Katrink

It is obviously, that when you decide to travel to Russia, you will need to know well vocabulary for various bank and currency services. From this post you will learn basic topical vocabulary and it will help you to regulate any financial issue with bank managers.

Let ‘s start with words and expressions:

Валюта – Valûta – currency

Монета  - Moneta  - coin

Наличка (наличные деньги) – Nalička (naličnye den´gi) – cash

Занимать (кому-то) - Zanimat´ (komu-to) - lend

Занимать (у кого-то) - Zanimat´ (u kogo-to) - borrow

Пункты обмена валюты – Punkty obmena valûty – exchange facilities

Банкоматы – Bankomaty – cashpoint machines

Кассир – Kassir – cashier

Касса – Kassa – cashier’s desk

Платеж или оплата – Platež ili oplata –  payment

Денежный перевод – Denežnyj perevod – money transfer

Размер комиссионных  - Razmer komissionnyh  -  rate of commission

Валютный курс – Valûtnyj kurs – exchange rate

Процент – Procent – interest

Забрать деньги со счета – Zabrat´ den´gi so sčeta – withdraw money from an account

Открыть счет – Otkryt´ sčet – open an account.

On top of that , try to practice your knowledge of Russian words for currency and bank services.  I have prepared some questions phrases that may be very helpful.

У меня нет при себе денег.

U menâ net pri sebe deneg.

I do not have money about me.

Сколько я вам должен?

Skol´ko â vam dolžen?

How much do I owe you?

Я бы хотел разменять крупные деньги.

 by hotel razmenât´ krupnye den´gi.

I would like to change some banknotes  of high value.

Сколько вы берете за обмен?

Skol´ko vy berete za obmen?

What rate of commission do you charge?

Какой валютный курс?

Kakoj valûtnyj kurs?

What is the exchange rate?

Какой курс доллара?

Kakoj kurs dollara?

What is the exchange rate for the dollar?   

Official Russian currency is рубль - rubl´. 

We have both banknotes and coins.               

At this picture you can see Russian money.

Actually it will be problematic to pay in dollars. Travelling by public transport within the country, you will need to have some cash. In large stores, malls or supermarkets you can pay, using electronic card.  However, it is not a guarantee of successful payment operation.

That is why, the first thing to do when departing to Russia is to find the nearest currency exchange center. There are lots of them in airports. Besides, now you know how to ask people about places for currency exchange.

Good luck and be ready to any situations during the trip!

Ukrainian is from Eastern Slavonic group of languages. It is really closely related to Belarusian, Russian and Polish. This language is spoken not only in Ukraine but also partially in Russia, Hungary, Georgia, Slovakia, Moldova and some other countries. Surely, the best place to learn Ukrainian language is Ukraine, but if you do not have such opportunity, you can check this section for new threads. Here I will post grammar rules, peculiarities of pronunciation and useful vocabulary.

By the way, if you are polyglot and want to know as many languages as it is only possible, so here is perfect news for you: most of Ukrainian letters are the same like in Russian language. That is why if you know Russian, so learning Ukrainian will not be so hard.

Well, Ukrainian alphabet has thirty three letters and one additional sign – an apostrophe (‘). Ukrainian alphabet will be Украї́нська абе́тка (Ukraḯns´ka abétka)

Apostrophe in Ukrainian role plays special role. This sign is used instead of hard sign in Russian language. There are certain rules for using this sign. To write and to speak Ukrainian correctly, you need to remember just several letters, that go after an apostrophe: Ю, Є, Я, Ї

Here are examples:

Під'їзд - Pìd'ïzd -  Entrance hall in multistoried building

об'єкт - ob'êkt - Object

The whole Ukrainian alphabet you can find here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_alphabet

If to compare Ukrainian and Russian alphabets, so will see just some difference.

For example: 

І і – індик – ìndyk – turkey.  English sound  (i) as in see.

И и  - гриб  -  gryb -  mushroom.  English sound  (ɪ) as in ink.

Ї ї  - Їжачок - Ïžačok – hedgehog . English sound  (ji) as in yield.

Е е – екран – ekran -  screen.  English sound  (ɛ) as in Jerry.

Є є  - Євгеній – Êvgenìj - Eugene(name for men). English sound (jɛ) as in yellow.

Ґ ґ  - Ґрунт  - Ґrunt – Soil.  English sound (ɡ)as in gift.

Also in Ukrainian language we do not have Ъ sign.  Instead of it we use an apostrophe sign.               

Pronunciation of Ukrainian letters is very soft, except of letter Ґ ґ. However, in modern Ukrainian language in everyday speech difference between Ґ ґ  and Г г is not very noticeable.

If you have questions about Russian letters and sounds, so I will help you.

Good luck!

Hello!

In this post I will write about role of parenthetical words in Russian language. Actually, these words are very helpful in any language. Using them, you can make your speech more fluent. Parenthetical words in Russian language are marked off by commas. In general, there is a special classification of parenthetical words. So all parenthetical words, or sometimes they are called linking words, can be divided into six main groups. So let us review them:

1. Parenthetical words expressing feelings of speaker, like happiness, astonishment, regret and so on.

К счастью – K sčast´û –  Fortunately

К несчастью – K nesčast´û – Unfortunately

К ужасу  -  K užasu  -  Much to the consternation of

2. Parenthetical words, that define degree of reality (confidence, guess, possibility, etc. )

Конечно – Konečno - Surely

Возможно – Vozmožno - Possibly

Несомненно – Nesomnenno - Undoubtedly

Должно быть - Dolžno byt´ - Probably

Может быть - Možet byt´ - Perhaps

Безусловно - Bezuslovno - Certainly

В самом деле - V samom dele – Indeed or in point of fact

Наверное – Navernoe - Maybe

Само собой разумеется - Samo soboj razumeetsâ – It goes without saying

3. Parenthetical words showing source of speaker.

Говорят – Govorât – It is said

По словам - Po slovam – According to

Сообщают – Soobŝaût – It is reported

По-моему - Po-moemu – In my opinion

По мнению - Po mneniû – in one’s opinion

Дескать - Deskat´- allegedly (informal form)

