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1 - Russian Alphabet
2 - Numbers
Russian numbers: 1 to 10
1 – один (“a-deen”)
2 – два (“dva”)
3 – три (“tree”)
4 – четыре (“chye-tir-ye”)
5 – пять (“pyat”)
6 – шесть (“shest”)
7 – семь (“syem”)
8 – восемь (“vo-syem”)
9 – девять (“dyev-yat”)
10 –десять (“dyes-yat”)
Russian numbers: 11 to 19
11 – одиннадцать
12 – двенадцать
13 – тринадцать
14 – четырнадцать
15 – пятнадцать
16 – шестнадцать
17 – семнадцать
18 – восемнадцать
19 – девятнадцать
20 – двадцать
30 – тридцать
40 – сорок
50 – пятьдесят
60 – шестьдесят
70 – семьдесят
80 – восемьдесят
90 – девяносто
100 – сто
200 – двести
300 – триста
400 – четыреста
500 – пятьсот
600 – шестьсот
700 – семьсот
800 – восемьсот
900 – девятьсот
1,000 – тысяча
1,000,000 – миллион
3 - Basic Phrases
-Здравствуйте (“zdra-stvooy-tye”) – Hello (Formal) -Привет (“pree-vyet”) – Hi (Informal)
Introducing Yourself Меня зовут … (“men-ya za-voot”) – My name is …
Как вас зовут? (“kak vas za-voot”) – What is your name?
Очень приятно (“och-en pree-yat-na”) – Pleased to meet you.
How are you?
Как дела? – How are things? Хорошо спасибо – Good/Well thank-you Плохо – Bad
Saying Good-Bye
До свидания (“da-svee-da-nee-ye”) – Good-bye.(The до is pronounced as if it is part of the next word)
Пока (“pa-ka”) – Bye (Informal, slang)
Asking about languages
Вы говорите по-английски? – Do you (formal) speak English?
Вы говорите по-русски? – Do you (formal) speak Russian?
Я говорю по-английски – I speak English
Я говорю по-русски – I speak Russian
Я понимаю – I understand
Я не понимаю – I don’t understand
4 - In a Bar/Cafe
Finding a cafe
After a busy day in Russia, you might be looking for somewhere to have a drink. You could ask people with the following phrases.
Скажите, пожалуйста…. – Tell me please….
Скажите, пожалуйста, где кафе? – Tell me please, where is a cafe?
Скажите, пожалуйста, где бар? – Tell me please, where is a bar?
Скажите, пожалуйста, где ближайшее кафе? – Tell me please, where is the nearest cafe?
Меню– Menu
Кофе – Coffee
Чай – Tea
Молоко– Milk
Кока-Кола – Coca-Cola
Лимонад – Lemonade
Сок – Juice
Борщ – Russian beetroot soup
Суп – Soup
Торт – Cake
Водка – Vodka
Пиво – Beer
Вино– Wine
Вода– Water
Do you have…?
У вас есть ….? – Do you have ….? (formal)
For example:
У вас есть кофе? – Do you have coffee?
У вас есть чай? – Do you have tea?
У вас есть водка? – Do you have vodka?
Please give me
Что? (“shto?“) – What?
Что вы хотите? – What do you want?
Я хочу … – I want…
Дайте, пожалуйста …. – Give me please…
Сколько стоит? – How much is it?.
Я буду – I will have…
Examples:
Я буду кофе с молоком и сахаром. – I will have coffee with milk and sugar.
Я буду чай. – I will have tea.
Я буду минералку без газа. – I will have mineral water (without gas).
Дайте, пожалуйста, чай. – Please give me tea.
Дайте, пожалуйста, кофе – Please give me coffee.
Дайте, пожалуйста, кофе с молоком – Please give me coffee with milk.
Дайте, пожалуйста, кофе с молоком и с сахаром – Please give me coffee with milk and sugar.
What is it?
Some short but useful Russian phrases to ask what things are…
Что это? – What is it?
