To say "hi" in Russian, use the informal Привет (Privyet) with friends and family, and the formal Здравствуйте (Zdravstvuyte) for strangers or elders, which means "Hello," while time-specific greetings like Добрый день (Dobry den) (Good day) are also common.
– Kak dela? (informal) – How are you?
Привет, Ольга! Как дела? (Hi, Olga!
To say 1-8 in Russian, you say один (odin), два (dva), три (tri), четыре (chetyre), пять (pyat'), шесть (shest'), семь (sem'), восемь (vosem'), with pronunciations like "ah-DEEN," "DVAH," "TREE," "chye-TYRY," "PYAT," "SHYEST," "SYEM," and "VOH-syem," respectively.
The Russian word for Yes is Да (da). Let's check out this lesson on the Yes in Russian. You can certainly use other words to express your agreement.
The word DOBRO in Russian encompasses all that is positive and good, the very opposite of evil.
"Paka paka" (пока пока) in Russian is an informal, casual way to say "bye-bye," used with close friends and family, similar to English expressions like "see ya" or "ta-ta," derived from the single word "paka" (пока) meaning "bye". While "paka" (пока) literally means "while" or "until," it functions as a simple "bye," and doubling it adds emphasis and cuteness, making it very informal.
Кола is widely used in informal spoken Russian, meaning Coke the soft drink.
In order to say hello to your friends Russians use the word "Privet!" (Привет), it is an informal way of speaking. However, to say hello formally you will have to strain a little bit and pronounce this long greeting "Zdravstvuyte" (Здравствуйте!), stress should be placed on the first syllable.
Essential Russian Phrases
Yes – Да (da) No – Нет (nyet) Please – Пожалуйста (poZHAlusta) Thank you – Спасибо (spaSIbo) You're welcome. –
Now that you've learned how to greet someone informally, let's check out some of the most common formal greetings in English.
While Russians can be warm and welcoming, they also value their personal space. It's essential to keep a respectful distance, especially in public places or during initial meetings.
Собака (sobaka) means just a dog and is not vulgar.
March 12, 2025. OCR. Word Ord of the Week eek Γоτα Wict 4 "TOCKA (TOSKA)" Russian A deep, melancholic longing, existential sadness or spiritual anguish, often without a clear cause.
On Apologising
- When apologising, if that's about basic/intentional politeness, извините/простите is quite sufficient.
The 7-letter Russian spelling rule states that after the consonants г, к, х, ж, ч, ш, щ, you never write the vowel Ы, but instead use И, even if the sound is hard (like in жизнь - life). This also applies to other vowels: after these seven letters, never write Ю, use У (e.g., чуть), and never write Я, use А (e.g., часто), a principle often extended to include the letter Ц in broader rules. This rule ensures consistency with phonetic shifts after these specific "hard" or "hissing" consonants, helping learners avoid common mistakes in endings.
Key Takeaways. Спасибо (spaSEEbah) is the most common way to say thank you in Russian. Different words for thank you are used depending on how formal the situation is. Благодарю (blagadaRYU) is often used by older people and sometimes in an ironic way by younger people.
A U.S. dollar goes quite far in Russia, buying roughly 80 Russian Rubles (RUB) as of late 2025/early 2026, meaning your money stretches for inexpensive meals (around 350-700 RUB), basic goods, and services, though direct dollar use is restricted; you need to exchange dollars for rubles, which can be done at banks or airports.
The Russian alphabet has 33 letters, a set of Cyrillic characters consisting of 10 vowels (а, е, ё, и, о, у, ы, э, ю, я), 21 consonants (including й as a semivowel), and two silent signs (ь, ъ) that modify preceding consonants or following vowels, making it distinct from the Latin alphabet but sharing some familiar shapes and sounds.