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Information about Russian language
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Information about Russian language


This page is made for people who are interested in Russian language. If you learn it, if you have some interest in it, or if you are going to Russia - this page can be useful for you. Here I will try to answer the most common questions about Russian language, such as: What is this strange Russian alphabet? How can I read Russian fonts at my computer and how can I type them? Also here I put some common Russian words and phrases, links to Russian grammar and other resources, etc.

Russian is a language spoken by more than 200 million people, many of whom are monolingual, that is, they speak only Russian. Russian is spoken in Russian Federation, Ukraine, Belorussia and other republics of former USSR. One of the troubles for visitors to Russia will be the language barrier. Russian is not a language you can just pick up after hearing it for a few days. Russian language is really difficult, besides having a another type of alphabet, there are a lot of unusual and uncommon sounds in Russian language and some people never get to pronounce them correctly. Also the grammar is very complicated and unusual compared to other languages. Picking up some Russian means that if one day you happen to travel to Russia, you will avoid some inconveniences of the language barrier. But of course, knowing of some words will not be enough to feel comfortable, but if you know them and can read and understand Russian alphabet, it will help you very much.

If you think about learning Russian in Russia, I advice you "Educacentre". It is the best school of Russian language for foreigners in St. Petersburg.

 

Reading and writing Cyrrilic

The Russian alphabet consists of 33 letters: 21 consonants, 10 vowels, and two letters without sound - soft sign and hard sign. Here you can see the alphabet.

Now with help of these links you will be able to read Russian text at your computer and type Russian letters (it is not as hard as many people may think).

Russify Everything!

Reading and Writing Cyrillic

Russian usual keyboard configuration. You will need it to find out where each letter is situated on the keyboard. In Russia we have indicated the both letters (Latin and Cyrillic) on every key and we must only change the configuration to type them, but since you don't have the same keyboard layout, it will not be very easy to guess where each letter is located.

Grammar and Phrase books.

Russian Interactive On-line Reference Grammar

Travelang - foreign languages for travelers.

Russian Phrase Book

Russian Tender Words and Phrases

 

Some useful Russian phrases (in transliteration).

 

Hello! Privet!
Good morning! Dobroye utro!
Good day! Dobry den!
Good evening! Dobry vecher!
Good night! Spokoynoy nochi!
Welcome! Dobro pozhalovat!
How are you? Kak dela?
Well Horosho
Bad Ploho
Why? Pochemu?
Where? Gde?
Where? (moving) Kuda?
What? Chto?
How? Kak?
How much / many? Skolko?
When? Kogda?
What time is it? Skolko vremeni?
Who? Kto?
I am well / bad. A sebya horosho / ploho chuvstvyu (or Mne ploho).
I am ill. Ya bolen / bolna.
What happens to you? Chto s toboi?
What happens? Chto proishodit?
I am hungry. Ya hochu est.
I am thirsty. Ya hochu pit.
I want to sleep. Ya hochu spat.
Give me! Dai mne!
Tell me! Rasskazhi mne!
I am sorry! Izvini! / Izvinite! (formal)
Goodbye! Do svidaniya!
So long! Poka!
Yes Da
No Net
I don't know. Ne znayu.
What is your name? Kak tebya zovut?
My name is ... Menya zovut ...
Where are you from? Otkuda ty?
I am from the USA (Canada, England, Russia). Ya iz Ameriki (Kanady, Anglii, Rossii).
Are you married? (to a man) Ty zhenat?; (to a woman) Ty zamuzhem?
Do you have a boyfriend / girlfriend? U tebya est lyubimy / lyubimaya?
I have a boyfriend / girlfriend. U menya est  lyubimy / lyubimaya.
What is your hobby? Kakoye u tebya hobby?
My hobby is ... Moyo hobby ...
I like to travel. Ya lublyu puteshestvovat.
I'd like to visit Russia some day. Ya by hotyel / hotyela (woman speaking) kogda-nibud posetit Rossiyu.
How old are you? Skolko tebe / vam (formal) let?
I am ... years old. Mne ... let.
You look young. Ty molodo vyglyadish.
Vy molodo vyglyadite. (formal)
When is your birthday? Kogda tvoy/vash (polite) dyen rozhdeniya?
You look great. Ty prekrasno vyglyadish.
You are very smart. Ty ochen umny / umnaya (to a female).
You are very beautful. Ty ochen krasivy / krasivaya (to a female) 
I like you! Ty mne nravishsya!
I love you! Ya tebya lyublyu!
I like it. Mne nravitsya.
I don't like it. Mne ne nravitsya.
I am tired. Ya ustal / ustala (female).
I (we) congratulate you! Ya (My) pozdravlyayu (pozdravlyayem) tebya!
Happy holiday! Pozdravlyayu s prazdnikom!
Happy birthday! S dnyom rozhdyeniya!
Happy New Year! S novym godom!
Welcome to America (England, Canada, Russia)! Dobro pozhalovat v Ameriku (Angliyu, Kanadu, Rossiyu)!
You are my best friend. Ty moy luchshiy drug.
I'd like to correspond with you. Ya by khotyel s toboy peryepisyvatsya.
Dear Dorogoy (to a man); Dorogaya (to a woman)
Please! Pozhalusta!
Thank you! Spasibo!
Thank you very much! Bolshoye spasibo!
Thank you very much for your help! Bolshoye spasibo za pomoshch!
You've helped me a great deal. Ty mnye ochen pomog (to a man).
Ty mnye ochen pomogla (to a woman).
Do you speak English (Russian)? Ty govorish po angliyski (po russki)?
I don't speak Russian. Ya nye govoryu po russki.
Do you understand me? Ty menya ponimayesh?
How do you say it in Russian? Kak eto skazat po russki?
Write to me in English, please. Napishi mnye, pazhalusta, po angliyski.
I'm only beginning to learn Russian. Ya tolko nachinayu uchit russkiy yazyk.
I'd like to learn Russian. Ya by hotel vy-uchit russkiy yazyk.(man speaking)
Ya by hotela vyuchit russkiy yazyk. (woman)
I don't speak Russian well. Ya ploho govoryu po russki.
It is said that Russian is difficult. Govoryat chto russkiy yazyk slozhny.
Did I spell it right? Ya pravilno eto napisal? (man)
Ya pravilno eto napisala ? (woman).
Translate this into Russian. Perevedi eto na russkiy (to one person)
Perevedite eto na russkiy. (formal or to more than one person)
You have a great homepage. U tyebya otlichnaya stranitsa.
I liked your homepage. Mnye ponravilas tvoya stranitsa.
I liked both design and content. Mnye ponravilis kak design, tak i soderzhaniye.
Visit my homepage. Poseti moyu domashnyuyu stranitsu.
I'll send you e-mail. Ya prishlyu tyebye e-mail.
I wish you every success. Zhelayu tyebye uspeha! (to one person)
Zhelayu vam uspeha!. (formal or to more than one person).
I wish you good health. Zhelayu tyebye zdorovya. (to one person)
Zhelayu vam zdorovya. (formal or to more than one person)
Have a good time! Zhelayu priyatno provesti vremya!
I wish you all the best! Vsego nailuchshego!

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