White nights, and other stories: 40 words to know before you read it
The 40 words Fyodor Dostoyevsky uses again and again in White nights, and other stories that are outside the 4,000 most common in English. Learn them first and the opening chapters read much more easily. Each comes with its pronunciation and a sentence from the book.
morrow/ˈmɑɹoʊ/76× in the book
I am being redecorated to-morrow;" or, "I was almost burnt down and had such a fright," and so on.
till/ˈtɪɫ/48× in the book
… I like it too, and I won't drive you away till I get home."
lodger46× in the book
… well, there moved into our upper storey a new lodger."
afterwards/ˈæftɝwɝdz/44× in the book
… only two words, even though we never meet again afterwards!...
ashamed/əˈʃeɪmd/43× in the book
It seemed as though Petersburg threatened to become a wilderness, so that at last I felt ashamed, mortified and sad that I had nowhere to go for the holidays and no reason to go away.
frighten/ˈfɹaɪtən/42× in the book
… always silent and splenetic, who frightened them, while timid as children they hid their love from each other?
insult/ˈɪnˌsəɫt/37× in the book
You are not capable of insulting, even in thought, her who so loved and so loves you.'"
delight/dɪˈɫaɪt/35× in the book
I know them intimately, I have almost made a study of their faces, and am delighted when they are gay, and downcast when they are under a cloud.
spite/ˈspaɪt/35× in the book
As soon as it struck nine o'clock I could not stay indoors, but put on my things, and went out in spite of the weather.
haste/ˈheɪst/31× in the book
The girl flew straight as an arrow, with the timid haste one sees in all girls who do not want any one to volunteer to accompany them home at night, and no doubt the staggering gentleman would not have pursued her …
timid/ˈtɪmɪd/31× in the book
… the same pale face, the same meek and timid movements, and even signs of remorse …
positively/ˈpɑzətɪvɫi/30× in the book
Nevertheless it is clear that such persons as the writer of these notes not only may, but positively must, exist in our society …
utterly/ˈətɝɫi/29× in the book
I have lived, as they say, keeping myself to myself, that is, utterly alone—alone, entirely alone.
fond/ˈfɑnd/28× in the book
Why do you suppose he is so fond of his four walls, which are invariably painted green, grimy, dismal and reeking unpardonably of tobacco smoke?
despair/dɪˈspɛɹ/27× in the book
I cried jumping up from the seat in utter despair.
fancy/ˈfænsi/27× in the book
perhaps it was my fancy....
flush/ˈfɫəʃ/26× in the book
… neither where he is going nor where he is standing now, and flushing with vexation he will certainly tell some lie to save appearances.
continually/kənˈtɪnjuəɫi/26× in the book
… the whole point, the real sting of it lay in the fact that continually, even in the moment of the acutest spleen …
nonsense/ˈnɑnsɛns/25× in the book
Not to talk nonsense, as I did yesterday.
goodness/ˈɡʊdnəs/25× in the book
Oh, my goodness!
fool/ˈfuɫ/25× in the book
… taunting myself with the spiteful and useless consolation that an intelligent man cannot become anything seriously, and it is only the fool who becomes anything.
landlady/ˈɫændˌɫeɪdi/24× in the book
They were all landladies, that....
absurd/əbˈsɝd/24× in the book
A type is an original, it's an absurd person!"
instant/ˈɪnstənt/24× in the book
But forgive me that a doubt has stolen—if only for one instant—into my heart.
honour/ˈɑnɝ/23× in the book
Anyway, gentlemen, I shall welcome both views as an honour and a special favour.
quiver/ˈkwɪvɝ/23× in the book
She tried to smile, to calm herself, but her chin was quivering and her bosom was still heaving.
tremble/ˈtɹɛmbəɫ/23× in the book
She took my arm without a word, still trembling with excitement and terror.
dignity/ˈdɪɡnəti/23× in the book
I should live at ease, I should die with dignity, why, it is charming, perfectly charming!
enjoyment/ˌɛnˈdʒɔɪmənt/22× in the book
… I used to grind my teeth at them, and felt intense enjoyment when I succeeded in making anybody unhappy.
charm/ˈtʃɑɹm/22× in the book
It was such a charming little brick house, it looked so hospitably at me, and so proudly at its ungainly neighbours, that my heart rejoiced whenever I happened to pass it.
ache/ˈeɪk/21× in the book
it made my heart ache....
contrary/ˈkɑntɹɛɹi/21× in the book
"No, nothing, nothing, quite the contrary.
nasty/ˈnæsti/21× in the book
My servant is an old country-woman, ill-natured from stupidity, and, moreover, there is always a nasty smell about her.
crush/ˈkɹəʃ/21× in the book
… why I was not able to entertain my visitor, and why I was crushed under the weight of my own hospitality?"
bless/ˈbɫɛs/21× in the book
I have almost struck up a friendship with one old man whom I meet every blessed day, at the same hour in Fontanka.
sob/ˈsɑb/20× in the book
Surely when the hour of parting came she must have lain sobbing and grieving on his bosom, heedless of the tempest raging under the sullen sky …
faint/ˈfeɪnt/20× in the book
So much the better for you; it will give it a faint flavour of romance.
spiteful/ˈspaɪtfəɫ/19× in the book
… making her count the strokes, and I cursed myself for my spiteful impulse; I felt sorry for her …
moan/ˈmoʊn/19× in the book
In that case, of course, people are not spiteful in silence, but moan; but they are not candid moans, they are malignant moans, and the malignancy is the whole point.
scarcely/ˈskɛɹsɫi/19× in the book
… as though tired or preoccupied with some other more interesting subject, so that he could scarcely spare a glance for anything about him.
Pronunciation: ipa-dict (MIT), from Wiktionary.
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