Мол – Mol –he says…, she said…

4. Linking words,  that show consequence of facts in  speech and conjunction of thoughts.

Итак - Itak – Thus, so then

Следовательно - Sledovatel´no - Consequently

В общем - V obŝem  - In general

Например – Naprimer – For example

С одной стороны - S odnoj storony – On the one hand

С другой стороны - S drugoj storony - On the other hand

Таким образом - Takim obrazom – In such a way

Кстати – Kstati – By the way

В частности - V častnosti – In particular

Наконец – Nakonec - Finally

Наоборот – Naoborot – Alternatively

5. Words that show methods of saying.

Одним словом - Odnim slovom – in a word

Как говорится - Kak govoritsâ – as the saying is

Иначе говоря - Inače govorâ – that is to say

Так сказать - Tak skazat´ - so saying

Коротко говоря or короче (informal) - Korotko govorâ or koroče – in short, briefly

6. Parenthetical words, that used to persuade speaker in something.

Вообразите – Voobrazite –Imagine…

Понимаешь - Ponimaeš´ - Realize …

Скажем – Skažem –Let us say

Допустим – Dopustim –let us suppose

Знаешь - Znaeš´ - you know…

Use these linking words, but when writing, do not forget about commas. 

Traditionally Pancake week is a beautiful festival before the Lent. This week in Russia is called Масленица - Maslenica. People celebrate this holiday making pancakes with jam, honey and different stuffing.

Pancakes are yellow and have round form, so they symbolize the Sun. In this way people say goodbye to winter and meet spring. During the whole week people play games and visit friends, family. On Sunday – the last day of Maslenica, people make an effigy from straw and burn it. Large crowds of people gather together to have competitions, dance win prizes and certainly celebrate  Maslenica. 

If you like this Russian custom, so let’s make pancakes and learn Russian cooking words.

To make pancakes you will need such ingredients - ингредиенты - ingredienty :   

Яйца 10 шт  - Âjca 10 št - Ten eggs

1 стакан сахара - 1 stakan sahara - One glass of sugar

1 стакан сливок - 1 stakan slivok - One glass of cream                                   

2 стакана муки - 2 stakana muki - Two glasses of wheaten flour

50 гр сливочного масла -  50 gr slivočnogo masla - Butter 50 g

Приготовление - Prigotovlenie  - Cooking

Желтки растереть с сахаром, влить сливки и размешать.

Želtki rasteret´ s saharom, vlit´ slivki i razmešat´.

Yolks of eggs should be thoroughly intermixed with sugar, the cream should be poured in.

Всыпать муку и хорошо помешать.

Vsypat´ muku i horošo pomešat´.

Pour the flour and properly stir.

Полученную массу осторожно смешать со взбитыми белками и поставить кастрюлю в холодную воду.

Polučennuû massu ostorožno smešat´ so vzbitymi belkami i postavit´ kastrûlû v holodnuû vodu.

The thoroughly whipped whites of eggs should be carefully mixed with the previously obtained mass and all that should be put within a pan into the cold water.

Выпекать блинчики на хорошо смазанной сковородке.

Vypekat´ blinčiki na horošo smazannoj skovorodke.

Bake pancakes on the well-greased pan.

Затем можно смазать блины вареньем, медом, сметаной или сгущенкой.

Zatem možno smazat´ bliny varen´em, medom, smetanoj ili sguŝenkoj.

Then coat pancakes with jam, honey, sour cream or condensed milk.

That is all! It is very tasty to drink tea and eat pancakes.

I hope that, this simple recipe of traditional Russian pancakes will be useful for you to learn cooking vocabulary and know better Russian traditions. 

Пока!

Bye!

If one day you decide to visit Russia, so you will need at least basic lexis for public transport. The capital of Russia is Moscow –  a city with the heaviest traffic. In addition to it Moscow is very beautiful place and there are lots of sightseeing places which are worth visiting. But how to travel inside of this large mega polis? Well, you can hire a car or pay for the taxi. However, the last one will be too costly. Are there any alternatives?

Yes, of course. We have many available options of public transport. In Moscow you can travel by tram, trolleybus, bus and underground. The fee for using public transport is not very high, so travel cheap!

Some useful words:

Общественный транспорт - Obŝestvennyj transport - Public transport

Городской транспорт - Gorodskoj transport - City transport

Движение - Dviženie -Traffic

Право/левостороннее движение - Pravo/levostoronnee dviženie - Right /left-hand transport 

Одностороннее движение - Odnostoronnee dviženie - One-way traffic

Пробка - Probka -Traffic jam

Светофор - Svetofor - Traffic light

Переполненный - Perepolnennyj – overcrowded

Трамвай - Tramvaj - tram

Трамвайная линия – Tramvajnaâ liniâ – tramline

Ехать автобусом - Ehat´ avtobusom – go by bus

Опоздать на автобус – Opozdat´ na avtobus – miss a bus

Номер маршрута – Nomer maršruta – route number

Троллейбус – Trollejbus – Trolleybus

Водитель – Voditel´ – Driver

Зайти в автобус – Zajti v avtobus - board  a bus

Possible questions, that you may need in large megapolis.

Подскажите пожалуйста, идет ли отсюда автобус до…?

Podskažite požalujsta, idet li otsûda avtobus do…?

[Can you tell me if there is a bus from here to …?]

Этот автобус идет до …?

Ètot avtobus idet do …?

[is this the right bus for …?]

Вы сейчас будете выходить?

Vy sejčas budete vyhodit´?

[Getting off?]

