Eastern Europeans

[ChrisPriss]

Hello, are there any Russian, or possibly Ukrainian, speakers who can help me?
My Polish/Russian grandmother used to say this phrase:
shop-ni-ka-bal-sh-eye(nearest transliteration I can remember)
to mean “something really good, but not for the likes of us!”
It’s not Polish, and I have no living family members to ask, but really would love to know what it was, if only so I can use it correctly myself!

I'm not either but have you tried google translate? The voice version?

Oh, thank you, I hadn't considered that!

Any luck yet OP?

No luck, my memory and pronunciation have failed me!

I know some Russian, I don't think it's "shop", it's probably shto, as in what/which:

Russian‎ | Grammar. Что (pronounced "shto", not "chto") and какой (pronounced "kakoy") both mean "what". As a loose rule, какой means "which".

Shto nikoi bolshoie very loosely translates as nothing bigger/better than... or possibly an idiomatic translation u mention but I am no expert.

you're close I think - I'm Polish but that doesn't ring a bell sadly

The last word is very likely большое - bolshoe, which means big.

I also wonder if you are mis-remembering the meaning or muddling up multiple phrases. Your phrase isn't a million miles away from Спасибо большое (Spasibo bolshoe) which is just thank you very much

I can confirm that “bolshaya” is definitely big. Большая is feminine big
The first part not so clear. There’s a word Шибко (shipko can be pronounced as shipka) which means too (as in too big, too much etc) and is Russian/Ukranian
or sherbinka щербинка which means the gap between teeth
Russian/Ukrainian language is very contextual though so if you provide us an instance when your grandma used to say it, myself or some native speakers here might be able to help you 😊

Shto nikoi bolshoie
Thank you so much, I think this may be the phrase and it fits with my memories of when my grandmother used it.
I'm saying it in my head in her voice and it's so familiar - I knew it was not Polish, which I do speak.

Thanks to everyone for your replies, you’ve been so helpful ❤️

Nikoi is not a word in Russian though.. ni-ka-koi is.

The added ka" sound makes it even more familiar - thank you!

Missed the first quotation mark, should have read "ka"