Archive for December, 2020
Making Plans For The Next Year Posted by Nadya on Dec 30, 2020
The time is approaching to take stock and make New Year’s Resolutions: make yourself promises and plans for the next year. Let’s summarize the year’s results (результаты) first. 2020 has been a crazy year. But finally, it is ending. After the holiday wishes (пожелания) this year, people invariably add, “I hope 2021 is a better…
What Goes With Any Dish In Russia Posted by Nadya on Dec 23, 2020
Mayonnaise consumption in Russia ranks among the highest in the world. On average 95% of Russians eat it (even higher in some regions) and per capita consumption in Russia is from 7 to 11 pounds of mayonnaise per year! Russians are obsessed with mayonnaise (майоне́з) and use it in industrial quantities. They add it to literally…
Dear Ded Moroz: Writing letters in Russian Posted by bota on Dec 18, 2020
Did you forget to write a letter to Santa for Christmas this year? I ‘ve got great news for you: Russian Grandfather Frost (Де́душка Моро́з) is still accepting mail (more on essential Russian words for New Year’s here). So, let’s practice letter writing in Russian together and get some wishes out into the universe. We…
ЖЕ: particle or conjunction? Posted by bota on Dec 14, 2020
ЖЕ [pronounced “zhe”, see here for audio] can be either a particle or conjunction. Either way, it is written separately from the words it modifies and can add a lot of “flavor” to your Russian. ЖЕ as a particle The main function of this particle is to either intensify the word before, or show the…
What Is In Your Bag Posted by Nadya on Dec 10, 2020
Today I could not find a screwdriver for a long time until I remembered that it was in my purse. There were also lost earrings that I last put on at the beginning of the COVID period. There are so many different things in a woman’s bag that you will never believe that they will…
Russian phrases-homophones Posted by bota on Dec 4, 2020
You might have seen a post or a meme of the “good luck non-native speakers” nature before, and not necessarily about Russian grammar ( think of “Who’s on first” by Abbott and Costello). The internet is full of them and, frankly, some are a hoot and a half. But while I’m also guilty of “sharing”…