Мне нужно делать пересадку?

Mne nužno delat´ peresadku?

[should I have to change?]

Сколько стоит проезд?

Skol´ko stoit proezd?

[What is the fare to …?]

Двенадцатый номер останавливается  на …?

Dvenadcatyj nomer ostanavlivaetsâ  na …?

[Does route #12 stop at …?]

Это место занято?

Èto mesto zanâto?

[is this seat taken?]

Here are some names for underground stations:

Арбатская – Arbatskaâ

Курская – Kurskaâ

Таганская - Taganskaâ

Бабушкинская - Babuškinskaâ

Октябрьская - Oktâbr´skaâ

Good Luck and happy journey!

Hello!

It is a well-known fact, that foreign language is easy to forget without constant practice. Did you have long pauses in using foreign language? Possibly, someone can share own experience … 

There are many methods how to learn foreign languages. 

One of them is reading popular newspapers. For instance, when I studied English, I read the Forbes, the Economist and The New York Times of course. Also, bbc channel was very useful. Now, I can say that content from the New York Times and the Forbes was much easier to understand comparing to the Economist.   

What about learning German? Which newspapers can be the best for people with middle level of German? I just know about Die Welt and Die Zeit. Who can offer other newspapers, that will be easy for comprehension?

I studied German several years ago, but then I stopped…

Surely, I do not remember a lot of things and my level is not even advanced. 

How to refresh old knowledge? 

Can be reading newspapers in original effective in my case?

How did you refresh language skills after certain break?

Hello!

I prepared some Russian phrases for you. Their meaning and definition will be useful if you want to understand peculiarities of Russian culture. Thus, communicating with Russian people, you will not have misunderstanding. 

Самовар - Samovar 

Here is the illustration of Samovar:

It was used for making tea. Nowadays, we do not make tea in Samovar.

Трудовая книжка - Trudovaâ knižka – Employment record book.

This is a small book with employment records, such as position, company’s name, dates of employment and so on. Every citizen, who wants to work legally, should have this document. Otherwise, employment process will be impossible. 

Отчество – Otčestvo – Patronymic name

The full name of Russian people consists of patronymic.  Addressing to people, using patronymics is an official way of communication. Also, we say person’s patronymic when want to show respect to him or her. Usually, we address in this way to older people.

Микрорайон – Mikrorajon – Building estate

In big cities there is certain division of territory according to regions. Such regions with multiple blocks of flats are called Микрорайон. They have their own infrastructure: health centers, schools, shops, etc.

Матрешка – Matreška – set of Russian nesting dolls. It is actually the most common souvenir that you may bring from Russia.

Отопительный сезон - Otopitel´nyj sezon – heating season

Possibly you know about winter in Russia, it is really cold. That is why in the middle of October the heating comes and stops in May. The heating is controlled centrally, so every flat in a multistoried building has warm temperature during cold periods.

Начальные классы - Načal´nye klassy

Children begin education at the age of 6 or 7. The point is, we do not have separate primary schools in Russia. First 3 classes are called Начальные классы. Pupils learn mainly how to write, read and study arithmetic.

Коммунальные услуги - Kommunal´nye uslugi  -  communal services

This type of services includes cold and hot water supply, central heating, rubbish collection, streets sweeping, and everything relating to building maintenance.

Дача – Dača – Holiday home

Most of families prefer to visit their holiday home on weekends. Especially many adult people like growing flowers, fruits and vegetables there. So spring, summer and autumn are perfect seasons for Дача.

Прописка – Propiska – Registration

It is a special regulation, controlled by government, according to which citizens can remain in their hometown.

Ушанка – Ušanka  - Fur hat

Here is a photo of Ушанка to understand better: 

Actually, it is a fur hat with ear flaps. It was very popular in the Soviet Union.

I am ready to help if you do not know meaning of Russian words…

Bye!

Пока!

When learning any language, people also have to learn culture of the country. International communication will be easy if to know well about customs, traditions, Holidays and main historical events. In this article I offer you to review list of main holidays in Russia. We have official and not official holidays. During national holidays people do not work.

On 31st of December we celebrate New Year. It is a national holiday and after this day people rest at home, visit friends and relatives. Actually we have a New Year week holidays. 

С Новым Годом! S Novym Godom! Happy New Year!

Дед Мороз и Снегурочка - Ded Moroz i Sneguročka (Two characters and main symbols of New Year, that are known as Snow Maiden and Father Christmas.  Snow Maiden accompanies Father Christmas during visits to children. She organizes games, competitions, and helps to give out presents.)

On 7th  of January we celebrate Orthodox Christmas

Рождество – Roždestvo – Christmas

On 14th January we celebrate Old New Year. This holiday is not national. 

Старый Новый Год - Staryj Novyj God

On 14th February as in many countries worldwide, Russian people celebrate day of love, friendship and relations.

On 23th of February  - Defender of the Fatherland Holiday. In this day all women give presents to men.

День Защитника Отечества - Den´ Zaŝitnika Otečestva

On 8th of March we have national holiday.

Восьмое Марта – праздник женщин. It is a holiday for all women.

Vos´moe Marta – prazdnik ženŝin.

Or Международный Женский День - Meždunarodnyj Ženskij Den´- International Women’s Day

This is a celebration of women of all ages. Usually, women receive gifts from men and mothers get presents and flowers from children.

1 May – is a day of workers. 

День Трудящихся - Den´ Trudâŝihsâ  - National Labor Day. All citizens have weekends. Usually we celebrate this day with barbecue and play sport games outside.

9 May  - is a Victory Day

День Победы! - Den´ Pobedy! - Victory Day!

Traditionally, large crowds of people are gathering on demonstrations on Moscow’s Red Square. We have парад – parad – march past and салют – salût - fireworks. Veterans of World War 2 get flowers. On this day TV channels broadcast films about the war.