Это кофе. – It is coffee.
Простите, это кофе. – Excuse me, is it coffee?
Нет, это чай. – No, it is tea.
How Much?
The word “Сколько?” means “how much?” or “how many” in Russian. You can use it to ask the price of something.
Сколько? – How much? / How many?
Сколько стоит? – How much does it cost?
двадцать один рубль – 21 rubles.
How do you say?
Another very useful phrase is “how do you say?”. It will allow you to learn more Russian words by actually speaking Russian. Here are some useful phrases…
Как сказать “….” по-русски? – How do you say “….” in Russian?
Что значит “….” на английском? – What does “….” mean in English?
Where is the toilet…?
To finish up this lesson here is a Russian phrase to help you find out where a toilet is.
Скажите, Пожалуйста , Где Туалет – Tell me please, where is the toilet?
The mens toilets are normally labeled with an “M”. The ladies toilets are normally labeled with a “Ж”.
5 - Verbs / Pronouns
Russian Pronouns
Here are the Russian pronouns that can be used as the subject of a sentence. (Known as the nominative case.)
Я – I
Ты – You (informal)
Он – He, It (m)
Она – She, It (f)
Оно – It (n)
Мы – We
Вы – You (formal, or plural)
Они – They
Меня – Me
Тебя – You (informal)
Его – (“yevo”) – Him, It (m,n)
Её – Her, It (f)
Нас – Us
Вас – You (formal, or plural)
Их – Them
Russian Verbs
You will be pleased to know that Russian has only one present tense. In Russian there is only one way of saying “I work”, “I am working” and “I do work”.
Russian verbs change their endings depending on the subject. This happens a little in English, but not as much. (Example: I work, he works). This happens according to two different patterns known as the first conjugation, and the second conjugation. (There are also some irregular verbs). Both these patterns are quite similar, and once you get the hang of it, it is not too difficult.
The first conjugation
The first conjugation is used for verbs ending in “ть” but not “ить”. It is the most common.
To form the verb for each person you need to drop the last two letters of the infinitive (normally “ть”), and add the appropriate ending (“ю”, “ешь”, “ет”, “ем”, “ете” or “ют”).Let’s take a look at a verb that uses the first conjugation: работать (to work).
работать – To work. (infinitive, dictionary form)
Я работаю – I work
Ты работаешь – You work
Он, Она, Оно работает – He, She, It works.
Мы работаем – We work
Вы работаете – You work.
Они работают – They work.
Let’s try some other Russian words from the first conjugation:
понимать – To understand. (infinitive, dictionary form)
Я понимаю – I understand.
Ты понимаешь – You understand.
Он, Она, Оно понимает – He, She, It understands
Мы понимаем – We understand.
Вы понимаете – You understand.
Они понимают – They understand.
Знать – To know. (infinitive, dictionary form)
Я знаю – I know.
Ты знаешь – You know.
Он, Она, Оно знает – He, She, It knows.
Мы знаем – We know.
Вы знаете – You know.
Они знают – They know.
Remember you can make a statement negative by using the word “не” (not). For example:
Я не знаю – I don’t know.
Я не понимаю – I don’t understand.
Он не понимает – He doesn’t understand.
You can also form questions:
Ты знаешь? – Do you know?
Ты понимаешь? – Do you understand?
The second conjugation
Verbs where the infinitive ends in “ить” use the second conjugation.
Now we will introduce some verbs from the second conjugation. There are also some other verbs that use this conjugation.
The second conjugation uses the endings “ю” (or “у”) “ишь” “ит” “им” “ите” “ят” (or “ат”), which replace “ить”.
Note 1: The second conjugation is affected by the spelling rules.
Note 2: The first person singuar is affected by the rule of consonant mutation. Remember, this only applies to the first-person singular (Я).
говорить – To speak. (infinitive, dictionary form)
Я говорю – I speak.
Ты говоришь – You speak.
Он, Она, Оно говорит – He, She, It Speaks.
