So, you’re in Russia? And you want to learn a bit of the local lingo? Here’s a very quick guide to the basics in Russian.
When meeting up with Russians, a handshake is an appropriate gesture when greeting or leaving. You might want to start with:
Hello/Hi Привет [pri-v’et]
Good morning Доброе утро [dob-r-je ut-r]
Good afternoon Добрый день [dob-ryj d’en’]
Good evening Добрый вечер [dob-ryj v’e-ch’er]
Your friendly Russian hosts may well wish you:
Welcome! Добро пожаловать! [db-ro p-zha-l^-vat’]
You’ve got past the greeting stage, what next?
How are things? Как дела? [kak d’e-la]
Good/OK Хорошо [kh-r-sho]
Excellent отлично [^t-lich’-no]
Pointing, gesturing and smiling will get you a long way, together with a few basic phrases:
Yes Да [da]
No Нет [n’et]
Maybe Может быть [mo-zhet byt’]
Please Пожалуйста [p^-zha-lus-ta]
Thank you Спасибо [spa-si-b^]
Thank you very much Большое спасибо [bl’-sho-je spa-si-b]
Excuse me Извините [iz-vi-ni-t’e]
Sorry Простите [pr^s-ti-t’e]
And if all else fails, and communication breaks down completely:
I don’t understand Я не понимаю [ja n’e p^-ni-ma-ju]
Do you speak English? Вы говорите по-английски? [vy g-v-ri-t’e p^-an-glis-ki]
I don’t speak Russian Я не говорю по-русски [ja n’e g-v-r’u p^-rus-ki]
All too soon it’s time to leave:
Bye Пока [p^-ka]
Goodbye До свидания [d^ svi-da-ni-ja]
Good night Спокойной ночи [sp-koj-nj no-chi]
Congratulations, you can now say a few basic Russian phrases. That wasn’t too tricky!
Feeling inspired to take it further? Why not download the Collins Russian Phrasebook e-book to take your language learning to the next level? Go on, what is there to lose!