On June 12 Russian people celebrate Russia Day.

День России  - Den´ Rossii  - Russia Day

This is a day off, so people do not go to work, schools and universities. Instead of it they demonstrate Russian national pride. 

Happy Holidays!

How do you think, is asking time actual today or not? I mean, worth it learning or not? How often do you ask the time or answer people when they ask you? On the one hand learning how to ask time in Russian (or any other language) may seem useless or at least not very important. Because every person today has a cell phone or a tablet with digital clock on it. On the other hand, mobile gadgets can be lost, stolen, or simply a battery can be low.  So having a cell phone is not a warranty at all. You can always wear watch, but what if a person on the street will ask you about the time? You should be ready for it and know what to tell. Do not worry this material is not complicated. We have two basic phrases how to ask time:

Сколько времени?

Skol´ko vremeni?

Который час?

Kotoryj čas?

In English both variants will be translated as: What time is it?

However, the first and the second phrase are not very polite. You can ask this question to your close friend or a family member. If you want to ask time to an unknown person, so use these patterns:

Извините, Вы не подскажите который сейчас час?

Izvinite, Vy ne podskažite kotoryj sejčas čas?

Excuse me, could you tell me the time?

Скажите, пожалуйста, который сейчас час?

Skažite, požalujsta, kotoryj sejčas čas?

Please, tell me what time is it now?

Now, I think that everything is clear with asking the time.  But how to answer if somebody asks you? For this, you just need to know numbers from one to sixty and two words:

Час - Čas - Hour

Минута - Minuta – Minute

For example,  10:50 on digital clock will be in Russian:

Десять часов пятьдесят минут

Desât´ časov pât´desât minut

Ten hours and fifty minutes

By the way, do not forget about case declension.

It is very simply.

Now, learn some phrases if you like to round hours.

четверть – četvert´ - quarter after

без четверти – bez četverti  - quarter to

ровно – rovno - exactly

половина – polovina - half an hour to

пол – pol -  half an hour to

полночь - polnoč´ – midnight

почти - počti – almost

полдень - polden´ - noon

For example,

Пол пятого

Pol pâtogo

It is half past four.

Без двадцати девять

Bez dvadcati devât´

It is twenty minutes to eight

If you learn this vocabulary, so I am sure you will not have problems saying about time.

Hello!

I think that this post will be very helpful for beginners. Agree, that studying any foreign language, you should know how to say calendar terms, like days of the week, months, and year. These words and expressions are used very often. When we want to say about an event, that is going to happen or has already happened. It will not be too difficult, everything you need is to memorize given words and understand cases declension (from grammar).

Review and learn by heart Russian days of the week:

Понедельник - Ponedel´nik -Monday

Вторник - Vtornik – Tuesday

Среда – Sreda – Wednesday

Четверг – Četverg – Thursday

Пятница – Pâtnica - Friday

Суббота – Subbota - Saturday

Воскресенье - Voskresen´e – Sunday

That is all!

День - Den´ - Day

Неделя - Nedelâ – Week

Now, I will give you Russian words for saying months

Двенадцать месяцев  - Dvenadcat´ mesâcev  - 12 months

Январь - Ânvar´ - January

Февраль - Fevral´ - February

Март – Mart - March

Апрель - Aprel´- April

Май – Maj - May

Июнь - Iûn´ - June

Июль - Iûl´ - July

Август – Avgust – August

Сентябрь - Sentâbr´ - September

Октябрь - Oktâbr´- October

Ноябрь - Noâbr´ - November

Декабрь - Dekabr´ - December

Also, you have to learn how to say years.

Now is две тысячи четырнадцатый год (dve tysâči četyrnadcatyj god). In English it will be 2014 year.

Год –  God - year

Don’t forget about declensions. Here is a sample for the word year.

Nominative  го́д (singular)              го́ды or года́ (plural)

Genitive го́да (singular)                  годо́в (plural)

Dative го́ду (singular)                    года́м (plural)

Accusative го́д (singular)              го́ды or года́ (plural)

Instrumental го́дом  (singular)        года́ми  (plural)

Prepositional го́де or в году́ (singular)    года́х(plural)

When describing any event, you may use following expressions and useful words:

С Новым Годом !– S Novym Godom – Happy New Year !

Високосный год – Visokosnyj god – a leap year

Учебный год – Učebnyj god – academic year

Круглый год – Kruglyj god – the whole round year

В годах - V godah – middle-aged

Текущий год – Tekuŝij god – current year

Три года тому назад – Tri goda tomu nazad – three years ago

Удачный год – Udačnyj god – good year

На прошлой неделе – Na prošloj nedele – last week

В прошлом месяце – V prošlom mesâce – last month

Завтра - Zavtra - tomorrow

Сегодня – Segodnâ – today

Позавчера – Pozavčera – the day before yesterday

Сейчас – Sejčas – now

Послезавтра – Poslezavtra – the day after tomorrow

Вчера - Včera - Yesterday

Good Bye!

Today I am going to give you a short grammar lesson. In this thread you will learn everything about the correct usages of adjectives in the Russian language. So let’s start with a definition. Adjectives are a part of speech, describing the noun. If you can apply one of the following questions, so the word is an adjective. (What kind is it? How many are there? Which one is it? )

The main grammar categories of adjectives is number, gender and case. On top of that, adjectives have degrees of comparison. Russian adjectives have own peculiarity comparing with other parts of speech. We have two forms of adjectives: a full form and a short form.

In a sentence you can often find adjective near nouns, and its function is attributive. Grammatical meaning of adjectives is shown with help of inflexions. Here are common inflexions for Russian adjectives:

-ый like in word добрый (dobryj) - kind

- ий like in word синий (sinij) - blue

- чий  like in word лежачий (ležačij) - lying

- иный  like in word спокойный (spokojnyj) - quiet

There is one important rule: in adjectives we write letter Ы instead of  И, after letter Ц.  For example: куцый (kucyj) - dock-tailed,

бледнолицый (blednolicyj) - pale-faced

Adjectives have two degrees of comparison: comparative and superlative.

