Russian

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Russian

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Articles

Russian 1 Russian/Contents 1 Russian/Alphabet 3 Russian/Typing 5 Russian/Lesson 1 9 Russian/Lesson 2 15 Russian/Lesson 3 17 Russian/Lesson 4 30 Russian/Lesson 5 36 Russian/Numbers 39 Russian/Appendix/Tables of declension 42 Russian/Grammar/Adjectives 45 Russian/Grammar/Introduction 47 Russian/Grammar/Articles 48 Russian/Grammar/Gender 48 Russian/Grammar/Pronouns 49 Russian/Grammar/Cases 50 Russian/Grammar/Nominative 52 Russian/Grammar/Genitive case 56 Russian/Grammar/Dative case 58 Russian/Grammar/Accusative case 59 Russian/Grammar/Instrumental case 60 Russian/Grammar/Prepositional case 60 Russian/Grammar/Noun cases 63 Russian/Grammar/Past tense 65 Russian/Grammar/Verbs 66

Russian/Grammar/What and Which 68

Russian/Names 68 Russian/Loanwords 70 Russian/Cursive 73 Russian/Prepositions 74 Russian/Verbal Aspect 77 Russian/False Friends 79 Russian/Interrogative Pronouns 80

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Russian/Vocabulary 84

Russian/Geographical Names 84

Russian/Useful Words and Expressions 87

Russian/Various Stuff 89

Russian/Cheat Sheet 92

References

Article Sources and Contributors 94

Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors 96

Article Licenses

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Russian

RUSSIAN РУССКИЙ

Learning the Russian Language, for English Speakers

Содержа́ние (Contents)

Printable version: View

Russian is a Category II language.

(Foreign Service Institute (US)) Russian

Wikipedia: Википедия

English Wikipedia's article: Russian language

Russian/Contents

МоскваMoscow, the capital of Russia The Russian Wikibook is a collaborative effort to create a

comprehensive textbook for learners of the Russian language. Russian is an East Slavic language, related to Ukrainian and Belarusian, and is spoken by over 350 million people. This book includes four sections: a main text curriculum, a grammar supplement, an appendix, and a vocabulary. The main text guides the student through the lessons and provides everything to understand the texts that are to be understood. The grammar supplement provides a greater detail into the concepts presented in the lessons. The appendix is there to refer to for usage and other miscellaneous concepts. The vocabulary groups words into concept-based sections for studying.

Содержа́ние (Contents)

• Предисло́вие (Foreword) • Áзбука (Alphabet)

Гла́вы (Chapters)

1. Как тебя́ зову́т? (What is your name?) 2. Lesson 2 - Introducing yourself. 3. Lesson 3 - Basic Grammar. 4. Lesson 4 - Vocabulary. 5. Lesson 5 - Text.

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Грамма́тика (Grammar)

• Introduction • Adjectives • Articles • Gender • Pronouns • Cases • Nominative • Genitive • Dative • Accusative • Instrumental • Prepositional • (Noun cases) • Past tense • Verbs

• What and Which

Приложе́ние (Аppendix)

• Russian Names

• Alphabet - Overview of Cyrillic. Typing. • Loanwords • Cursive • Prepositions • Verbal Aspect • False Friends • Pronouns • Interrogative Pronouns • Personal Pronouns • Possessive Pronouns

Слова́рь (Vocabulary)

• Vocabulary • Numbers • Geographical names

• Useful Words and Expressions

• Various Stuff is a collection of stuff that can be used at other places later.

Internet Resources Contributors

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Russian language · Русский язык

Lessons Introduction · Alphabet · Lesson 1 · Lesson 2 · Lesson 3 · Lesson 4 · Lesson 5 _{(view) ( edit}

[1])

Reference Numbers · Declensions · Adjectives · Conjugations · Prepositions · Verbal Aspect · Interrogative Pronouns · Personal Prn. · Possessive Prn. · Cursive

Appendices Appendix · Alphabet · Internet · Cheat Sheet

References

[1] http://en.wikibooks.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Russian&action=edit

Russian/Alphabet

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Russian alphabet

The Russian alphabet has 33 letters. It descended from the Greek alphabet, so while some may appear like the English alphabet, the pronunciation might be very different. It consists of 21 consonants and 10 vowel letters. The last two, ь, and ъ , are neutral, as they do not designate sounds.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33

А Б В Г Д Е Ё Ж З И Й К Л М Н О П Р С Т У Ф Х Ц Ч Ш Щ ъ Ы ь Э Ю Я

а б в г д е ё ж з и й к л м н о п р с т у ф х ц ч ш щ ы э ю я

Similar to English: easiest to grasp, their sound resembles the English sound Hard and soft signs: see Signs

"Greek" letters: easy for people that know Greek. Л is pronounced like Lambda.

Basic pronunciation rules

Notes on the Alphabet and Pronunciation of Russian

1. While Russian has a mostly phonetic orthography, there are a few exceptions:

• The letter "г" between the letters "e" and "o" and between two "o"'s it is pronounced as /v/, e.g. "его" (his, him) is pronounced /jevo/. This rule only applies when "его" is at the end of the word. Note that this applies only to the case endings (genitive and accusative), there are words that fit this description but are pronounced normally, e.g. "много" /mnogo/ - many, much, a lot (of)

• Voiced consonants with voiceless counterparts lose their voicing at the end of a word, e.g. "строганов" (stroganoff) is pronounced /stroganof/.

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• Voiced consonants with voiceless counterparts become unvoiced before voiceless consonants, e.g. "водка" (vodka) is pronounced /votka/.

• Similarly, voiceless consonants with voiced counterparts become voiced before voiced consonants, e.g. "футбол" (soccer/football) is pronounced /fudbol/.

• Vowel is only fully pronounced when it is under accent. In the non-accented (weak) position, vowel is "reduced" to the neutral sound. Spelling, on the other hand, doesn't depend on whether position is accented or not. This particularly applies to the 'o'.

2. The hard sign (Ъ/ъ) indicates that the preceding consonant is not palatalized. However, it has been very rarely used since the spelling reform of 1918.

3. The soft sign (Ь/ь) indicates that the preceding consonant is palatalized.

4. The vowels Е/е, Ё/ё, И/и, Ю/ю, Я/я make the consonants before them palatal consonant. This means that one pronounces the consonant with the middle of the tongue raised, pressing against the hard palate.

Pronunciation mnemonics

1. Letters identical to their latin equivalents : к о м е т а (comet)

2. "Greek" letters: г л ф (as in Gamma, Lambda, Phi). Try also, the Russian word, флаг, which means "flag". 3. да (da) нет (nyet): two easy Russian words that show you how д, н and е are pronounced

4. суши-бар (sushi-bar): these are popping up all over the place in St. Petersburg... this word is a very useful way of learning how с, у, ш, и, б and р are pronounced

5. хип-хоп (hip-hop): actually, the х is a much harsher sound, like the "ch" in Scottish "loch", but otherwise хип-хоп music can help you learn х and п

6. союз (Soyuz): useful for learning the ю and the з (which you should just think of as a cursive latin Z)

7. я (ya/I;) and вы (vy/you): pronouns you'll be using most often when talking with strangers, as in "do you speak English? I do not speak Russian". Unlike English, pronouns can be ommited due to context in the present and future tenses.

