or take care of.
- sus
- Possessive adjective meaning his, her, their, or your.
- asuntos
- Plural noun meaning affairs, matters, or business dealings.
- mundanos
- Adjective meaning worldly, relating to material or earthly affairs.
- parecer
- Infinitive meaning to seem or to appear to be.
- nada
- Pronoun or adverb meaning nothing or not at all.
- más
- Adverb meaning more or most.
- por
- Preposition meaning for, by, through, or because of.
- ejemplo
- Noun meaning example, an instance used for illustration.
- comenzó
- Preterite of comenzar; he began or started something.
- con
- Preposition meaning with, indicating accompaniment or means.
- casi
- Adverb meaning almost or nearly.
- las
- Definite feminine plural article meaning the.
- pequeñas
- Adjective meaning small or little, feminine plural form.
- corría
- Imperfect of correr; he used to run or rush.
- cenar
- Infinitive meaning to have dinner or to dine.
- mesas
- Plural noun meaning tables, furniture for eating or working.
- ajenas
- Adjective meaning others', belonging to other people.
- se
- Reflexive pronoun used with reflexive or reciprocal verbs.
- pegaba
- Imperfect of pegarse; he used to stick or attach himself.
- los
- Definite masculine plural article meaning the.
- demás
- Pronoun or adjective meaning the others or the rest.
- como
- Conjunction or adverb meaning as, like, or how.
- adulador
- Noun meaning flatterer, one who flatters others excessively.
- pero
- Conjunction meaning but, introducing contrast or opposition.
- resultó
- Preterite of resultar; it turned out or resulted.
- tenía
- Imperfect of tener; he had or used to have.
- cien
- Cardinal number meaning one hundred.
- mil
- Cardinal number meaning one thousand.
- dinero
- Noun meaning money, currency used for transactions.
- contante
- Adjective in 'dinero contante'; meaning cash or ready money.
- sonante
- Adjective in 'contante y sonante'; meaning hard cash literally.
- Al
- Contraction of a + el meaning to the, at the.
- fue
- Preterite of ser or ir; was or went.
- durante
- Preposition meaning during, throughout a period of time.
- toda
- Adjective meaning all or entire, feminine singular form.
- estrafalarios
- Adjective meaning eccentric, outlandish, or bizarrely dressed people.
- todo
- Adjective or pronoun meaning all, every, or everything.
- Repito
- First person singular of repetir; I repeat or reiterate.
- no
- Negation adverb meaning no or not.
- estupidez
- Noun meaning stupidity or foolishness, lack of intelligence.
- la
- Definite feminine singular article meaning the.
- mayoría
- Noun meaning majority, the greater number or part.
- estos
- Demonstrative adjective meaning these, masculine plural form.
- sujetos
- Plural noun meaning subjects, individuals, or fellows informally.
- astutos
- Adjective meaning shrewd, cunning, or clever in a crafty way.
- e
- Conjunction meaning and, used before words starting with i.
- inteligentes
- Adjective meaning intelligent or smart, having mental ability.
- sino
- Conjunction meaning but rather, introducing a positive alternative.
- simplemente
- Adverb meaning simply or just, in a simple manner.
- insensatez
- Noun meaning senselessness, foolishness, or lack of good judgment.
- una
- Indefinite feminine singular article meaning a or an.
- forma
- Noun meaning form, shape, or manner of doing something.
- peculiarmente
- Adverb meaning peculiarly or characteristically in an odd way.
- nacional
- Adjective meaning national, relating to a nation or country.
- ella
- Third person feminine pronoun meaning she or her.
- Se
- Reflexive pronoun used with reflexive verbs or constructions.
- casó
- Preterite of casarse; he got married or wed.
- dos
- Cardinal number meaning two.
- veces
- Plural noun meaning times, occasions, or instances.
- tuvo
- Preterite of tener; he had or got children.
- tres
- Cardinal number meaning three.
- hijos
- Plural noun meaning sons or children.
- mayor
- Adjective meaning older, elder, or the oldest among siblings.
- primera
- Ordinal adjective meaning first, feminine form.
- esposa
- Noun meaning wife or spouse.
- segunda
- Ordinal adjective meaning second, feminine form.
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