Superlative degree is formed with such words: самый (samy) - most

наиболее (naibolee) - most

более (bolee) - more

See this example:

Сильный – сильнее- самый сильный

Sil´nyj – sil´nee- samyj sil´nyj

Strong - stronger - the strongest

Мягкий – мягче –самый мягкий

Mâgkij – mâgče –samyj mâgkij

Soft - softer - the softest

Сcomparative degree is formed via suffixes:

- ее, - ей, - е

Like in words

глупее (glupee) - more stupid

мягче (mâgče) - softer

реже ( reže) - more rarely

уже (uže) - narrower

выше (vyše) - higher

Some adjectives form comparative degree with a  help of affix – ие.

Let us illustrate on this example:

тонкий- тоньше (tonkij- ton´še), thin - thinner

далекий – дальше (dalekij – dal´še), far- farther

маленький  - меньше (malen´kij  - men´še) small - smaller

Comparative degree is not declined by number, case and gender.

As I already mentioned, there are two forms of adjective: full and short.

The full form of adjectives can be declined by gender case and number, but short forms are not declined, they have own words.

To understand the difference between full and short form, read this pair of words:

Интересный – интересен (Interesnyj – interesen) interesting

Хороший – хорош (Horošij – horoš) good

Умный – умен (Umnyj – umen) clever

Дорогой – дорог (Dorogoj – dorog) expensive

Compare two sentences:

Его родители были тогда очень богаты. (Ego roditeli byli togda očen´ bogaty.)

His parents were very rich.

Месторождения богатые, их можно разрабатывать десятки лет.

(Mestoroždeniâ bogatye, ih možno razrabatyvat´ desâtki let.)

Rich deposits can be developed for decades.

We usually use short forms for to describe something temporary. Full forms are often used when we want to say about constant attribute of object. 

Hello!

Possibly, I am late with answer and this issue is not actual for you, but I will try to help.

Actually, it depends on the level of your Ukrainian. If you know basic words, common phrases and use appropriate word order in a sentence, so I think that poor pronunciation will not be a huge problem between you and Ukrainians. But just in case I offer you to find somebody from Ukraine and try to talk in the Skype.  This way, you can take part in a language exchange, thus your free time and time of your partner will not be wasted.

By the way, where are from? What is your native language? The point is, there are many young people in Ukraine who can speak and understand English. Even if you have some problems, speak English and people will help you.

At any way, do not forget to take English – Ukrainian dictionary.

Welcome to Ukraine. Do not panic, everything will be Ok! Ukrainians are very friendly people. If you want to ask me anything about Ukraine, language and culture of this country, so I will be glad to help you.

До побачення!

Yes, it is absolutely, true. Russian and Ukrainian languages are very common. Possibly the main reason for it is historical origins. The point is Old Russian was a base for both languages, so today we have two independent modern languages, but knowing one of them, you will understand the second. Below I will give some examples.

In Russia people do not speak Ukrainian, but in Ukraine the situation is completely opposite. For example, in the West all people speak Ukrainian in everyday life. In the East and South of Ukraine quite many people prefer to communicate in Russian, but use Ukrainian as an official language. Classes in school or University are in Ukrainian language.

Speaking about grammar…, so both languages have the same principle. Ukrainian language is also soft as Russian, so there are many similar sounds. Even in the alphabet, most of letters are identical. However, there is an exception for such Ukrainian letters:  ґ, и, і, ї

Some examples of similar Russian and Ukrainian words:

Понедельник –  Понеді́лок (Ponedel´nik –  Ponedì́lok) - Monday

Вторник – Вівто́рок  (Vtornik – Vìvtórok) - Tuesday

Среда – Середа (Sreda – Sereda) - Wednesday

Подруга – подруга  (Podruga – podruga)  - Friend about a girl

Are you planning a business trip to Russia? Or possibly your business partners from Russia want to visist you? Do you know Russian language? If you can not speak Russian language, it would be reasonable to hire an interpreter for the business meeting. But even though you have to learn several phrases and take part in discussion. Also, you will need some business terms.  This is a short lesson with necessary business words and phrases.

Let us begin with phrases, that can be used during business conference or discussion.

Мне бы хотелось спросить вас …

Mne by hotelos´ sprosit´ vas

I would like to ask you …

Я думаю, что …

 dumaû, čto …

I (think, suppose, presume) that …

У меня есть все основания считать что …

U menâ est´ vse osnovaniâ sčitat´ čto …

I have a reason to believe that …

Каково ваше мнение о…?

Kakovo vaše mnenie o…?

Do you consider that …?

Я бы мог прокомментировать этот вопрос …

 by mog prokommentirovat´ ètot vopros …

I could comment on the question …

Если я понял вас правильно …

Esli â ponâl vas pravil´no …

If I understand you correctly …

Я не могу согласиться  вами …

 ne mogu soglasit´sâ  vami …

I can not agree with you …

Я сомневаюсь что …

 somnevaûs´ čto …

I doubt that …

Не могли бы вы разъяснить вашу точку зрения?

Ne mogli by vy razъâsnit´ vašu točku zreniâ?

Could you clarify your point of views?

Additional words:

Деловой визит - Delovoj visit - a business call

Филиал - Filial – branch

Назначить дату  - Naznačit´ datu - to fix the date

Документ - Dokument  - document

Заявка - Zaâvka - application form

Извещение - Izveŝenie - Announcement

Заверить - Zaverit´ – to certify

Подписать - Podpisat´ – to sign

Пронумеровать документы- Pronumerovat´ dokumenty – to give a reference number to

Пошлины - Pošliny – dues

Расходы – Rashody  – expenses

Фонд - Fond – Fund

Чек - Ček –  Cheque

Вести финансовые дела - Vesti finansovye dela – to transact financial business

Финансовая помощь - Finansovaâ pomoŝ´ - financial support 

Финансовые операции - Finansovye operacii – financial affairs

I think, it will be enough words for this lesson. However, words  for discussion can be used not only with business partners. You can use them communicating on different themes and expressing own point of view.