8. царь (tsar) and чай (chai): for keeping your ц and ч straight

Russian/Typing

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This page overviews how to type in the Cyrillic alphabet, which is used in the Russian language.

Stuck in a lab/cafe/library?

Even if you have no administrator access, you can still type in Cyrillic! It might not be ideal, but it will do in a pinch. Please see the excellent 'Virtual Keyboard for Russian and Ukranian' by Paul Gorodyansky. Google for it, or try here: http://www.russianaa-brooklyn.com/VirtKbd/screen_e.htm [1]

Ubuntu 9.04

Step 1 add the keyboard layout indicator applet to the panel

• Right click on the main panel, somewhere where it is empty and gray.

• (ie, move the mouse all the way to the top left hand corner of the screen, right click) • click 'add to panel'

• choose the 'keyboard indicator' applet

• You should see a new panel applet, with something like 'USA' printed on it. • Right click the 'USA'

• Go to Keyboard Preferences • Click Layouts

• Click Add

Step 2 choose a layout

• You can search under Russian Language, there are several options.

• If you have a US/English keyboard, you might like the 'USA Phonetic Russian' layout. You can only find this by looking under English language or United States as a country.

• Add it

• Now, you should be able to switch your layout by left-clicking on the applet. • It should switch from saying USA to Rus or USA to USA2.

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Step 4 tweaking

• If you want to switch layout via keyboard---• Right click on the applet

• Go to keyboard preferences • Layouts

• Layout Options • Keys to switch layout

• If you are using the USA Russian Phonetic layout you can use a 'level 3' key to instantly let you type punctuation and other normal US-english characters. Look under layout options/keys for level 3.

• Alternative: You can also use SCIM

KDE

Note: the X server configuration (see #XFree86 below) may conflict with KDE settings if you change both.

Make sure you have Russian i18n installed. Go to Regional & Accessibility - Keyboard Layout in the KDE Control Center. Add the Russian layout to your active layouts. You might want to choose the phonetic Layout variant (yawerty, or яверты). With the flag icon in your taskbar you can now switch between different layouts.

Many letters now are where you expect them to be (for example s - с, p - п, g - г), but some others are harder to find: • ` ю • = ч • [ ш • ] щ • \ э • # ё (shift 3) • $ Ё (shift 4)

Mac OS X

You don't need to install any software or fonts, but you do need to add Russian to your computer's list of languages. Open System Preferences from the Dock and click on 'International'.

There you will find a tab called 'Languages' containing a list which may already include Russian. If it isn't there, click 'Edit List' and add it.

Don't put Russian at the top of your list unless you want to start using Russian date styles or list attributes in all of your applications.

Another tab called 'Input Menu' in the same place will allow you to choose a keyboard layout such as Cyrillic or Phonetic.

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Windows

Instructions follow for adding a traditional Russian keyboard layout for Windows, however many may prefer to use a phonetic Russian keyboard layout. The setup is slightly more involved as the user must either create or use an existing third party keyboard layout. One way to set up common

versions of Windows with a phonetic Russian layout is to follow Paul Gorodyansky's instructions on his "Russification" site using files he has created for this purpose. The relevant English language page is http://winrus. com/kbd_e.htm.

For Windows 2000:

1. Click the Start button.

2. Go to Settings...Control Panel. 3. Double-click Keyboard. 4. Click the Input Locales tab.

5. Click the Change... button to bring up the Text Services window. 6. Under Installed Services, click Add....

7. In the drop-down list of input languages, select Russian and click OK.

8. If you would like to change between keyboard inputs without going through the Control Panel each time, click the Language Bar button under Preferences in the Text Services window. Next select to Show the Language Bar on the Desktop and click OK.

9. To exit, click OK in the Text Services window and in the Keyboard Properties window. If you don't see "Russian" in the list:

1. Go back to Control Panel. 2. Double-click Regional Options

3. Under Language Settings for the system check off Cyrillic 4. Click OK

Note: You might need Windows 2000 CD>

Better to check Cyrillic off during installation of Windows.

Windows XP

To set up the keyboard for Cyrillic Russian/Ukraine in Windows XP 1. click on 'Start'

2. Go to 'Control Panel'

3. Click 'Regional & Language Options' 4. Click 'Language' tab

5. Click 'Settings' 6. Add 'Russian'

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Windows Vista

To add the Cyrillic keyboard for use on your computer: 1. Click on the windows logo in the bottom left hand corner

2. Click the Control Panel button (or clickable text if you have it set that way) • For ease of finding this, press in the left pane "Switch to classic view" 1. Now select Regional and Language Options

2. Click on the Keyboards and Languages tab 3. Press Change Keyboards

• A window should appear that lists all the installed languages to your computer. This window should be called Text Services and Input Languages

1. Press Add...

2. Now scroll down to where it says Russian (Russia) 3. Expand that menu by pressing the +

• If the dropdown menu Keyboard isn't already expaneded, press that too 1. Now checkbox Russian and press OK, and then Apply.

• If this is the first language you've added to this computer, a small icon near your taskbar that says "EN" should appear, to change the input language to Russian for whatever window you have opened, press it and select RU. • Please note, every time you change windows (say from an IM window to your browser) it will keep your

language setting on the previous window, and the new one will be set to use your default input language, which is most likely EN.

Keyboard icon wil show on taskbar. Left click to toggle between English and Russian.

As an added help, apply keyboard stickers for Cyrillic Russian/Ukraine. You can find them on e-Bay, under 'stickers, Keyboard, under Computer/Networking. They are available in several colors and are quite reasonable.

XFree86

XFree86 4.3 may be configured for Russian keyboard layout in the Keyboard InputDevice section of the configuration file (typically /etc/X11/XF86Config). Add the following two lines to that section:

Option "XkbLayout" "us,ru"

Option "XkbOptions" "grp:shift_toggle"

This arrangement will allow you to switch between US and Russian layouts by pressing the shift keys together. Note that this configuration is independent of the desktop environment (GNOME, KDE) or window manager (sawfish, metacity, kwin) in use, and might conflict with it if you change both.

X.Org

Same as XFree86, but the configuration file is called “xorg.conf”.

References

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Russian/Lesson 1

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Lesson 1 — Как тебя зовут?

Смольный институт The Smolny Institute, which was used as Lenin's headquarters during the

October Revolution.

Dialogue

Саша: Привет! Меня зовут Саша. Как тебя зовут? Катя: Привет, Саша. Меня зовут Катя. Как дела? Саша: Хорошо. А у тебя? Катя: Очень хорошо. Саша: Я студент. А ты студентка? Катя: Да, я студентка. Саша: Ну, пока.

Translation (wait until the end of the lesson).

Hello!

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Russian Vocabulary • Lesson 1 Привет! Hello!

English Русский Listen Notes

Hello здрáвствуйте · здрáвствуй · Hi привéт · X Good morning! дóброе ýтро Good day! дóбрый день Good evening! дóбрый вéчер Good night! спокóйной нóчи

See you later! покá · X

Goodbye до свидáния · O

• The first "в" in "здравствуйте" is silent. • The adjective добрый means "kind".

