Archive for 'Russian for beginners'
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…
Particles. Sentence Structure Part II Posted by bota on Oct 15, 2020
We continue our quest of making sense of sentence structure in Russian. While Part I covered the basics of the subject and verb placement, this blog focuses on the smaller but equally important parts of the sentence. It may seem a bit more obvious where to place a word if it’s a verb or a…
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)…
Examining a Russian spice rack. Part II Posted by bota on Aug 28, 2020
In the second part of examining a Russian spice rack, we will explore the most common спе́ции (spices) used in baking recipes across Russian households. At the end of the post is a playlist of Russian words to help you practice pronouncing them. For starters, let’s cover the most basic baking ingredients: Са́хар (Sugar) is…
Examining a Russian spice rack. Part I Posted by bota on Aug 18, 2020
There are a number of припра́в, пря́ностей, и спе́ций (spices) that are considered standard in any Russian household, whether you are многоде́тная семья́ (a family with lots of kids) or зако́нченный холостя́к (a long-time bachelor). This blog will focus on spices commonly used for savory dishes, while Part II will cover spices used for baking…
What Animal Are You Posted by Nadya on Aug 10, 2020
Humanity closely lives with animals under the same sky. It is no wonder that since ancient times, people have become accustomed to comparing each other to animals, birds, and fish. Such comparisons are made to describe a person’s appearance, traits of character, activity, behavior, or feelings. Animal similes in the Russian language In the Russian…
Timeless Russian Adverbs Posted by bota on Aug 5, 2020
I’ll never pass up the chance to start a blog post with a poem by the great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. This stanza is the beginning to a childhood favorite of mine, Руслан и Людмила (Ruslan and Ludmila) published in 1820, and it’s a great example of how to use adverbs of time in Russian…