Вода and water in Russian and English phraseological units
The article deals with the phraseological units, which have the lexeme “вода/water” in Russian and English languages. We've analyzed 26 Russian and 64 English idioms and examined phraseological equivalents (full, partial) and phraseological analogues (full, partial). According to this analysis, we conclude that there are just few full equivalents in Russian and English languages, but there is a big amount of full analogues, that are similar in semantics, but have differences in componential (lexeme) and grammatical structure. Moreover we've made a historical analysis of phraseological units and found out that water is very important for Russian people. Furthermore, according to proverbs and sayings, water is power ( вода огонь пересилит; вода свое возьмет ), remedy ( вода не мутит ума; вода прошла, и беда прошла ), assistant ( быстрый сам добежит, а тихого вода донесет; вода вымоет, хлеб выкормит ) and a part of folk wisdom ( вода с гор потекла - весну принесла; вода с гор, так и речки мутны; вода с ледком в зиму - не ( в ) диво ). This research reveals the semantic and linguistic peculiarities of phraseological units in Russian and English languages, defines the attitudes towards water and determines cultural characteristics expressed in phraseological units, proverbs and sayings.