Formal and Informal

Russian distinguishes between formal and informal modes of address (register). Friends and family address each other using the informal register with the second person singular pronoun "ты" (you), while employees and students use the formal register with bosses and professors with the second person plural pronoun "вы" (you, referring to more than one person). In the vocabulary tables "Notes" column, the "X" denotes an exclusively informal term, and the "O" indicates an exclusively formal term.

Examples

—Доброе утро, студенты! —До свидания, профессор. —Катя, пока!

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What's your name?

—Как тебя зовут? —Владимир. А тебя? —Иосиф. Очень приятно.

Russian Vocabulary • Lesson 1 Как тебя зовут? What is your name?

English Русский Notes

What is your name? как тебя́ зову́т? X как вас зову́т? O My name is.. меня́ зову́т.. Your name is.. тебя́ зову́т.. X

вас зову́т.. O Nice to meet you. óчень прия́тно

• "Как тебя зовут?", the phrase used to ask someone's name, translates to "How do they call you?" • "Очень приятно", means "very pleasant."

Examples

• Как тебя зовут? What is your name? • Меня зовут Пётр.

My name is Pyotr. • Очень приятно.

Nice to meet you. Grammar

• It should now be obvious that тебя and вас are interchangeable, the former used in casual / familiar settings and the latter in formal settings; вас is also the plural form of "you". An example may be у вас есть хлеб? meaning, "do you have bread?" - being the plural and formal both.

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• With the first phrase comes an interesting note. Because the function of words is mostly determined by

declension, word order is mostly free. "Меня зовут Пётр" and "Пётр меня зовут" mean the same thing. "Mostly" is highlighted, however, because some combinations do not work, so avoid straying too far from the word order of the examples until later.

Go to the exercise.

Russian names

Экскурсовод: —В этом доме Владимир Ильич Ленин с Инессой Армамнд скрывался от Надежды Константиновны Крупской. Russian names for people are composed of a given name, a

patronymic, and a family name. The given name is a person's first name, and is usually chosen by the parents at birth. The patronymic is a derivation of the father's name, modified by gender. The family name is the name shared by the immediate family and passed down by the male descendants, but also modified by gender.

• Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (Влади́мир Влади́мирович Пу́тин) is Russia's second president.

• Vladimir is his given name.

• Vladimirovich is his patronymic. His father was also named Vladimir. If he had a sister, her patronymic would be Vladimirovna (Владимировна).

• Putin is his family name. His wife, Lyudmila Putina has the feminine version of the name, Putina.

• Maria Yuryevna Sharápova (Мари́я Ю́рьевна Шара́пова) is a famous tennis player.

• Maria is her given name.

• Yuryevna is her patronymic. Her father was named Yuri. If she had a brother, his patronymic would be Yuryevich (Юрьевич).

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How are you?

—Мария, как дела? —Неплохо.

Russian Vocabulary • Lesson 1

Как дела? How are you?

English Русский Listen Notes

How are you? Как дела́? Well ("goodly") хорошо́ · Badly пло́хо Not badly непло́хо And you? А у тебя́? X А у вас? O Thank you спаси́бо · • The three answers to "как дела" are adverbs.

• You can append "очень" (very) to the front of any adverb. Example

• Иван: Привет, Юлия. Как дела? Hello, Yuliya. How are you?

• Юлия: Очень хорошо, спасибо. А у тебя, Иван? Very well, thanks. And you, Ivan?

• Иван: Неплохо. Пока! Not bad. See you later! Go to the exercise.

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Who is this?

—Кто это? —Это Миша. Он лев. —Ясно. Очень приятно.

Russian Vocabulary • Lesson 1 Кто это? Who is this?

English Русский Listen Notes

I am.. Я.. · You are.. Ты.. X Вы.. O He is.. Он.. M She is.. Она.. F Student студе́нт · M студе́нтка F Who is.. кто · This э́то · Examples • Сергей: Доброе утро, Наташа. Как дела? Good morning, Natasha. How are you? • Наташа: Хорошо, спасибо. Кто это?

Well, thanks. Who is this? • Сергей: Это Иван. Он студент.

This is Ivan. He is a student. • Иван: Очень приятно. Вы студентка?

Nice to meet you. Are you a student? • Наташа: Да, я студентка.

Yes, I am a student. Grammar

• Russian lacks "is" and articles: Russian does not use the existence verb "быть" in the present tense, or articles such as "a", "an", or "the." Simply following "я" (I, me) with a noun suffices to say "I am a.." However, in written Russian, when the subject is a noun (not a pronoun), an em dash (—) functions as the verb. The proper sentence to say "Ivan is a student" is "Иван — студент."

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• Gender: The noun "студент" is the first instance of grammatical gender. "Студент" is used when the speaker is referring to himself or another male. "Студентка" is used when the speaker is referring to herself or another female.

Go to the exercise.

Summary

In this lesson, you have learned

• How to greet people (Привет, доброе утро). • How to introduce yourself (Меня зовут Иван). • How to introduce others (Это Сергей). • How to say how you are (Хорошо, неплохо).

Finish the exercises and translate the introductory dialogue before moving on.

Lesson 2 >>

Russian/Lesson 2

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Произноше́ние Pronunciation

Russian letters do not always sound the same. The pronunciation depends on their position in the word and on the stress of the letter. Reduced О (when not stressed) sounds like А, as in the A in about. Reduced Е (when not stressed) sounds like И, as in the E in piglet. However, this reduction is not so strong as in the case of O. If you pronounce these letters without reducing them you will be understandable, but sound strange. Voiced consonants at the end of the word become unvoiced. Таз sounds like tas, взвод sounds like vzvot. The same thing happens if a voiced consonant is followed by an unvoiced one. For example, "подско́к" sounds like patskók.

Диало́ги Dialogs

Comment: If you talk to one person and would like to make it respectful, use "Вы" and not "Tы". You need to use

"вы" with a small first letter character only if you need to talk to more than one person. You can also to the audio version of this dialog.

Здра́вствуйте, я рад (ра́да) Вас ви́деть! Zdrastvuyti, ya rat (rada) Vas vidjet Hello, I am glad to see you!

Note: ра́да(rada) is what a female speaker would say, while рад(rat) is what a male speaker would say. This means glad.

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Dobry denj, i ya tozhi Good afternoon, me too. Меня́ зовут́ Джо́ан, а Вас?

Minya zavut Joanne, ah Vas?

My name is Joanne, and yours? (Literally, "[they] call me Joanne, and [how do they call] you"). О́чень прия́тно!

Ochin' priyatna

Pleased to meet you. (Literally, "[it is] very pleasant"). А меня́ — Ма́рья Степа́новна, мо́жно про́сто Ма́ша.

A minya – Maryah Stipanavna, mozhna prosta Masha

And mine is Marya Stepanovna, one may call me just Masha. (Literally, "and [they call] me Marya Stepanovna, [one] may [call me] just Masha").

Спаси́бо, до встре́чи! Spasiba, da fstrechi

Thank you, see you again! (Literally, "thank you, till another meeting"). До свида́ния.

Da svidanya

Good bye. (Literally, "till another seeing"). ...

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Russian/Lesson 3

[1])

Appendices Appendix · Alphabet · Internet · Cheat Sheet Я студeнт.