Good Luck in business!

The 22nd Winter Olympic Games were planned to take place in Sochi, Russia. Finally, it is February and the whole world can watch online translation. This winter games are scheduled on 7- 23 February, so you have time keep a close watch on Olympics.  As the host city is Russia, so some Russian phrases may become very helpful to you. It even does not matter where you are now in Sochi or at home. At any rate it is a nice opportunity to demonstrate Russian language skills and learn new words.

There is also interesting fact about financing of Olympic Games. The budget for the games is about $50 million. We can surely, state that this event will be known in a sport history as the most expensive Olympic Games. If to compare with previous Olympics, which took place in Beijing, so budget for Winter Olympic Games in Sochi is 10% higher.

Well, here are some 15 winter sport disciplines, so do not miss this chance to learn new Russian words.

Биатлон  - Biatlon - biathlon

Бобслей – Bobslej - bobsleigh

Горные лыжи - Gornye lyži - downhill skiing

Керлинг – Kerling - curling

Лыжное двоеборье - Lyžnoe dvoebor´e - jumping race

Лыжные гонки - Lyžnye gonki - Nordic Combined

Прыжки на лыжах с трамплина - Pryžki na lyžah s tramplina - ski jumping

Санный спорт - Sannyj sport - luge

Скелетон – Skeleton - skeleton

Скоростной бег на коньках - Skorostnoj beg na kon´kah - cross country

Сноуборд - Snoubord  - snowboard

Фигурное катание на коньках- Figurnoe katanie na kon´kah - figure skating

Фристайл – Fristajl - freestyle skiing

Хоккей на льду - Hokkej na l´du - ice hockey

Шорт-трек  - Šort-trek - speed skating 

More additional words and phrases about Olympic Games theme.

Церемония открытия - Ceremoniâ otkrytiâ  – opening ceremony

Церемония закрытия – Ceremoniâ zakrytiâ - closing ceremony

Эстафета олимпийского огня  - Èstafeta olimpijskogo ognâ – Olympic relay race

медальный зачёт - medal´nyj začët - medal standings

Олимпийская деревня – Olimpijskaâ derevnâ  - Olympic village

Паралимпиада - Paralimpiada - Paralympic Games

In conclusion I would like to add, that if your level of Russian language is advanced, so you can easily review the latest news about the Olympics and discuss it on forums, social networks. Also, you can find friends from Russia and chat with native speaker. Improve your Russian language and feel free to ask me questions!

Hello!

Russian language is very rich for various words and expressions. So saying color names is not an exception. The point besides of standard color names we have two or more words for the same color.  On top of that, in Russian language you can often hear distinguishing between colors. We specify colors by shades and tones. For example, in English blue means blue, but in Russian language we differentiate between light and dark.

Красный -  Red - Krasnyj

Розовый – Pink - Rozovyj

Алый – Scarlet - Alyj

Малиновый – Raspberry - Malinovyj

Оранжевый – Orange - Oranževyj

Зеленый – Green - Zelenyj

Салатовый – Light green or yellow-green - Salatovyj

Болотный – Mossy - Bolotnyj

Голубой – Light blue - Goluboj

Синий – Blue - Sinij

Пурпурный – Purple - Purpurnyj

Белый – White - Belyj

Чёрный – Black – Čërnyj

Серый – Grey - Seryj

Бурый – Dark reddish - Buryj

Коричневый – Brown - Koričnevyj

Фиолетовый – Violet – Fioletovyj

Лиловый  - Lilac - Lilovyj

Сиреневый – Lilaceous - Sirenevyj

Бирюзовый – Turquois - Birûzovyj

Мятный – Mint – Mâtnyj

By the way, I think it will be interesting to know facts about Russian flag. As you can seу on the picture in this post, Russian flag is very simple and contains of 3 colorful stripes. Would you like to know origins of Russian flag? Well, official flag of Russia Federation has 3 horizontal stripes: white, blue and red. The point is Russia did not have any flag before 17th century. Then Peter the Great in 1705 proclaimed the act, according to which all ships should have 3 striped flag.

To be frank, there are many versions about definition of colors. And here is one version:

White Color -  symbolizes nationhood

Blue  Color – symbolizes the God’s Mother auspices

White color – symbolizes freedom and independence

I am sure, you will not have problems with learning Russian colors. To fasten this process you can use your imagination and visualization. For this print a table with Russian colors and pin it somewhere in your house. Try to name colors of objects in the house or just favorite colors. Close your eyes and imagine any color – then name it. Doing this simple exercise yow will quickly learn main Russian colors and shadows. If you have any interesting color, but not sure how to translate it in Russian, so ask me and I will reply you in this post.

Bye!

When learning foreign language, it is important to understand mentality of people and even history of some words. In this post I want to offer definition of some Russian words, which possibly do not have equivalents in other languages. If you hear a word, but can not understand its meaning, try to guess it from the context or even grammar structure. I have selected just some words, which are typical for Russian language.

So review meaning of “Russian” words.

Авось (Avos´) – used as parenthetical word. Can be translated like “Maybe”.  Definition: Hope for something.

Example: Авось не опоздаем. (Avos´ ne opozdaem) Maybe we will not be late. Frankly speaking this word is not used very often in every day speech, but sometimes it can be heard, especially when a person wants to emphasis something.

Ясен пень! (Âsen pen´) This phrase can be translated as: Surely!, It stands to reason, That's cake.  Sometimes can be used in spoken language humorously.