Мы говорим – We speak.
Вы говорите – You speak.
Они говорят – They speak.
слышать – To hear.
слышу – I hear.
слышишь – You hear.
слышит – He, She, It hears.
слышим – We hear.
слышите – You hear.
слышат – They hear.
For Example:
Я говорю по-английски – I speak English
Он говорит по-русски – He speaks Russian
Вы говорите по-русски? – Do you speak Russian?
Мы не говорим по-русски – We don’t speak Russian.
Собака не говорит по-английски – The dog doesn’t speak English.
Irregular Verbs
There are a number of irregular verbs in Russian. (Verbs that don’t exactly follow the above rules). However, often once you know the stem of the verb, you can often predict the endings. Even irregular verbs normally follow a similar pattern to those above.
Some examples:
Ехать – To go (by transport).
Я еду – I go (by transport).
Ты едешь – You go (by transport).
Он, Она, Оноедет – He, She, It goes (by transport).
Мы едем – We go (by transport).
Вы едете – You go (by transport).
Ониедут – They go (by transport).
Notice that once you know the stem “Ед” it almost follows the first conjuction, except that “у” replaces “ю”.
Жить – To live.
Я живу – I live.
Ты живёшь – You live.
Он, Она, Оно живёт – He, She, It lives.
Мы живём – We live.
Вы живёте – You live.
Они живут – They live.
Notice that “ё” is used instead of “е” when the stress falls on the ending.
Remember that a noun after “I love” should be in the accusative case as it is the object of the sentence. Here are some uses of the word:
Я люблю спорт – I love sport.
Я люблю музыку – I love music.
Я не люблю музыку – I don’t like music.
Ты любишь музыку? – Do you love music?
Я люблю Москву – I love Moscow.
Он любит Москву – He loves Moscow.
Иван любит чай – Ivan loves tea.
Надя любит вино – Nadya loves wine.
Надя не любит вино– Nadya doesn’t like wine.
I love you” in Russian
You should now know enough Russian to say ‘I love you’
Я тебя люблю – I love you.
Я его люблю – I love him.
Я её люблю – I love her.
Она любит меня – She loves me
What?
The word “Что?” (pronounced “shto?”) means “What?”. You can use it to form questions.
Что ты любишь? – What do you love?
Я знаю, что ты любишь музыку. – I know that you love music.
Using other Russian verbs
To express yourself better in Russian you will need to learn some more Russian verbs. Let’s introduce some new Russian verbs now. If you would like, you can see how these verbs are conjugated by clicking here.
Смотреть – to watch.
Читать – to read.
Слушать – to listen
Изучать – to study
Думать – to think
Работать – to work
Хотеть – to want
Here are some possible uses of these verbs:
Я смотрю телевизор – I am watching television.
Я слушаю радио – I am listening to the radio.
Я слушаю музыку – I am listening to music.
Я читаю журнал – I am reading a magazine.
Я читаю газету – I am reading the newspaper
Я читаю книгу – I am reading a book.
Я изучаю русский язык – I study Russian. (lit: I study the Russian language).
Я так думаю – I think so!
Как вы думаете? – What do you think? (lit: How do you think?)
Я хочу чай – I want tea.
Что вы хотите? – What do you want?
Sometime you will want to talk about an action. For example “I like to read” or “I want to read”. In such cases you are using 2 verbs in a row. In Russian you should leave the 2nd verb in the infinitive form. For example:
Я люблю читать – I love to read.
Я люблю путешествовать – I love to travel.
Я хочу купить журнал – I want to buy a magazine.
Very
Очень – very. (or really)
Я очень люблю спорт – I really love sport.
Я очень люблю Москву – I really love Moscow.
Question Words
You may also find these question words useful during your travels around Russia.
Где? – Where?
Кто? – Who?
Что? – What?
Как? – How?
Почему? – Why?
7 - Places. (in/at/on)
Using prepositions and the prepositional case.