This means "I am a student" in Russian. • "Я" means "I".

• "студе́нт", as you may remember from Lesson 1, means "student".

• Russian does not distinguish "a student" from "the student"; that is, it does not use articles ("a", "an", "the"). So the above sentence could also be translated as "I am the student."

• Russian does not use the verb to be in the present tense. Instead, a dash separates the subject of the sentence from the predicate (but the dash is not put between a pronoun and a verb).

Examples

You not student.

("You are not a student.") Ты не студeнт.

This boy – student.

("This boy is a student.") Этот мальчик

–

студeнт.

Russian has eight personal pronouns altogether:

я (I) мы (we)

ты (you, singular) вы (you, plural) он (he), она́ (she), оно́

(it)

они́ (they)

Grammar vs. vocabulary; "getting by" vs. "good Russian"

Are you learning Russian to "get by" on a one-week business trip to Moscow? Or do you want to learn "good Russian"?

To "get by" you need basic grammar, but not the byzantine grammar of "good Russian." You could treat all nouns as if they were masculine, and all verbs as if you are the person doing the action, and Russians would understand your meaning. But you should read over the many grammar rules so that you have a clue what Russians are saying. E.g., you should be able to recognize when a Russian uses the prepositional case, even if you only use the nominative case.

If you want to marry a Russian woman, learn good Russian. Russian women (and women all over the world) are impressed by men with good language skills. Note that in English the words "conjugate" (to produce the different

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forms of a verb) and "conjugal" (relating to marriage) come from the same root word (meaning "to join together"). In other words, Russian women think that a man who can say "I study, you study, he studies, she studies, we study, they study" correctly (in Russian) will make a good husband!

Another reason to learn "good Russian" is to prevent Alzheimer's. Working puzzles keeps your brain healthy. Think of Russian grammar as a set of (really complicated) puzzles.

Native speakers learn grammar as children, by listening to adults talk, and being corrected by their mothers. A child who reads a lot, and whose parents speak correctly, doesn't need to learn grammar rules. As an adult learning Russian, you'll learn best if a native Russian listens to you and corrects your mistakes. But the grammar rules will act as shortcuts, to help you learn faster.

When learning anything, some people are auditory learners, some are visual, and some are movement learners. (See "The Open Mind," by Dawna Marcova, for more about this.) But all three learning styles are needed for organizing and committing to long-term memory. You may prefer to hear spoken Russian, or see written Russian, or (for movement learners) write a Russian word and then write how it sounds in English. You may need to do an activity, such as cooking dinner, to pay attention. But all of us need to do all of these things to learn well.

Gender

You may guess correctly that the correct way to say "He is a student" in Russian is "Он студент." However, things change a bit when talking about "она". As in many Indo-European languages—including English until several hundred years ago—gender is an important feature of Russian grammar. Every noun, as well as the three third-person singular pronouns, has a characteristic gender: masculine, feminine, or neuter.

Masculine nouns end in a consonant. Remember that й is a consonant. Feminine nouns end in а or я.

Neuter nouns end in о or е.

Nouns ending in ь can be masculine or feminine. There's no rule, you just have to memorize these words.

Formal and Informal

Russians differentiate between formal and informal social relationships. Two words translate to "you": Вы (pronounced "vee" but make it short, don't draw out the vowel) is how you say "you" to a teacher, police officer, etc. Ты (pronounced "tee") is how you say "you" to a friend or family member. Russians are more formal than Americans, so if in doubt use Вы!

Вы is also "you plural" or "y'all. In other words, you address a superior person as if he or she were several people. The greeting здравствуйте (formal) and здравствуй (informal) has two forms.

The word "your" also comes in formal and informal: вас (formal) and тебя (informal).

Russian names

Russians use three names: first name, or имя; middle or patronymic name, or отчество, which is their father's first name plus a suffix meaning "son of" (ович) or "daughter of" (овна); and the last name or family name, or фамилия. Women's last names add an а to the masculine form of the name.

To address a Russian formally, don't use "Mr." or "Ms." Instead, address the person using his or her first name and patronymic.

Russians use relatively few first names. There are only a dozen or so men's first names, and maybe three dozen women's first names. Creativity in baby-naming isn't encouraged.

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Russians also use diminutives or nicknameslots! Each name typically has a version used by your best friend, another used by your other friends, another used by your teachers, another used by your grandmother, another used when you are scolded, etc.

Noun Cases

English uses word order to indicate a sentence's subject and object. E.g., "Bob eats lunch" and "Lunch eats Bob" have different meanings in English. Word order is less important in Russian. Instead, meaning is conveyed by suffixes. It would be like an eaten lunch becoming "lunchoo," so you could say "Bob eats lunchoo" or "Lunchoo eats Bob," and still make it clear that it's the lunch that is eaten (not Bob).

This would be straightforward enough if there were simple one case for the subject of a sentence, and a second case for the object of the sentence. Instead, Russian has six cases, conveying such meanings as where you are vs. where you're going, or whether the object of the sentence is animate or inanimate!

Nominative case

The primary case, used for the subject of the sentence ("Bob"), is called the nominative case. This is the case you find in dictionaries.

Accusative case

"Lunch" is the direct object of "Bob eats lunch." The direct object is used in the accusative case. Masculine and neuter nouns in the accusative case are the same as nouns in the nominative case. Feminine nouns change their а or я ending to у or ю, respectively. E.g., "car" is машина (pronounced "masheena") in nominative case, and машину (pronounced "masheenoo")in the accusative case.

Prepositional case

When a sentence contains a complement of location, the noun is in the prepositional case. In general, you add е (prounced "yeh") to end of the word. E.g., "I live in Michigan" becomes "I live in Michigane." If the word ends in й, а, or я, replace that letter with е. E.g., "She is going to Minnesota" becomes "She is going to Minnesote."

There are two exceptions to the е ending. Never write ие, instead write ии (yes, Russians pronounce both, like "ee-ee"). The other exception is foreign nouns ending in о, и, or у. These look the same as the nominative case. E.g., Colorado, Kentucky, and Peru don't change.

Nouns in the prepositional case are always preceded by "in" or "about." Each word comes in two versions. If "in" is an activity, or a place where an activity is done (for example, the ballet) use на (pronounced "na"). For other places, use в (pronounced "veh" or pronounced with the next word if it starts with a vowel, e.g., "in Atlanta" would be "vatlanta").

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Куда vs. где

Куда asks "where are [you/he/she/etc.] going?" It's pronounced "kooda," which sounds like a form of head lice. Где asks "where are [you/he/she/etc.]?" I.e., куда is moving, где is static. It's pronounced "gdye" as in "YEvropa". Statements that could answer the question куда are in the accusative case. E.g., "We're driving to St. Petersburg, Florida" would be in the accusative case, if you said it in Russian.

Statements that could answer the question где are in the prepositional case. E.g., "We live in Moscow, Idaho" would be in the prepositional case.

This is easy to remember because the vowels in Куда are у and аnouns that end in а (feminine nouns) change to у in the accusative case. The vowel in где is е, the letter you add to end nouns in the prepositional case.

Genitive case

The genitive case is used with numbers. E.g., "I have six chairs"(У меня есть шесть стульев) is plural both in English and in Russian! It's genitive case.

