Archive for 'language'
Есть – To Eat Or To Have Posted by Nadya on Nov 19, 2020
Should I use один or раз? Posted by bota on Nov 13, 2020
Ever wondered why some Russians count “one, two, three” as “оди́н, два́, три́…” while others say “ра́з, два́, три́…”? Why would there be two Russian words to say “one”? Here’s how to differentiate between the two if you’re a beginner Russian learner. “Ра́з, два́, три́” is really only used when counting orally, like when a…
What is “pознь”? Posted by bota on Oct 23, 2020
What if I told you there was a single word in Russian to help one convey that just because something is labeled X doesn’t mean that all things X are like the first thing X? The word in question is рознь and here’s how it works. You take a Russian noun, put it in the…
Was Yoda Russian? (Sentence Structure in Russian. Part I) Posted by bota on Oct 5, 2020
“Do or do not. There is no try.” While Yoda’s OSV (object-subject-verb) word order may seem a bit unusual, the Russian translation of the quote doesn’t sound all that strange or other-worldly, all because the Russian sentence structure is flexible. So, please do try, because learning about the nuances of word order variations in Russian…
Greetings in Russian Posted by Nadya on Sep 30, 2020
There are many formal and informal ways to greet people in Russian. Depending on who you are talking to, you can choose the form that best suits your situation. Let’s take a look at the most popular variations. The most common greetings The most commonly used greetings in Russian are “здра́вствуйте” and “приве́т“. Здра́вствуйте! [zdrа́stvooyte] (plural)…
A day in a Russian kindergarten Posted by bota on Sep 24, 2020
“Зо́лушка” (“Cinderella”), “Ска́зка” (“Fairy Tale”), “Одува́нчик” (“Dandelion”), “Улы́бка” (“Smile”), “Слонёнок” (“Baby Elephant”). At first, these might seem like random words strung together, but in Russia, if they are preceded by “Де́тский Сад” (“kindergarten”) these names evoke some of the sweetest, most carefree days of one’s childhood. And what’s there not to love about kindergarten days?…
Let’s dig deeper into the Russian verbs for gardening Posted by bota on Sep 17, 2020
September is a busy month if you are a gardener in Russia. Many are spending their weekends busy на да́че, reaping the fruits (and vegetables) of their spring sowing and getting their gardens ready for the winter. We’re going to get our hands dirty by digging into verbs related to gardening (садово́дство и огоро́дничество) and…