Archive for 'Russian for beginners'
Mutually Beneficial: Russian Words With Взаимо- You Need To Know Posted by Maria on Dec 6, 2016
Взаимо- is a useful root that lets you create compound words with the sense of “mutual” or “two-way.” This post will list some common words made with that root. First, взаимо- is related to the adjective “взаимный,” “mutual.” Сохрани́ть доброжела́тельность, чу́вство взаи́много уваже́ния, любви́ ― о́чень сло́жная шту́ка. (Keeping that friendliness, the feeling of mutual respect and…
Agree To Disagree: Expressing Opinions in Russian Posted by Maria on Oct 10, 2016
So you have looked at some basic phrases and know how to introduce yourself and ask how the other person is doing. Exchanging pleasantries may get old pretty quickly, so let’s learn to exchange opinions. Below are some phrases that will help you express your views on a variety of subjects. Я думаю This is…
Expressions with себя in Russian Posted by Maria on Aug 15, 2016
You may remember the word себя, oneself. Apart from its independent usage, forms of this word are also used in several handy expressions. Себя Overview Себе is a reflexive pronoun pointing back to the subject of the sentence. The primary meaning of себя is “myself, yourself,” etc., depending on the subject. Он не узнал себя в…
Ten Posts For Beginners To Help You Ease Into Russian Posted by Maria on Aug 11, 2016
You may have noticed that our blog’s been covering some of the more intricate aspects of the Russian language and culture, from movie quotes to concepts specific to Russian. We are always happy to support our advanced readers — but we don’t want to forget about beginners, either! If you are new to learning Russian, here…
Five Ways Your First Language Is Messing With Your Russian Posted by Maria on Apr 11, 2016
The way one language expresses an idea does not always work in a different language. This sounds like a truism, however, certain turns of phrase the learner’s first language interferes with seem to affect many learners. Some of the comparisons will be English-based and, obviously, will not apply for all languages. Even so, this may…
Basic Russian: “What Is It?” Posted by Maria on Mar 28, 2016
This post is meant for beginner students of Russian. One of the first things we learn in a new language is asking what something is. However, there are many situations and reasons we ask “What is X?” and they require different phrases. Let’s look at the different scenarios where you may need to use…
Three Basic Russian Words You Shouldn’t Be Scared To Pronounce Posted by Maria on Mar 14, 2016
This post is geared towards beginner students of Russian or those who have casually picked up a few words from their friends or from living in a Russian-speaking environment. Perhaps you’ve been in this situation, where you casually ask your Russian friend how to say “Hello” in Russian. After all, that should be easy. Hola and Hallo…