Genitive nouns

Masculine and neuter nouns form the genitive case the same way: add а at the end. E.g., стол (sing. table) becomes стола́, but столы́ (pl. tables) becomes столо́в. The exceptions are masculine words ending in й or ь add я. if the word ends in a vowel, drop the vowel then add a.

Feminine nouns drop the а and add ы. E.g., лампа (lamp) becomes лампы. The exceptions are if the word ends in я or ь, or for the 7-letter spelling rule, add и.

Genitive adjectives

Masculine and neuter adjectives form the genitive case the same way: change the ending to ого. This is pronounced "ovo"! The exceptions are masculine words ending in й or ь, or for the 5-letter spelling rule with the ending unstressed, change to его (pronounced "yevo").

Feminine adjectives change the ending to ой (rhymes with "boy"). The exceptions are feminine words ending in й or ь, or for the 5-letter spelling rule with the ending unstressed, change to ей (pronounced "yay").

Genitive case of possessive pronouns

Nominative Genitive Meaning мой, моё (masc., neut.) моег'о my

твой, твоё (masc., neut.) твоег'о your (informal) наш, на́ше (masc., neut.) на́шего our

ваш, ва́ше (masc., neut.) ва́шего your (formal, plural) моя́ (feminine) мое́й my

твоя́ (feminine) твое́й your (informal) на́ша (feminine) на́шей our

ва́ша (feminine) ва́шей your (formal, plural) The possessive pronouns его́, её, and их (his, hers, theirs) never change.

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Genitive case of demonstrative pronouns

Nominative Genitive Meaning тот (masc., neut.) чьего́ that 'это, 'этот, 'эти (masc., neut.) э́того this

тот (feminine) чьей that

э́та (feminine) э́той this

Genitive case of "first" and "third"

Nominative Genitive Meaning оди́н(masc., neut.) одног'о first тре́тий(masc., neut.) тре́тьего third одна́(feminine) одно́й first тре́тья(feminine) тре́тьей third

"I have something"

Genitive case is also used for saying you have something, or you don't have something. To say that you have something, start with У (means "by" or "next to"). Then change the pronoun (я, ты, вы, etc.) to the following:

Nominative Genitive Pronounciation Meaning кто у кого́ oo kogo where я у меня́ oo myehnyah I have

ты у тебя́ oo tyebyah you have (informal) он у него́ oo nyehgo he has

она у неё oo nyehyo she has

мы у нас oo nas we have

вы у вас oo vas you have (formal or plural) они у них oo neekh they have

In other words, Russians don't say "Ivan has a dacha," but rather say "By Ivan has dacha."

Dative case

Dative case is used with the indirect object of a sentence. It is, when people want "to say something to her" or "to give(to sell, to show and etc.) something to him", etc. (for example: He shows to her this beautiful picture (Он пока́зывает ей э́ту прекра́сную карти́ну). Note here the difference between the direct object from earlier and the indirect object: Ivan gives a letter (direct object, accusative case) to his sister (indirect object, dative case).

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Nominative Dative Pronounciation Meaning

кто ком'у komoo to whom

я мне mnye to me

ты теб'е tyebye to you (informal)

он ем'у yemoo to him

она ей yey to her

мы нам nam* to us

вы вам vam* to you (formal or plural)

они им eem to them

• The letter "а" in нам and вам is pronouncing as "U" in pronoun "Us".

Russian lacks "a," "the," and "to be"

Russian lacks the articles "a," "an," and "the." English uses the definite article "the" to indicate a specific place, thing, etc.: "I ate the orange" suggests there was only one orange, or it was special or something. English uses the indefinite articles "a" and "an" to indicate that the following noun is not a specific, e.g., "I ate an orange" suggests there were several oranges. Note that English uses articles only for singular nouns: "I ate oranges" (plural) lacks an article.

Russian also lacks the verb "to be," and its conjugations "am," "are," and "is."

Thus the English four-word sentence "I am a student" is just two words in Russian: "Я студент." In written Russian, when a sentence has two nouns in a row, a is written between the nouns to indicate the verb "to be." E.g., "Tanya is a student" translates to "Таня студент."

"This," "these," and "those"

Russian has the adjectives "this" and "these." To "get by" in Russian use это (pronounced "eto") for both "this" (singular) and "these" (plural). To speak "good Russian" it gets confusing. If a word is between "this" (or "these") and the noun ("This is my suitcase") then это doesn't change. But if the noun immediately follows "this" or "these" ("This suitcase is mine") then, if the noun is masculine, это changes to этот (pronounced "etot") ; if the noun is feminine then это changes to эта (pronounced "eta") ; if the noun is neuter then это doesn't change; and if the noun is plural ("these") then это changes to эти (pronounced "etee") .

Russian also has the adjective "those": те.

Plural nouns

In English we add "s" (or "es") to indicate that a noun is plural. Russian isn't so simple.

Masculine nouns ending in a "hard" consonant add ы. E.g., студент (student) becomes студенты (students). Masculine nouns ending in the "soft" consonants й or ь add и. E.g., словарь (dictionary) becomes словари (dictionaries). If you speak Russian (without writing) you can "get by" without learning this distinction, as ы and и sound similar.

Feminine nouns ending in а change the а to ы. Feminine nouns ending in я change the я to и. Thus masculine and feminine nouns follow a similar pattern for plural. Again, if you only want to speak "get by" Russian you can ignore this distinction because a and я sound similar.

Neuter nouns have a different pattern for plural. Neuter nouns ending in o change the o to a. Neuter nouns ending in e change the e to я. Thus, neuter plural nouns look like feminine singular nouns.

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Note that these rules are for plural nouns. Plural adjectives follow different rules.

The 7-letter spelling rule

Now it gets complicated. After the letters к, г, х, ш, щ, ж, and ч, always add (or change a or я to) и, not ы. E.g., книга (book) becomes книги (books).

Exceptional plurals

Some masculine nouns drop the last vowel before adding ы or и. E.g., подарок (present or gift) becomes подарки. Some masculine nouns add a for plural. E.g., дом (house) becomes дома (houses).

Words of foreign origin ending in o, и, or у don't change between singular and plural. E.g., радио means "radio" or "radios." Note that foreign nouns with these endings also don't change in prepositional case (e.g., Colorado, Kentucky, and Peru).

The personal pronouns "he," "she," and "it"

The personal pronouns are straightforward:

"He" (masculine) is он. "She" (feminine) is она. "It" (neuter) is оно. "They" (plural) is они.

Note that in English we use "he" and "she" for animate objects (people and animals) and "it" for everything else, but Russians use "he" for all masculine nouns, "she" for all feminine nouns, and "it" for all neuter nouns. Thus, a car (машина) is always "she" because машина is feminine.

"Whose?"

The English question word "whose" translates to four Russian words, depending on gender: чей (pronounced "chey") is masculine.

чья (pronounced "chyah") is feminine. чьё (pronounced "chyo") is neuter. чьи (pronounced "chyee") is plural.

If you just want to "get by," say "chee" and you'll be right about 50% of the time.