As with any language, Russian prepositions can sometimes have slightly different uses and meanings than in English. Here are some tips to help you, although these aren’t precise rules.
The word “в” (in) is used to replace the English word “at”, when you are referring to enclosed spaces or buildings. (Eg. ‘at school’)
The word “на” (on/at) replaces the English word “at” when you are talking about open spaces or places that were traditionally open spaces. (Eg. ‘at work’, ‘at a station’, ‘at a concert’).
Now you can easily tell people where you live:
Где вы живёте? – Where do you live?
Я живу в Москве – I live in Moscow.
Я живу в Лондоне – I live in London.
Я живу в Петербурге – I live in St. Petersburg.
Я живу в Сибири – I live in Siberia.
As with “Лондоне” you should change the case of other cities, suburbs and places, even though they are not Russian.
You can also describe where something or someone is:
Где она? – Where is she?
на вокзале – at the station
на почте – at the post office
в саду – in the garden
в лесу – in the forest
на улице – on the street
Что на столе? – What is on the table?
На столе книга и карандаш – On the table is a book and a pencil.
Other Places
Here are some names of other useful places. (They are in dicionary form)
кино – cinema
театр – theatre
аптека – pharmacy
парк – park
стадион – stadium
школа – school
работа – work
библиотека – library
кафе – cafe
площадь – square
ресторан – restaurant
банк – bank
гостиница – hotel
музей – museum
больница – hospital
квартира – apartment
дом – house, home
университет – university
The following locations are always preceded by ‘на’ instead of ‘в’ when describing location or motion towards.
север – north
юг – south
восток – east
запад – west
вокзал – station (usually large train stations)
станция – station (smaller train and tram stations)
завод – factory
концерт – concert
площадь – square
работа – work
рынок – market
стадион – stadium
улица – street
почта – post office
Location and Direction
Sometimes, prepositions have more than one meaning, you can tell this by the case. When answering questions asked with the word “Где” (Where is (location)), your answer will involve the prepositional case. However, when you answer questions asked with “Куда” (Where to), you would use the accusative case. Here are some examples for you to compare.
Куда вы идёте – Where are you going (to)? (Indicates direction)
Я иду в школу – I am going to school.
Где вы работаете? – Where do you work? (Indicates a location)
Я работаю в школе – I work at (in) a school.
Here are some useful words and phrases for finding your way around Russia.
прямо – Straight ahead.
налево – To the left.
направо – To the right.
прямо, потом направо – Straight ahead, then to the right.
Going Places in Russian
In Russian there are two words that can be used to express “I am going”. The first indicates you are going on foot, the second indicates that you are going by some form of transport. Both these words are verbs of motion, and are grammatically quite complex, but as these words are so important for basic Russian, we will introduce them now in a simple way. A more detailed lesson on verbs of motion will follow at a later stage
Each of these 2 verbs (and all verbs of motion) come in pairs. The first indicates ‘to go in one direction’, the second indicates ‘to go in more than one direction’ or to ‘go somewhere repetitively’. You will notice from the examples that this often relates to when you use ‘going’ or ‘go’ in English. So to express ‘to go’ in Russian, there are actually four ways:
Идти – To go on foot, in one direction.
(Я иду, Ты идёшь, Он идёт, Мы идём, Вы идёте, Они идут)
Я иду в школу – I am going to school.
Я иду в кино – I am going to the cinema.
Ты идёшь в кино? – Are you going to the cinema?
Он идёт в гостиницу – He is going to the hotel.
Мы идём в кафе – We are going to the cafe.
я иду в университет – I am going to the university
Ходить – To go on foot, in more than one direction, or repetitively.
(Я хожу, Ты ходишь, Он ходит, Мы ходим, Вы ходите, Они ходят )
Я хожу в школу – I go to school.
Я часто хожу в кино – I often go to the cinema
Мы ходим в кафе каждый день – We go to the cafe every day.
Ехать – To go by transport, in one direction.
