Survival Russian

I have a set list of phrases you should learn in every language, but there are a few extra explanations and phrases to learn that are specific to Russian. Also please forgive my ridiculous phonetic spellings.

Yes & No
- I’m sure you already know these ones- Да & нет (Dah & Nyet)
Hello
- Before coming to Russia I thought hello was priviet. That’s more like hi, and you only say it to your friends or little kids. It’s important in Russia to greet everyone, if you’re in an elevator with someone, before you check out at a store, when walking into a business- you need to say it a lot, which is hard because it’s one of the most difficult words to pronounce.
- Здравствуйте is how it’s written in Cyrillic. The google translate phonetic spelling is Zdravstvuyte, and my own personal spelling is Ztravstvootyay.
I’m sorry/ Excuse me
- There are two, and I’m still not 100% what the difference is between them. The first is Извините. Google phonetics is Izvinite and mine is Izvenitye. I definitely hear this more than the other one, but the other one seems more intense, like you really did something wrong. It is простите. Google writes prostite and I write prostitye. But it’s okay to just use the first.
I can’t speak Russian
- My favorite phrase- я не говорю по русски.
- Google writes: ya ne govoryu po russki.
- I write: ya nyeh govoroo po rooski.
- I usually start this phrase with an apology.
Please & Thank you (and you’re welcome)
- Please and you’re welcome are the same in Russian- пожалуйста. Google phonetics: pozhaluysta, my phonetics: puhzhaloostuh.
- Thank you is Спасибо pronounced spasiba.
I would like this
- In most languages, the most polite way to ask for something is say I would like this, but it’s not something normal to say in Russian. Luckily the normal thing to say is way easier to pronounce and remember! People just say the equivalent of may I this? можно это? Pronounced mozhnuh eta.
- It’s also what you would say if you were asking permission to enter a building, or pet a dog, or take something. Just say можно.
This is good.
- This is good, that’s enough, I’m good, everything is fine, alright. хорошо, pronounced kherasho. Super helpful and common word.

Russian Specific Extras:

I’m finished/that’s all
- One of my favorite words in Russian it also sort of means Ta da! Все, pronounced vsyo or fsyo.
How much?
- Сколько? Pronounced skolka.
Where?
- Где? Pronounced G’dey. And a lot of the things you might ask for directions to are cognates- like toilet or restaurant or museum or metro.
English
- It may be helpful for you to learn the word for English too. You can ask for an English menu, or an English map, or ask if someone knows English instead of just staring at them.
- The word for English is английский, pronounced onglisky.

Phrases To Learn Wherever You Go

I have had way too many experiences with Americans going abroad and getting ANGRY that someone doesn’t speak English. Can you imagine???

I understand that learning a language is hard, and learning the language for every country you visit is not feasible at all, but I think at the bare minimum you should learn a few phrases before you go somewhere where they speak a different language.

These are my survival phrases in any language:

Yes & No
- They’re usually really easy words because they’re used so often!
Hello (and goodbye)
- It’s polite in most western countries, but it’s actually considered pretty rude not to greet people in some countries.
- It’s usually the first word to learn for any language and it’s really cool to have a collection of them.
I’m sorry/ Excuse me
- Sometimes it’s the same word!
I can’t speak… (Chinese, Russian, Czech, Spanish, Polish, etc.)
- My number one absolute MOST used phrase in any language. lol
Please & Thank you (and you’re welcome)
- Being extra polite will really make up for the fact that talking to you and helping you is a huge hassle when you can’t speak the same language.
I would like… (this or that)
- My go to for ordering. “I would like this please” and point.
- It’s usually a more complicated conjugation (since it’s in the conditional) but if you aren’t learning the whole language, it’s a lot easier to learn the whole phrase.
This is good.
- Surprisingly useful phrase. You can use it in a restaurant to compliment the food, or tell a taxi driver that this is a good place to stop and they don’t have to go further into a crowded parking lot.

There are lots of other phrases that would be helpful to learn, but I think these are the ones that will help you the most!

And make sure to do your research on the best translations of these phrases. Like normally I would say “I would like this please” but it’s not a normal thing to say in Russian. Instead, they say “mozhnuh” which is like may I. And in Chinese there are two ways to say I’m sorry: “dway boo chee” or “boo how yeesuh” and they’re used differently in different circumstances. And in many languages you can say versions of hello, but the informal versions are rude to say to someone older than you. Languages are tricky, but they’re so fun!