The possessive pronouns "my," "your," "our," "his," "her," and "their"

To learn to conjugate verbs as well as possessive pronouns, memorize the following order of pronouns: я (I) ты (you, informal) он/она (he/she) мы (we) вы (you, formal and plural) они (they)

In this order, in English the possessive pronouns are "my, your, his, her, our, (no formal your), their." Russian makes this complicated because four of these words change depending on whether the following noun is masculine, feminine, neuter, or plural. Three don't change.

The three possessive pronouns that don't change are "his," "her," and "their." In Russian these are его ("his"), pronounced "yehvo" (not "yehgo"); её, pronounced "yehyo" ("her yo-yo" would sound like "yeh-yo yo-yo"); and их (pronounced "eech," like the German word for "I").

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"My" is мой (masculine, pronounced "moy," which sounds vaguely like a New York Yiddish version of "my"); моя (feminine, pronounced "mo-yah"); моё (neuter, pronounced "mo-yo"), and мои (plural, pronounced "mo-ee"). "Your" (informal Ты) is твой (masculine, pronounced "tvoy"); твоя (feminine, pronounced "tvo-yah"); твоё (neuter, pronounced "tvo-yo"), and твои (plural, pronounced "tvo-ee").

"Our" (Мы) is наш (masculine, pronounced "nash," not like "Nashville" but rhymes with "wash"); наша (feminine, pronounced "nasha"); наше (neuter, pronounced "nashyeh"), and наши (plural, pronounced "nashee").

"Your" (formal Вы) is ваш (masculine, pronounced "vash", rhymes with "wash"); ваша (feminine, pronounced "vasha"); ваше (neuter, pronounced "vash-yeh"), and ваши (plural, pronounced "vashee"). A memory aid is "your car is a washing machine." Picture opening the hood of a car and finding a washing machine where the engine should be. "Your car" is ваша машина (sounds like "washing machine").

Adjective endings (nominative case)

Russian adjectives agree with their nouns in gender, number, and case. Here we will learn the adjective endings for gender and number (singular vs. plural). (Cases will be later.)

The dictionary form of adjectives end in ый (pronounced "ee"). This is the ending with masculine nouns. E.g., "new pencil" is новый карандаш (pronounced "no-vee karandash").

With feminine nouns, the adjective ends in ая. E.g., "new car" is новая машина (pronounced "no-vah-yah masheena").

With neuter nouns, the adjective ends in ое. E.g., "new dress" is новое платье (pronounced "no-vo-yeh plat-yeh"). As a memory aid, think of "oh yeah."

With plural nouns, the adjective ends in ые. E.g., "new students" is новые студенты (pronounced "no-vih-yeh studentih"). As a memory aid, think of plural as one masculine and one neuter object. Take the first letter from the masculine ending (ы) and the second letter from the neuter ending (е) and you get ые.

Adjectives with "soft endings" (й or ь) have the same second letter in their' endings, but the first letter of the endings change. The masculine ending ый becomes ий, the feminine ending ая becomes яя, the neuter ending ое becomes ее (like the "yeah-yeah" chorus of 1965 Beatles songs), and the plural ending ые becomes ие (maintaining the memory aid that you take a masculine object and a neuter object to get two objects).

5- and 7-letter spelling rules

Recall that with plurals, after the letters г, ж, к, х, ч, ш, and щ, you use и, not ы. This 7-letter spelling rule also applies to adjectives. As a memory aid, ч, ш, and щ are together in the alphabet.

The 5-letter spelling rule is that after the letters ж, ц, ч, ш, and щ, don't write an unstressed o, but instead write e. As a memory aid, ц, ч, ш, and щ are together in the alphabet.

"What?" and "which?"

Что (pronounced "shto," not "chto") and какой (pronounced "kokoy") both mean "what." As a loose rule, какой means "which." The correct rule is that if a noun follows "what," use какой. If no noun follows "what," use что. As a memory aid, the following noun's gender and number change какой. Какой precedes masculine nouns, какая precedes feminine nouns, какое precedes neuter nouns, and какие precedes plural nouns. Because что is never followed by a noun, it never changes form.

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Showing Ownership

In English, "my" and "I have" are different, just as "your" and "you have" are different. Russian makes a similar distinctionbut it's more complicated.

First, the pronoun is in the genitive case (меня, тебя etc.), which indicates possession/ownership. The preposition used with the genitive pronouns to indicate ownership is У (pronounced "oo"), meaning roughly "with".

The forms are as follows:

"I have": У меня (pronounced "oo meen-yah", meaning roughly "with me")

"You have" (informal): У тебя (pronounced "oo teeb-yah", meaning roughly "with you") "You have" (formal): у вас (pronounced "oo vas")

"He has": у его (pronounced "oo ye-vo", meaning "with him") "She has": у ее (pronounced "oo ye-yo", meaning "with her") "We have": у нас (pronounced "oo nas", meaning "with us") "They have": у их (pronounced "oo eech", meaning "with them")

Thus the question "У тебя карандаш?" when interpreted rather literally, means "With you is a pencil?" It is easy to see how this can be correctly interpreted as "Do you have a pencil (with you)?" or even just "Do you own a pencil?" These three phrases are sometimes followed by есть (pronounced "yehst", meaning "is"). Есть questions the existance of something, e.g., У вас есть синий костюм? ("Do you have a blue suit?").

Verb conjugation, present tense

In English we say, "I study," "you study," "he studies," "she studies," "we study," "they study." Note that some pronouns use "study," while other pronouns use "studies." "Verb conjugation" is how verbs change with pronouns. English has simple two-form verb conjugation for the present tense.

Russian verbs conjugate in six forms, for "I", "you (singular and informal)", "he" and "she", "we", "you (plural and formal singular)" and "they". In addition, Russian verbs conjugate in either of two ways. In other words, some verbs are first conjugation, when others are second conjugation.

All verbs have an infinitive form, which is listed in dictionaries. Typically this form ends in ть.

First-conjugation verbs usually end in ать. These verbs conjugate by dropping the ть and replacing it with the following endings:

я "I" ю or у чит'аю ("read," pronounced "cheet-a-you") жив'у ("live," pronounced "zheevoo") ты "you" (informal) ешь or

ёшь

чит'аешь ("read," pronounced "cheet-a-yesh") живёшь ("live," pronounced "zheevyosh")

он/она "he," "she" ет or ёт чит'ает ("reads," pronounced "cheet-a-yet") живёт ("live," pronounced "zheevyot") мы "we" ем or ём чит'аем ("read," pronounced "cheet-a-yem") живём ("live," pronounced "zheevyom") вы "you" (formal) ете or ёте чит'аете ("read," pronounced

"cheet-a-yehta")

живёте ("live," pronounced "zheevyota")

они "they" ют or ут чит'ают ("read," pronounced "cheet-a-yout") жив'ут ("live," pronounced "zheevoot")

Second-conjugation verbs usually end in ить. These verbs conjugate by dropping the ть and replacing it with the following endings:

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я "I" ю говор'ю ("talk," pronounced "govor-you") ты "you" (informal) ишь говор'ишь ("talk," pronounced "govor-eesh") он/она "he," "she" ит говор'ит ("talks," pronounced "govor-eet") мы "we" им говор'им ("talk," pronounced "govor-eem") вы "you" (formal) ите говор'ите ("talk," pronounced "govor-eetyeh") они "they" ят говор'ят ("talk," pronounced "govor-yat")

Verb conjugation, past tense

Past tense verbs are somewhat simpler. They conjugate with the gender (or number) of the pronoun. Thus, "I understood" changes depending on whether the speaker is a man or a woman. But the verb is the same for "he understood" or for "I understood," where the speaker is a man. "We understood" and "they understood" are the same. To form a past tense verb, drop the ть and add л (pronounced "l") for masculine pronouns ("I," "you," "he"), ла (pronounced "la") for feminine pronouns ("I," "you," "she"), and ли (pronounced "lee") for plural pronouns (мы, они, "we," "they"). (Neuter subjects can't talk.)