Чадо (Čado) – This word means a son or a daughter under 12 years old. It is old word, but in modern language it is also can be used as a playful word. Nowadays it denotes a dependent child, who often uses help of parents. 

Юшка (Ûška) – is old word for a soup. Surely, we do not use this word today. But in some Russian restaurants you are very likely to meet this word in menu.

С прибабахом (S pribabahom). Here are some equivalents in English language: bug, batshit crazy, nuts, bananas, a little bit touched and so on. We use this word in spoken language, when we want to describe inadequate person.

Аляповатый (Alâpovatyj) – means fussy, garish, gaudy, crudely fashioned, cheap-looking. This word can be referred to a person, who is absolutely tasteless. Or else, when something was done clumsy and so on. 

Дремучий (Dremučij)– this word was used to describe a very thick wood. Nowadays, we can say  about uneducated person. This word is quite specific, because if to say about a person Дремучий, so he or she may take it as offence.

Concluding, this post you have to be very attentive with such “Russian words”. If you are not sure in exact meaning of the word so it is better not to use it at all or replace it with synonyms.

Have a nice days and have fun learning Russian!

Thanks for the link!

Very useful video!

Contextual dialogs are often used on various courses, because it is the most effective method to memorize common words and phrases. Dialogs can be learned by heart. It is like a basic structure. If you memorize a dialog, then you may insert different words in it, depending upon the situation.

I want you to offer such scenario:

First of all, you read and translate unknown words, check pronunciation (for this I will give Romaic transliteration). It would be excellent if somebody could help you with a dialog. If you have such person, so ask him or her to take any role. Nobody wants to study Russian? At any rate, do not get disappointed and learn both roles. I mean speech of the first and second character.

And finally, improvise using new phrases. Insert another words in the sentences. This way of learning spoken Russian is very easy and sometimes even funny. Try to reproduce short dialogs in your free time. So go on now.

Dialog #1

Planning a Holliday

A: What are you planning to do for your holiday?

Что ты собираешься делать во время отпуска?

Čto ty sobiraeš´sâ delat´ vo vremâ otpuska?

B: I have not yet made up my mind. If the weather is fine, I will go to the seaside for two or three weeks. And what are your plans?

Я еще не решил. Если погода будет хорошая, то я поеду на море на две или три недели. А у тебя какие планы?

 eŝe ne rešil. Esli pogoda budet horošaâ, to â poedu na more na dve ili tri nedeli. A u tebâ kakie plany?

A: As a matter of fact I always spend my holiday in Barcelona.  This place is worth visiting.  Do you agree with me?

На самом деле, я всегда отдыхаю в Барселоне. Это место стоит посетить. Ты согласен со мной?

Na samom dele, â vsegda otdyhaû v Barselone. Èto mesto stoit posetit´. Ty soglasen so mnoj?

B: I quite agree with you. We have tried many sea-side places. However, my wife and I prefer Barcelona beaches.  The climate is mild and the sea is beautiful.

Я согласен. Мы были на нескольких морских побережьях. Однако нам с женой нравится Барселона. Там мягкий климат и прекрасное море.

 soglasen. My byli na neskol´kih morskih poberež´âh. Odnako nam s ženoj nravitsâ Barselona. Tam mâgkij klimat i prekrasnoe more.

A: But it is difficult to find reliable travel agency to order the trip.

Но сложно найти хорошее туристическое агентство, чтоб заказать тур.

No složno najti horošee turističeskoe agentstvo, čtob zakazat´ tur.

B: I suppose I can help you and send you in email contact information of my travel agent.

Я думаю, что смогу тебе помочь и вышлю по электронной поте контактные данные моего агента. 

 dumaû, čto smogu tebe pomoč´ i vyšlû po èlektronnoj pote kontaktnye dannye moego agenta. 

A: It will be very kind of you. I suggest that we go to Barcelona together.

Это будет очень любезно с твоей стороны. Я предлагаю поехать вместе в Барселону.

Èto budet očen´ lûbezno s tvoej storony. Â predlagaû poehat´ vmeste v Barselonu.

B: Good idea. I will talk it with my wife and see what she thinks about it.

Хорошая идея. Я поговорю со своей женой и посмотрим что она думает по этому поводу.

Horošaâ ideâ. Â pogovorû so svoej ženoj i posmotrim čto ona dumaet po ètomu povodu.

Hello!

I absolutely agree with you that, language of community, where a child is actually raised leaves a great impact. And sometimes learning Russian becomes too complicated for small creatures…  But who knows, if to study early, everything is possible. However, it also depends upon parents. Teaching children Russian outside of Russia needs enormous efforts and much free time.

Sorry to be a wet blanket, but the times of the Russian aristocrats who could speak at least 2 or 3 languages fluently in addition to their native Russian has passed, and those living and raising their children abroad nowadays are not necessarily bringing up polyglots.

In my opinion, still there are many Russian immigrants, who want their children to speak Russian and understand it. Most of families have grandparents in Russia – so I think it is the main reason to teach children Russian. There are many debates about this issue on different forums...

I want to invite linguaholic users to share their opinion and write comments in this thread!

Hello everyone!

Yes, it is definitely, that in English we use capital letters more than in Russian or French.

But in German, for example capitalization is also important, because all nouns are capitalized. So it is a grammar aspect. Also, personal pronoun Sie is capitalized in German language. It is interesting fact that in German colors can be written with both lowercase and uppercase. In some situations colors can be as a noun or as an adjective. 

By the way, in English compass directions as “North”, “South”, “East”, “West” – should be written with capital letter.  But in actual fact, we often see the opposite: north, south, east, west. So both variants are used quite often.

Possibly a common rule for all languages is a capitalization of brands, like

Toyota

Pepsi

Volkswagen

Apple

Microsoft…

Have fun, learning Russian! 

