Archive for 'Vocabulary'
4 Business Failure Verbs in Russian Posted by Maria on Oct 7, 2019
You might have heard the news that the Thomas Cook travel agency has gone under. The company had purchased two Russian subsidiaries (доче́рние предприя́тия), Intourist (Интури́ст) and Biblio-Globus (Би́блио-Гло́бус), but their management has assured their customers that the Russian-based companies would not be affected. This may be a good opportunity to look at some vocabulary…
Passports, Visas, and Other Diplomatic Vocabulary in Russian Posted by Maria on Sep 16, 2019
One area where you might need Russian is dealing with the embassies and diplomatic missions of Russian-speaking countries abroad. (Remember that the Russian Federation, Росси́йская Федера́ция, is not the only country where Russian is an official language.) This post will feature some vocabulary you can use when contacting diplomatic missions that use Russian, loosely grouped…
Russian Outdoor Games for Kids Posted by Maria on Sep 3, 2019
Have you ever wondered what kind of outdoor activities Russian children engage in? The games (и́гры) in this post are not unique to Russia and are known in the entire post-Soviet area—and beyond. Кла́ссики This one’s a classic (pun intended)! Кла́ссики is the Russian name for hopscotch. I imagine most people are familiar with it…
5 Russian Phrases To Get Past Comprehension Barriers Posted by Maria on Aug 14, 2019
Some approaches to learning a language, such as the communicative method, encourage teachers and students to only use the target language in the classroom. What do you do if you don’t understand what was just said or lack the vocabulary to ask the other person to repeat or explain? This post will equip you with…
Russian Words of Turkic Origin Posted by Maria on Aug 8, 2019
Russian is a Slavic language that has shares its origins with such languages as Ukrainian or Belorussian and, earlier, Polish or Bulgarian. Most of its vocabulary comes from this common Slavic “stock.” However, a few words in Russian have Turkic origins. They probably entered Russian from the Turkic languages (the group that includes Turkish, Tatar…
Life Finds a Way: “Natural” Adjectives in Russian Posted by Maria on Aug 1, 2019
How do you say “natural” in Russian? The answer depends on what you are talking about. This post will look at the different ways of referring to organic things and when each of them is appropriate. For the sake of variety, I will be listing the feminine forms of the adjectives in this entry. Есте́ственная…
What Do You Call Young People in Russian? Posted by Maria on Jun 3, 2019
There are several ways of referring to young people in Russian, some more informal than others. This post will help you learn some common ones and when each is normally used. Де́вушка This popular word refers to a young woman. Note that де́вушка should not be confused with де́вочка, girl. Unlike in English, where calling…