Masculine pronoun "л" понимал ("understood," pronounced "poneemal") Feminine pronoun "ла" понимала ("understood," pronounced "poneemala") Plural pronoun "ли" понимали ("understood," pronounced

"poneemalee")

Verb conjugation, future tense

Russian future tense is incredibly more complex in meaning than English future tense. Russian future tense also contains information pertaining to the [aspect[1]] of the verb.

Imperfective Aspect

The simplest, and imperfective aspect of a verb can be attained by the use of the verb "будь." By placing the correct form of "будь," in front of a Russian infinitive, you can create a verb in imperfective future tense.

будь roughly means "will"

я бу́ду мы бу́дем ты бу́дешь вы бу́дете он/она́/оно́ бу́дет они́ бу́дут Can you decipher these?

• Я буду играть. • Ты будешь говорить.

As an FYI, the imperfective aspect in Russian refers to a habitual action that we would not go out of our way to delineate. While "Я играю в игру" (I am playing the game) shows current action in a way not unlike Еnglish, "Я играла в игру" (I played-feminine the game) relates a habitual action to the playing of the game in the past. English leaves this ambiguous.

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Prepositional case adjectives

Recall that the prepositional case is used when the object of a sentence is a location. Earlier you learned how to modify nouns (usually by adding е).

Russian adjectives must agree with their following noun in gender, number, and case.

With a masculine noun in the prepositional case, a preceding adjective usually ends in ом. The ending is ем for the 5-letter spelling rule, and for soft-ending (й or ь) adjectives.

With a feminine noun in the prepositional case, a preceding adjective usually ends in ой (pronounced "oy"). The ending is ей (pronounced ("yee") for the 5-letter spelling rule, and for soft-ending (й or ь) adjectives.

Prepositional case plural adjectives and nouns

With a plural noun in the prepositional case, a preceding adjective usually ends in ых (pronounced "ach"). The ending is их (pronounced ("yach") for the 7-letter spelling rule, and for soft-ending (й or ь) adjectives.

Plural nouns in the prepositional case usually end in ах (pronounced "ach"). The ending is ях (pronounced ("yach") for soft-ending (й or ь) nouns.

Prepositional case personal pronouns

The personal pronouns change (considerably!) in the prepositional case. Я ("I") becomes обо мне (pronounced "obo mnyeh").

Ты ("you" informal) becomes о тебе (pronounced "o tyehbyeh"). Он ("he") becomes о нём (pronounced "o nyom").

Она ("she") becomes о ней (pronounced "o nyee"). Мы ("we") becomes о нас (pronounced "o nas"). Вы ("you" formal) becomes о вас (pronounced "o vas"). Они ("they") becomes о них (pronounced "o neech").

Prepositional case possessive pronouns

If the object possessed is masculine or neuter, use the following possessive pronouns: моём ("my"), твоём ("your" informal), нашем ("our'), вашем ("your" formal), чьём ("whose?"), этом ("this").

If the object possessed is feminine, use the following possessive pronouns: моей ("my"), твоей ("your" informal), нашей ("our'), вашей ("your" formal), чьей ("whose?"), этой ("this").

If the objects possessed are plural, use the following possessive pronouns: моих ("my"), твоих ("your" informal), наших ("our'), ваших ("your" formal), чьих ("whose?"), этих ("this").

(Russian schools teach all that to second-graders! Now you understand why Ronald Reagan called the Soviet Union the "evil empire"!)

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Prepositional case question words

Some question words change in the prepositional case. Что ("what," pronounced "shto") changes to о чём (pronounced "o chyom"). Кто ("who," pronounced "kto") changes to о ком.

Conjunctions: "and," "yes but," and "but"

Let's do something simpler.

И (pronounced "ee") means "and." А (pronounced "ah") means "yes, but." Но (pronounced "no") means "but."

Reflexive verbs

In English we add "self" to a pronoun to indicate reflexive action. E.g., "I wash myself" is different from "I wash my dog." In Russian, reflexive action is in the verb, not in the pronoun. E.g., a Russian would say something like "I washself."

This reflexive action is indicated by the suffix ся added to the verb, if the verb ends in a consonant. But if the verb ends in a vowel you instead add сь. Note that the former adds a syllable but the latter doesn't!

The verb учиться means "study" (pronounced "oo-cheet-syah"). The verb conjugates:

я "I" учусь (pronounced "oochoos") ты "you" (informal) учишься (pronounced "oocheesh-syah") он/она "he," "she" учится (pronounced "oocheet-syah") мы "we" учимся (pronounced "oocheem-syah") вы "you" (formal) учитесь (pronounced "oocheetyes") они "they" учатся (pronounced "oochat-syah")

Three words for "study"

Russia has three words that translate to "study." (You can imagine that Russians must study three times harder than Americans to learn language skills!)

Учиться (pronounced "oo-cheet-syah") usually refers to where you go to school, e.g., "I go to Harvard University." As a memory aid, picture that Russians students cheat.

Изучать (pronounced "ee-zoo-chat") usually refers to the subject you study, e.g., "I study physics." As a memory aid, think that the zoo is where you study subjects such as monkeys, elephants, etc.

заниматься (pronounced "zan-ee-mat-syah") usually refers to doing homework, e.g., "I'm studying at the library." As a memory aid, think that your "zany mother makes you do your homework."

There is also a fourth verb, готовиться (perf. подготовиться), which means to study for something, e.g. an exam. This is used with the preposition к + dative case. Например: Я готовлюсь к экзамену по русскому языку.

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Two words for "also"

Russian has two words that translate to "also."

Тоже (pronounced "to-zheh") means that two people are doing the same thing (e.g., "I'm a student and my sister is also a student").

Также (pronounced "takzhe") means that one person does two different things (e.g., "I'm a student and I also work part-time").

As a memory aid, picture that Emperor Tojo of Japan is also the emperor of Russia. He has a reclusive brother Takzhe who only does things by himself.

Going by foot, by car, and going regularly

Russian has three words that translate to "going."

Идти (pronounced "eed-tee") means to go by foot. As a memory aid, think the conjugation он идёт ("he walks," pronounced "on eed-dyot") which sounds like "he's an idiot to walk (with the traffic so dangerous)."

ехать (pronounced "ee-hot") means to go by car, bus, etc. Note that conjugations are еду, едешь, едет, едем, едете, едутnone have the х!

ходить (pronounced "hod-deet") means to go back and forth habitually, e.g., "I go to school every day." As a memory aid, think of hod carriers going back and forth up and down ladders (a hod carrier carries morter to a bricklayer).