Hi!

Learning any language is always funny process, because along with rules we learn habits and history of nation.  In our days, in Old Church Slavonic language this letter is still used.

Indeed, there are many interesting facts about Russian alphabet. According to certain sources, there were 43 letters. During many centuries there were transformations with Russian alphabet.

Some letters were added and some were removed. I think that modern Russian citizens, when they see Old Slavonic letters become enormously happy to have just 33 letters. 

Actually, we have 33 letters thanks to the last reform, that was in 1918.

Have a nice day!

Hello russian pianist! Thanks again for your opinion!

Motivation for people can be really diverse. For some people learning languages is some kind of a hobby. So why not to learn Russian? The more challenging the language, the more satisfaction you get when speak fluently!

Upper case and lower case letters in Russian are not the same like in English. Orthography and punctuation are things easy to understand. However, there are some differences in capitalization if to compare Russian and English language. So, let us review them together.

In Russian language we don’t capitalize the following:

1. Names of months, days and weeks

Monday – понедельник (ponedel´nikjhgfd)

September – сентябрь (sentâbr´)

2. If a word is derived from proper name or adjective, so we also write it with lower case.

For example, Italian restaurant – итальянский ресторан (ital´ânskij restoran)

оf Moscow – московский (moskovskij)

3. When we write nationality we also use lower case

American man – американец (amerikanec)

African woman – африканская женщина (afrikanskaâ ženŝina)

Belgian man – бельгиец (bel´giec)

4. In English titles are written with capital letters and in Russian not. 

Sir, Mrs, Duke, Dr, Mr and so on.

Professor – профессор (professor)

5. Personal pronoun I is always capitalized in English. In Russian we write personal pronoun using lower case.

6. Different languages. For instance,

Japanese – японский (âponskij)

Polish – польский (pol´skij)

Ukrainian – украинский (ukrainskij)

We capitalize first letter in such cases:

1. If we write a proper name

Example: Андрей – Andrej

Максим – Maksim

Евгения - Evgeniâ

Москва – Moskva

Волга – Volga

2. We have second-person pronoun Вы, it is used in formal style.

The same will be for Вас, Вам.

Very often we use this pronoun, writing business letters.

3. In the beginning of every sentence

Был солнечный день – It was a sunny day

Byl solnečnyj den´

4. When we write titles, so only the first letter is capitalized.

However, in English titles all words are capitalized, except of articles, prepositions and coordinating conjunctions. Also very often first and the last word in a title is written with upper case.

5. In Russian language we capitalize first word after colon

Like in this example with direct speech:

Вытеснив меня в кухню, Болеслав шепотом сказал: «Это человек из Парижа, с важным поручением, ему необходимо видеть Короленко, так вы идите, устройте это...» (М. Горький).

Vytesniv menâ v kuhnû, Boleslav šepotom skazal: «Èto čelovek iz Pariža, s važnym poručeniem, emu neobhodimo videt´ Korolenko, tak vy idite, ustrojte èto...» (M. Gor´kij).

So as you see rules are not difficult, but do not mix Russian and English capitalization.

If you have any questions, so feel free to ask me!

When parents raise bilingual children, they have many questions, especially when second language is Russian. If you do not live in Russia, but want your kid to know this language, so you are in a right thread. Russian language is not very easy to learn even for adults, therefore teaching children needs special approach. Small children will not drill new words, or learn by heart various rules. That is why do not offer your child too complicated material. Otherwise, he or she will refuse from learning at all. The best and the most effective way to interest any kid is to offer games, rhymes, funny dialogs and so on. In the end of this post I will give funny rhymes with Romanic transliteration.

Start learning Russian with your baby as early as possible. Scientists have proved that baby’s brains can absorb enormous volume of information. Even if a child can not speak, read popular Russian tales, like “Сказка о Золотой Рыбке” А С Пушкин “Skazka o Zolotoj Rybke” A S Puškin, “Курочка-Ряба”, “Теремок” – русские народные сказки “Kuročka-Râba”, “Teremok” – russkie narodnye skazki (from Russian folklore).

Also, parents should understand that language of community they live in, will stay always dominant. That is why make priority and do not forget that a child needs listening Russian speech. The most elementary thing is to make audio background. Turn on Russian cartoons, for example: “Лунтик” - “Luntik”, “Маша и медведь “-“Maša i medved´ “.  Surely, you child will like this animation. Here are the links for cartoons on YouTube.

Besides, try to talk constantly in Russian, this will definitely help! If your child at least 3 years old, you may start exploring the Internet together. Funny alphabet games, songs and many other online activities will help your child to learn colors, sounds, letters, name of objects, etc.

http://www.petralingua.com/foreign-languages/online-russian-for-kids.php

http://www.purposegames.com/ww-search.php?q=russian

Finishing the thread, I will advice all families with bilingual children, where Russian is not minority language to read aloud Russian tales, make audio background, actively use online resources and travel to Russia from time to time.

Here is funny rhyme for kids: 

Гуси-гуси!

Гуси-гуси!

Га-га-га!

Есть хотите?

Да-да-да!

Что ж домой вы не летите?

Серый волк под горой

Не пускает нас домой!

Ну, летите как хотите,

Крылья, ноги берегите!

´Gusi-´gusi!

´Gusi-´gusi!

´Ga-´ga-´ga!

´Yest' kha´tite?

´Da-´da-´da!

´Shto zh da´moi vy ni li´tite?

´Seryi ´volk ´pad ga´roi

´Ni pus´kait ´nas da´moi!

´Nu, li´tite kak kha´tite

´Krylja, ´nogi biri´gite!

Geese, Geese!

Geese, Geese!

Honk, honk, honk!

Are you hungry?

Yes, yes,yes!

So, why don’t you fly home?

A grey wolf under the mountain

Does not let us go home!

Then fly any way you like