5 Words You Hear in Informal Russian Conversations Posted by Maria on Jun 14, 2018
If you’ve listened to a speaker of Russian in an informal conversation, you know that there are a few words they say over and over again. Some are fillers, meant to give the speaker some time to come up with what to say. Others mark logical connections in a conversation or express the speaker’s attitudes…
Advice for First-Time Travelers to Russia by Arie Helderman Posted by Maria on Jun 11, 2018
This post is the second in a series of first-hand accounts and tips from people who have traveled to Russia. Check out previous posts in this series here! Our second guest author is Arie Helderman, a freelance copywriter from the Netherlands. He runs his own site about learning Russian at learntherussianlanguage.com. The rest of this post…
Command Forms Beyond the Imperative in Russian Posted by Maria on Jun 7, 2018
You may know the imperative mood as one way of making requests or giving commands in Russian, but there are other, less common, ways you may come across. Read on to learn how to recognize and use them. Imperative Mood — Повелительное наклонение The most common way is, of course, the imperative mood. The forms…
Key Online Privacy Concepts in Russian Posted by Maria on May 31, 2018
If you’ve ever subscribed to any online service, chances are you have received a few GDPR privacy notices. So I thought it might not be a bad idea to go over some key privacy concepts in Russian. This list is not exhaustive, so feel free to add other terms in the comments! Конфиденциальность You might…
6 Tools for Improving Your Digital Literacy in Russian Posted by Maria on May 24, 2018
So, you have decided to learn Russian and take full advantage of the digital resources out there. How can you access Russian-language media and maybe even participate in the discussion without cumbersome virtual keyboards or indecipherable transliteration? Here are some technology tips to make you ready to add Russian to your digital arsenal. This post…
Phrases for Presenting Opposing Points of View in Russian Posted by Maria on May 17, 2018
Introductory phrases are useful for linking ideas and expressing attitudes. In this post, we will look at Russian expressions that let you present an opposing point of view. Тем не ме́нее Тем не менее is similar to “nevertheless” or “however.” It often comes at the beginning of the sentence and, unlike similar phrases in English…
Expressing Your Desires In Russian Posted by Maria on May 10, 2018
Expressing your wishes and desires is one of the most basic things in any language. Here are some ways you can do that in Russian. Я хочу The most common way of saying you want something is simply Я хочу (I want). This can either be followed by a noun, in the accusative case for…