Neccessity and freedom

"I have to" translates to я должен (pronounced "dol-zhen," sort of like "dolphin")if the subject is masculine! If the subject is feminine, it's должна. If the subject is neuter, it's должно. If the subject is plural, it's должны.

Remember that "have to" is an adjective, not a verb! Don't try to conjugate it as a verb.

The opposite of "have to" is freedom. E.g., "I'm free this evening" means there's nothing you have to do. The adjectives are свободен (masculine, pronounced "sva-bod-den"), свободна (feminine, pronounced "sva-bod-na"), свободно (neuter, pronounced "sva-bod-no") and свободны (plural, pronounced "sva-bod-nih").

Note that вы ("you" formal, and "y'all") uses the plural forms, regardless of the gender of the person you're addressing.

Note that кто ("who") uses the masculine form, regardless of the gender of the person you're asking about

Lesson 4 >>

References

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Russian/Lesson 4

[1])

Russian Mental Picture Dictionary

These memory aids aren't true! They're nonsense made up to help you remember the meanings of Russian words.

Russian word

Part of speech English meaning

Pronunciation

А

А Yes but… Ah

Авиа noun Air Aveea

Avia aerobics shoes have air soles.

Авиабилет noun Airplane ticket Aveea beelyet

Автор noun Author Avtor

A cognate (same word in Russian and English).

Актер noun Actor Aktyehr

Алфавит noun Alphabet Alfaveet

Америка noun America Amyehreeka

Американец noun American man Amyehreekanyets

American men are nuts.

Американка noun American woman Amyehreekanka

When a Russian girl names Anya misbehaves, her mother calls her "Anka."

Англия noun England Angleeya

Английский noun English (language) Angleeskee

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Англичанин noun Englishman Angleechaneen

"Channing" is one of those names that only an Englishman would name his son. An eccentric English angler (fisherman) named his son "Angle Channing."

Англичанка noun Englishwoman Angleechanka

Анкета noun Questionnaire Ankyehta

Russian questionnaires come with an answer kit.

Б

Балерина noun Ballerina Ballyehreena

A cognate (same word in Russian and English)

Банан noun Banana Banan

Банджо noun Banjo Bandzho

белый adjective White Byehlee

Билет noun Ticket Beelyeht

A billet is a short letter or ticket ordering a private home to provide lodging and food to a soldier.

Бизнесмен noun Businessman Beezneesmyehn

Бизнесменка noun Businesswoman Beezneesmyehnka

Блузка noun Blouse Bloozka

Ботинки noun (plural) Men's shoes Boteenkee

Russian men remember their moms calling their cute little boots "booteenkees."

Брюки noun (plural) Pants Bryoukee

Britches.

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В, Во In Veh, Vo "Во" is used for words beginning with two consonants if the first consonant is В or Ф.

Варежки noun (plural) Mittens Varyehzhkee

Russian mittens make you sing far off key.

Вы pronoun You (formal or plural) Vee

Ваша Your (formal or plural,

feminine)

Vasha

Ваша машина means "your car" is a washing machine. Think of a car with a washing machine where the engine should be.

Введение Introduction Vvehdyehneeyeh

Don't confuse with До свидания (good-bye, dos veedaneeyah).

Велосипед noun Bicycle Veloseepyehd

A cognate (same word in Russian and French).

Версия noun Version Verseeyah

Виза noun Visa Veeza

Волосы noun Hair Volosih

Russians like big shiny hair, so they use shampoo that gives volume and polish.

Вот Here, here is Vot

Show something to someone.

Всё All, everything, that's all Vsyo

That's all, the show's over.

Г

Галстук noun Necktie Galstook

Газета noun Newspaper Gazyehta

Don't confuse with журнал (magazine, zhoornal). A person who writes a newspapers and a person who writes a magazine are both a журналист (zhoornalist). In other words, "journalist" is a more prestigious job title because magazines are more prestigious, so newspaper writers want to be called "journalist" even though they should be called a "gazettist."

Где Where G'dyeh

Australians are always late. The Australian greeting "G'day" doesn't mean "Good day," it means "Where were you?"

Гитара noun Guitar Geetara

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In A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess changed this to "gulliver," as in Gulliver's Travels, as in "we kicked him in the gulliver." Think of a picture of Gulliver tied down by the Lilliputians, with the little people dancing around his head.

Голос noun Voice Golloss

Russians have glossy voices. That's why they can make those sliding R's.

Город noun City Gorod

Novgorod is a city between Moscow and St. Petersburg. It means "new city."

Грамматика noun Grammar Grammateeka

Грязь noun Dirt Gryahz

Grass grows in dirt.

Грязный adjective Dirty Gryahznee

Д

Да Yes Da

Давайте Let's Davaytyeh

It's divine to do this together!

Декларация noun Declaration Deklaratseeyah A cognate (same word in Russian and English).

Для For Dlyah

Ask the dealer for anything you want.

Джинсы noun Jeans Jeensih

Диалог noun Dialogue Deealog

Дипломат noun Diplomat Deeplomat

Доброе утро Good morning Dobroyeh utro

Добрый день Good afternoon Dobreey dyehn

Добрый вечер Good evening Dobreey

vyehchyehr "Dobry den" is Russian for "hello."

Note that "good morning" rhymes, ending in o's. The other "good's" end in "ee."

Документ noun Document Dokoomyehnt

Russian

Russian

Articles

References

Article Licenses

Russian

Learning the Russian Language, for English Speakers

Содержа́ние (Contents)

Russian/Contents

Содержа́ние (Contents)

Гла́вы (Chapters)

Грамма́тика (Grammar)

Приложе́ние (Аppendix)

Слова́рь (Vocabulary)

References

Russian/Alphabet

Russian alphabet

Basic pronunciation rules

Pronunciation mnemonics

See also

Russian/Typing

Stuck in a lab/cafe/library?

Ubuntu 9.04

KDE

Mac OS X

Windows

XFree86

X.Org

References

Russian/Lesson 1

Dialogue

Hello!

Formal and Informal

What's your name?

Russian names

How are you?

Who is this?

Summary

Lesson 2 >>

Russian/Lesson 2

Произноше́ние Pronunciation

Диало́ги Dialogs

Russian/Lesson 3

Grammar vs. vocabulary; "getting by" vs. "good Russian"

Gender

Formal and Informal

Russian names

Noun Cases

Nominative case

Accusative case

Prepositional case

Genitive case

Dative case

Russian lacks "a," "the," and "to be"

"This," "these," and "those"

Plural nouns

The 7-letter spelling rule

Exceptional plurals

The personal pronouns "he," "she," and "it"

"Whose?"

The possessive pronouns "my," "your," "our," "his," "her," and "their"

Adjective endings (nominative case)

5- and 7-letter spelling rules

"What?" and "which?"

Showing Ownership

Verb conjugation, present tense

Verb conjugation, past tense

Verb conjugation, future tense

Prepositional case adjectives

Prepositional case plural adjectives and nouns

Prepositional case personal pronouns

Prepositional case possessive pronouns

Prepositional case question words

Conjunctions: "and," "yes but," and "but"

Reflexive verbs

Three words for "study"

Two words for "also"

Going by foot, by car, and going regularly

Neccessity and freedom

References