(Я еду, Ты едешь, Он едет, Мы едем, Вы едете, Ониедут )
Я еду в школу – I am going to school. (by transport)
Я еду в кино на метро – I am going to the cinema on the metro.
Он едет в гостиницу на такси – He is going to the hotel by taxi.
Мы едем в кафе – We are going to the cafe. (by transport)
Он едет в Лондон – He is going to London
Ездить – To go by transport, in more than one direction, or repetitively
(Я езжу, Ты ездишь , Он ездит , Мы ездим, Вы ездите, Ониездят)
Он часто ездит в Лондон – He often goes to London
Я езжу в театр каждый день – I go to the theater every day.
Они часто ездят в Амстердам – They often go to Amsterdam
8-Family
Russian Family Words
Here are the words Russians commonly use to refer to members of their family:
Мать – mother
Отец – father
Мама – mum
Папа – dad
Сестра – sister
Брат – brother
Дочь – daughter
Сын – son
бабушка – grandmother
Дедушка – grandfather
Жена – wife
Муж – husband
Тётя – auntie
Дядя – uncle
Родители – parents
Дети – children
Внучка – granddaughter
Внук – grandson
Семья – family
Basic russian phrases
Quite often you want to tell people how many brothers and sisters you have. Here are some Russian phrases you could use.
У меня есть сестра – I have a sister.
У меня есть брат – I have a brother.
У тебя есть дети? – Do you have children?.
У меня есть сын и дочь – I have a son and a daughter.
У меня нет детей – I don’t have any children.
Possesive Pronouns
In order to talk about your family you normally need to use possesive pronouns so we will introduce them now. You should always choose the possesive pronoun that matches the gender of the item it owns.
Мой (male), Моя (female), Моё (n), Мои (pl) – my
Твой (m), Твоя (f), Твоё (n), Твои (pl) – your
Его (m n) (“yevo”), Её (f) – his, her
Наш (m), Наша (f), Наше (n), Наши (pl) – our
Ваш (m), Ваша (f), Ваше (n), Ваши (pl) – your
Их – their
Now you will be able to combine Russian words and phrases that your learnt in earlier lessons to talk about your family. Here are some Russian phrases and sentences you could say with words you already know.
Моя мама любит музыку – My mother loves music
Моя сестра читает газету – My sister is reading a newspaper
Мой брат любит спорт – My brother loves sport
Твой брат любит спорт – Your brother loves sport
Наш брат любит спорт – Our brother loves sport
When you introduce members of your family you will need to adapt one of the phrases we learnt in lesson 3. For example, you may wish to say her name is Anna. However, the only problem is that this particular phrase is unusual. The pronouns need to be used in the genative case, which we have not learnt yet. So here are two examples that you can use for now:
Меня зовут Анна – my name is Anna
Её зовут Анна – her name is Anna
Его зовут Иван – his name is Ivan.
This is…
The Russian word Это means ‘this is’. Here is how you can use it with some possessive pronouns.
Это мой дом – This is my house
Это моя квартира – This is my apartment
Это твоя квартира? – Is this your apartment?
Common greetings
Finally, we will introduce some common greeting phrases that you may wish to use every now and again.
Доброе утро – good morning
Добрый день – good afternoon
Добрый вечер – good evening
Спокойной ночи – goodnight (when going to bed)
9-Days And Months
The days of the week in Russian…
Понедельник – Monday
Вторник – Tuesday
Среда – Wednesday
Четверг – Thursday
Пятница – Friday
Суббота – Saturday
Воскресенье – Sunday
Related words
Сегодня – Today (pronounced “sivodnya”)
Завтра – Tomorrow
Вчера – Yesterday
День – Day
Неделя – Week
Месяц – Month
Год – Year
Notes: 1. The preposition “в” is used to mean “on”. (“в понедельник” – on Monday). If the last letter is “а” it becomes “y”. 2. The days always start with a lowercase letter unless at the start of a sentence.