🇷🇺 Stuff Every Traveler Should Say in Russian: Training Guide

Saying hello and goodbye

Greet a stranger, an older person, or a group with Здравствуйте (zdravstvuyte). The first в is silent, so it sounds like ZDRAST-vuy-tye. Use this word when you want to show respect.

With friends and people you call ты (ty), say Привет (privet). It is like hi or hey. Do not use it with strangers.

Say До свидания (do svidaniya) to anyone when you say goodbye. Close friends sometimes say Пока (poka), like bye.

Morning, night, and how are you

Use Доброе утро (dobroye utro) for good morning. Use Добрый вечер for a hello after about 6 p.m.

Спокойной ночи (spokoynoy nochi) is a farewell at bedtime. It wishes a calm night. Do not use it as a greeting.

To ask how someone is in a formal or polite way, say Как поживаете? (kak pozhivayete). With a friend, ask Как дела? (kak dela).

Names and the word you

Tell someone your name with Меня зовут Анна (menya zovut Anna). Say Меня зовут, then your own name.

After someone gives their name, say Очень приятно (ochen priyatno). It means very pleasant, or pleased to meet you.

Use Вы (vy) for a stranger, an older person, or a group. Use Ты (ty) only for close friends, family, and children.

Please and thank you

Пожалуйста (pozhaluysta) is a hard-working word. Use it to say please, to answer thank you, and when you hand something over.

Спасибо (spasibo) means thanks. Say Большое спасибо (bolshoye spasibo) for thank you very much.

The word спасибо began as 'спаси Бог', which meant God save you. That history can help you remember it is a thank-you.

Excuse me and I don't understand

Use Извините (izvinite) to say excuse me or sorry politely. It works with strangers, on the metro, or when you need attention.

If you do not understand, say Я не понимаю (ya ne ponimayu). Я is I, не is not, and понимаю is understand.

If you need a stranger's help, first say Извините to get their attention. Then you can say Я не понимаю.

Letters that look like English but sound different

Cyrillic Р is not the English P. It is a rolled R, like in red. The word ресторан starts with this R sound.

Cyrillic С is always an S sound, like in sun. The word сто is pronounced sto, with an s at the start.

Cyrillic Н is an N sound, not an H sound. The word нет is nyet, meaning no, and starts with n.

Cyrillic В is a V sound, not a B sound. The word вода is voda, meaning water.

A special breathy letter and letter names

Cyrillic Х is not the English ks sound. It is a throaty kh, like ch in the Scottish word loch. The word хлеб is khleb, meaning bread.

The Russian alphabet gives these letters names: эр for Р, эс for С, эн for Н, вэ for В, and ха for Х.

Practice with travel words you already know: ресторан starts with R, вода starts with V, and хлеб starts with kh.

Numbers you will meet

Пять (pyat) means five. Fifteen is пятнадцать and fifty is пятьдесят, because they are built on пять.

Десять (desyat) means ten. Eleven is одиннадцать, built from один (one) plus a part that means -teen.

On a price tag, тысяча (tysyacha) means thousand. In casual speech it can mean a 1,000-ruble banknote.

Days and asking the time

Завтра means tomorrow, сегодня means today, and вчера means yesterday. In сегодня, the г sounds like v.

Вчера is yesterday. Позавчера is the day before yesterday, and послезавтра is the day after tomorrow.

Ask what time it is with Сколько времени? It literally asks how much time? Another common way is который час.

Prices and shops

Ask how much something costs with Сколько это стоит? Сколько means how much or how many, это means this, and стоит means costs.

Say Это дорого (eto dorogo) for It's expensive. Недорого means not expensive.

A shop marked Аптека (apteka) is a pharmacy, a place to buy medicine. A small related word аптечка means first-aid kit.

Asking where and going left or right

Ask where the toilet is with Где туалет? (gde tualet). Где means where. On doors, М is men's and Ж is women's.

Налево means to the left, направо means to the right, and прямо means straight ahead. Use these to follow directions.

Ask Is it far? with Это далеко? (eto daleko). Далеко means far away, and близко means near.

Аэропорт (aeroport) means airport. Many travel words look like English: аэропорт, метро, ресторан, паспорт, меню.

Вокзал means train station or terminal. Метро means subway. Ask Где вокзал? or Где метро?

Public signs and tickets

Остановка (ostanovka) at a street corner means bus stop. The word can also mean a stop or pause in general.

On a door, Вход means entrance or entry. The opposite sign is Выход, which means exit.

A shop door that says Открыто means open. The opposite is Закрыто, closed.

To buy one ticket, say Один билет, пожалуйста. Билет means ticket, and it can also mean banknote or membership card.

Eating and drinking

Ask for the menu with Меню, пожалуйста. The word меню was borrowed from French and is easy to recognize.

Ask for the bill with Счёт, пожалуйста. Счёт means bill or invoice, and it also means count or score.

Tell a host Очень вкусно! (ochen vkusno) to say this is very tasty. Вкусно can also describe a delicious smell.

Before someone eats, say Приятного аппетита (priyatnogo appetita). It wishes a pleasant appetite.

Make a formal toast with За ваше здоровье! (za vashe zdorovye), which means to your health. Здоровье shares its root with здравствуйте.

Hotels and getting help

Номер can mean a hotel room, a number, a clothing size, an issue, or an act. At a hotel, номер is your room.

Паспорт means passport. Hotels often ask to see your passport at check-in. Russia has a foreign passport and an internal one.

In an emergency, call out Помогите! (pomogite) for help. Other ways include на помощь and спасите.

Скорая помощь means quick help. It names the ambulance and the emergency medical service.

Полиция (politsiya) means police. Older books may say милиция, because that word was used before 2011.

Больница means hospital. Other words for hospital are госпиталь and клиника.