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Glossary entry

Russian term or phrase:

с нуля

English translation:

starting from nothing, or from the ground up

Added to glossary by Anatoliy Babich
Nov 29, 2007 17:42
16 yrs ago
2 viewers *
Russian term

с нуля

Russian to English Bus/Financial Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
Из CV:
Г-жа Иванова организовала работу HR департамента с нуля, сформировала горизонтальную команду в регионах.
...
Proposed translations (English)
5 +7 starting from nothing, or from the ground up
4 +13 from scratch
3 +7 from scratch
4 started up a/the HR Department (as a green-field project)
3 has put together from scratch

Discussion

Gennady Lapardin Nov 29, 2007:
Видимо,от вас требуют написать "организовала работу по-новому, переделала неэффективно работавший департамент". Если это так, то это надо было указать в контексте, иначе ваш вопрос слишком загадочен. В-нт для моего предположения (launch out) "anew" hth
Deborah Hoffman Nov 29, 2007:
To me from scratch sounds more like cooking and I don't know I'd use it on a CV...Though it could work elsewhere for s nulia and I'm going to make a mental note of it myself.
Deborah Hoffman Nov 29, 2007:
To me from scratch sounds more like cooking and I don't know I'd use it on a CV...Though it could work elsewhere for s nulia and I'm going to make a mental note of it myself.
Simon Hollingsworth Nov 29, 2007:
I believe you friend in the US is incorrect. I think "from scratch" is the ideal translation here
Anatoliy Babich (asker) Nov 29, 2007:
I was referring to "from scratch"
Anatoliy Babich (asker) Nov 29, 2007:
before asking this question I skyped a friend from US and he said this expression didn't fit in this context...

Proposed translations

+7
43 mins
Selected

starting from nothing, or from the ground up

As here:

Even Microsoft Started from Nothing. by Christine Gibson ..... not the Justice Department—could slow the most successful startup in U.S. history. ...
www.americanheritage.com/articles/web/20061125-bill-gates-m... - 48k - Cached - Similar pages

There are some idioms too: from the ground up, from the studs up (that one is more strictly about construction, however).

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Note added at 44 мин (2007-11-29 18:27:00 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

"Mr. Ivanov organized the HR department from the ground up" I think sounds better on a CV than "from nothing."

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 46 мин (2007-11-29 18:28:10 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I'm still not entirely satisfied though.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 59 мин (2007-11-29 18:41:55 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Sorry, Ms.!
Peer comment(s):
agree Arkadi Burkov
59 mins
agree pfifficus
3 hrs
agree Dorene Cornwell : (re)built the HR department from the ground up
9 hrs
agree Gennady Lapardin : may be radically/essentially rebuilt
12 hrs
agree marygold
19 hrs
agree szvejk (X) : from ground up, exactly. don't feel confused.
1 day 23 hrs
agree Tatiana N. (X)
3 days 23 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks a lot!"
+13
1 min

from scratch

hth
Peer comment(s):
agree Mark Yepifantsev
0 min
agree Mikhail Kropotov
0 min
agree maxomel
0 min
agree Smantha
3 mins
agree danya
4 mins
agree Iosif JUHASZ
26 mins
agree Sergei Tumanov
42 mins
agree Simon Hollingsworth
46 mins
agree Olga Judina
58 mins
agree Andrew Vdovin
58 mins
agree Jack Doughty
1 hr
agree Alexander Onishko : 100 % agree
2 hrs
agree R. E. M
2 hrs
agree bububu
3 hrs
agree Gennady Lapardin
4 hrs
disagree vershina : I think "from scratch" is too colloquial for a CV. "...buiit the HR department from the ground up" is better.
11 hrs
disagree szvejk (X) : in solidarity with John, too much colloquial for C.V.
1 day 23 hrs
neutral Tatiana N. (X) : I agree with John Hershey - too colloquial in this context
3 days 23 hrs
Something went wrong...
+7
1 min

from scratch

possibly...
Peer comment(s):
agree Mark Yepifantsev
0 min
agree Smantha
3 mins
agree Sergei Tumanov
43 mins
agree Simon Hollingsworth
46 mins
agree Irena Pizzi
1 hr
agree Alexander Onishko : 100 % agree
2 hrs
agree bububu
3 hrs
agree Gennady Lapardin
4 hrs
disagree szvejk (X) :
1 day 23 hrs
Something went wrong...
1 hr

started up a/the HR Department (as a green-field project)

-

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2007-11-29 19:07:07 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

green-field я добавила для "идиоматичности" :)) start up, имхо, достаточно
Something went wrong...
5 hrs

has put together from scratch

maybe the problem is in the 'organizing from scratch', that doesn't really sound.
But if you do smth. else instead: like "put together the HR Department from stratch"
or even..
Mrs. Ivanova takes the honor of (or "is one responsible for") putting the HR Department from scratch, organizing a horizontal team (?) acrross the regions(?)
but then again...
it's not really important that she started s nulya, but rather that having started s nulya, she achieved some sort of cohesion. Right?
So just say it.
Mrs. Ivanova has accomplished a feat of management, making the HR Department a well-oiled department literally from nothing, pulling horizontal teams together across regions.
Or whatever.
Something went wrong...
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