Russian Word ‘втюхивать’: Meaning and Examples

Today we’re learning Russian from a real comment on the internet:

Са́мое оби́дное — они́ снача́ла втю́хивают свои́м наи́вным зри́телям кре́мы, ма́ски, па́тчи, LED-наса́дки, расска́зывают об их чу́до-де́йствии... А пото́м са́ми бегу́т к хиру́ргам.
(The most annoying thing is that they first push creams, masks, patches and LED devices onto their naïve viewers, telling them about their ‘miraculous effects’… and then they themselves run off to plastic surgeons.)

Meaning

So, what does the Russian verb ‘втю́хивать’ mean?

‘Втю́хивать’ is a colloquial verb. It means to pressure someone into buying something unnecessary or useless, often using persuasion or manipulation.

You will hear this verb very often in everyday spoken Russian — and that’s hardly surprising. These days, everyone seems to be trying to sell you something. Advertising is everywhere: online, on social media, in shops, on the street. It has become an integral part of our life.

Because of that, ‘втю́хивать’ has a negative connotation. It suggests that a product is being imposed on you — something you don’t really need.

As a result, you later find yourself thinking: ‘How did I even end up buying this?’

Examples

Here are a few examples to see how this verb appears in real life:

• Консульта́нт пыта́лась втю́хать мне како́й-то крем. (The shop assistant tried to push some random cream on me.)
• Бло́гер втю́хивает подпи́счикам свои́ ку́рсы по похуде́нию. (The blogger is flogging weight-loss courses to their followers.)

From the media:

• Маркето́логи втю́хивают нам нену́жные това́ры к пра́здникам. (Marketers try to palm off stuff we don’t need in the run-up to the holidays.)

Verb Aspect and Tense Forms

Here’s how this verb changes depending on aspect and tense:

втю́хать (perfective)

втю́хивать (imperfective)

Do you usually spot it when someone’s trying to sell you stuff you don’t really need?