‘You got it wrong’

In about five seconds I can find from WordReference.com that the Russian for reset is переставля́ть (perestavlyat’).

The US State Department, however, is apparently unable to get that far, even though proper translation is an essential tool of any international activity.

Button gaffe embarrasses Clinton

Mr Lavrov was not taken with the state department's Russian language skills

Russian media have been poking fun at the US secretary of state over a translation error on a gift she presented to her Russian counterpart.

Hillary Clinton gave Sergei Lavrov a mock “reset” button, symbolising US hopes to mend frayed ties with Moscow. But he said the word the Americans chose, “peregruzka”, meant “overloaded” or “overcharged”, rather than “reset”. Daily newspaper Kommersant declared on its front page: “Sergei Lavrov and Hillary Clinton push the wrong button.”

…

As reporters watched, the US secretary of state assured her Russian opposite number her staff had “worked hard” to ensure it was accurate. “Was it right?” she inquired with a smile. “You got it wrong,” Mr Lavrov responded, also smiling, before pointing out the mistake.

BBC

Comments

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You would indeed expect the US government to have top-flight Russian translator-interpreters who not only know the Russian of books and newspapers but also the Russian of everyday life. It's pretty inexcusable that they got this wrong and fortunate that Mr Lavrov apparently knew enough English to realize what was intended and not to take offence.

However, getting the right word is not simply a matter of consulting an online dictionary as anyone will know who has tried to find the French for "hovercraft" and discovered that the French say "le hovercraft" and not "l'aéroglisseur" or the Spanish for "hydrofoil" and discovered that the taxi driver in Tenerife calls it "el hydrofoil" and not "el hidroala".