This lesson is about basic Russian phrases that we use every day in our conversations. After you read this article and do some practice, you’ll find yourself comfortable with introducing yourself and understanding some dialogue with Russians. You’ll be able to use those Russian phrases commonly as part of everyday communication. We won’t see any grammar rules in this lesson. Sometimes it’s even more important to study some basic communication skills in Russian for your first trip to Russia or other Post-Soviet countries. Grammar rules would be felt much easier once you start speaking Russian, even in basic stages. You probably noticed how children start speaking without knowing nouns, verbs, and sentence structures. They don’t know how grammar of the language works, meanwhile, they start speaking more and more with daily practice.
The first important piece of advice for your future trip to Russia, or any other Russian-speaking country, is to remember the fact that Russians have 2 forms or manners of speaking: FORMAL and INFORMAL.
Formal manner is used when you don’t know the person and you show some respect to an unknown interlocutor, i.e. example in shops or with taxi drivers.
Informal – Friendly (or familiar) form is used with people you already know, and you want to be more casual. Don’t use it in official meetings or with people older than you are. To them, you may seem to be rude, unless you control the situation and can be friendly with them without unexpected consequences of your behavior.
Keep the advice in your mind when you work with our Russian lessons. This is not hard at all because there are only a couple of words that change. Let’s start with the most recent and easiest phrases of Russian language. And it will become harder towards the end.
Click the audio icon to listen the audio of the phrase.
Basic Russian phrases: How to say “Yes” and “No” in Russian
| Audio | Russian | English |
|---|
| Да | Yes |
| Нет | No |
Basic Russian phrases: How to say “Please” and “Thank-You” in Russian
| Audio | Russian | English |
|---|
| Спасибо | Thank you |
| Пожалуйста | Please / You are welcome |
Basic Russian phrases: How to say “Hello” and “Good bye” in Russian
| Audio | Russian | English |
|---|
| Здравствуйте | Hello (formal) |
| Привет | Hello (informal) |
| До свидания | Goodbye (formal) |
| Пока | Goodbye (informal) |
Basic Russian phrases: How to introduce yourself in Russian
| Audio | Russian | English |
|---|
| Как вас зовут? | What’s your name? |
| Меня зовут … | My name is… |
| Очень приятно | Pleased to meet you |
How to say “How are you” and answer on simple sentence in Russian
| Audio | Russian | English |
|---|
| Как дела? | How are you? (informal) |
| Как у Вас дела? | How do you do? (formal) |
| Хорошо, спасибо | Good (Well), thank you |
| Плохо | Bad |
How to ask and answer on questions about “Language” in Russian
| Audio | Russian | English |
|---|
| Вы говорите по-английски? | Do you speak English? (formal) |
| Вы говорите по-русски? | Do you speak Russian? (formal) |
| Ты говоришь по-английски? | Do you speak English? (informal) |
| Ты говоришь по-русски? | Do you speak Russian? (informal) |
| Я говорю по-английски | I speak English |
| Я говорю по-русски | I speak Russian |
| Я понимаю Вас | I understand you (formal) |
| Я не понимаю Вас | I don’t understand you (formal) |
| Я понимаю тебя | I understand you (informal) |
| Я не понимаю тебя | I don’t understand you (informal) |
How to say “Where are you from” and “I am from…” in Russian
| Audio | Russian | English |
|---|
| Откуда Вы? | Where are you from? (formal) |
| Откуда Ты? | Where are you from? (informal) |
| Я из России | I am from Russia |
| Я из Испании | I am from Spain |
