Don\u2019t feel discouraged by not having mastered Russian language fully yet. Life is long and there\u2019s still plenty of time ahead for you to get a grip on all of those cases and to understand why so often the letter \u00ab\u043e\u00bb<\/strong> sounds like the letter \u00ab\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> when pronounced. Even if you\u2019re not fluent in the language (or even far from it)<\/em>, you can still very much enjoy a visit to the great Eastern Motherland! But knowing a word or two before crossing the border might help you to get a little bit more out of your visit. And that\u2019s what today\u2019s post is intended on helping you with \u2013 by giving you the ten most useful Russian phrases! (These phrases are in no way \u2018universal\u2019, and are not based on any kind of statistics; they were simply taken out of my own mind and then duly motivated by my personal experience.) <\/em>So start read and then repeat!<\/p>\n 1.<\/strong> \u00ab\u0417\u0434\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u0441\u0442\u0432\u0443\u0439\u0442\u0435!\u00bb<\/strong> [hello; good afternoon] is the most important thing to know how to say and pronounce correctly when in Russia. It is pronounced rather sloppily most of the time, making it sound more like: \u00ab\u0417\u0434\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u0442\u044c\u0435!\u00bb<\/strong> [\u2018Zdrastye!\u2019<\/em>] It is also important to know that this is the preferred way to greet people with whom you have not yet made friends. Thus, to enter a Russian store and proclaim proudly: \u00ab\u041f\u0440\u0438\u0432\u0435<\/span>\u0442!\u00bb<\/strong> [hello, hi!] would be seen as a little bit rude by most Russians. Don\u2019t make my mistake \u2013 I only knew two words when I first arrived in this country back in 2004 \u2013 \u00ab\u043f\u0440\u0438\u0432\u0435<\/span>\u0442\u00bb<\/strong> and \u00ab\u043f\u0438<\/span>\u0432\u043e\u00bb<\/strong> [beer]. And the whole first week it seemed to me a mystery why the Russians looked so angry when I said that to them\u2026 (Well, of course they mostly smiled when I mentioned the word \u2018beer\u2019)<\/em>.<\/p>\n 2.<\/strong> \u00ab\u041c\u0435\u043d\u044f<\/span> \u0437\u043e\u0432\u0443<\/span>\u0442\u2026\u00bb<\/strong> [My name is\u2026, lit. \u2018I\u2019m called\u2026\u2019<\/em>] and in the place of the three dots you put your own name. It is really as simple as that. You don\u2019t even need to think of the cases here, because the case (mainly)<\/em> used in this construction is nominative. Hurrah! Do note that in Russia it is custom to say your \u00ab\u0438<\/span>\u043c\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> [given name] first, after it your \u00ab\u043e<\/span>\u0442\u0447\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0432\u043e\u00bb<\/strong> [patronymic, lit. \u2018made from your father\u2019s name\u2019<\/em>] (but being as it is that you may be a foreigner, then you do not always have one \u2013 don\u2019t stress it! Russians understand)<\/em>, and then finishing with your \u00ab\u0444\u0430\u043c\u0438<\/span>\u043b\u0438\u044f\u00bb <\/strong>[last name]. You can tell Russians your name without being asked first, but you might as well wait for them to enquire: \u00ab\u041a\u0430\u043a \u0432\u0430\u0441\/\u0442\u0435\u0431\u044f<\/span> \u0437\u043e\u0432\u0443<\/span>\u0442?\u00bb<\/strong> [What’s Your\/your name?].<\/p>\n 3.<\/strong> \u00ab\u042f \u043d\u0435 \u0438\u0437 \u0420\u043e\u0441\u0441\u0438<\/span>\u0438\u00bb<\/strong> [I\u2019m not from Russia]. If it is your first time in Russia, and your Russian is still far from at its best, then it might be a good idea to warn the natives around you of the fact that you\u2019re from \u2018elsewhere\u2019<\/em>. After you\u2019ve said this, however, they might want to know: \u00ab\u041e\u0442\u043a\u0443<\/span>\u0434\u0430?\u00bb<\/strong> [Where from?], but don\u2019t be afraid, just use almost the exact same phrase as above, only removing \u00ab\u043d\u0435\u00bb<\/strong> [not] and replacing \u00ab\u0420\u043e\u0441\u0441\u0438<\/span>\u0438\u00bb<\/strong> with your country in the genitive case.<\/p>\n 4.<\/strong> \u00ab\u042f \u043f\u043b\u043e<\/span>\u0445\u043e \u0433\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0440\u044e<\/span> \u043f\u043e-\u0440\u0443<\/span>\u0441\u0441\u043a\u0438\u00bb<\/strong> [I speak Russian poorly]. It is better to say this than to say \u00ab\u044f \u043d\u0435 \u0433\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0440\u044e<\/span> \u043f\u043e-\u0440\u0443<\/span>\u0441\u0441\u043a\u0438\u00bb<\/strong> [I don\u2019t speak Russian], as stating this bluntly might kill the conversation entirely. If you say that you\u2019re not so \u2018good\u2019 <\/em>at Russian, there\u2019s still hope (the Russians tend to think so anyway) <\/em>that you might understand a little bit of what they\u2019re saying. And that\u2019s in itself a whole invitation that could lead to eternal friendship or at least to a couple of vodka shots!<\/p>\n 5.<\/strong> \u00ab\u0421\u043f\u0430\u0441\u0438<\/span>\u0431\u043e!\u00bb<\/strong> [Thank you!]. You can never go wrong with saying \u00ab\u0441\u043f\u0430\u0441\u0438<\/span>\u0431\u043e\u00bb<\/strong> [thanks] in Russia and thus also in Russian \u2013 you can say it when you are given something, when someone does something for you, or just randomly in conversation or at the end of a conversation. I\u2019ve heard from the older generation of Russophiles that back in Soviet times it was not customary to say \u00ab\u0441\u043f\u0430\u0441\u0438<\/span>\u0431\u043e\u00bb <\/strong>as often as it is said in today\u2019s Russia, but I think this is a highly polite and nice progress in modern Russian society. Everyone likes to be treated kindly, right? More thanks to the people!<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2010\/03\/imsorry.jpg\" "\\"imsorry\\"")
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