Russian/Print version

RUSSIAN

РУССКИЙ
Learning the Russian Language, for English Speakers

Main Contents

• Introduction
• Lesson 1
• Lesson 2
• Lesson 3
• Lesson 4
• Lesson 5
• Grammar
• Vocabulary
• Names
• Useful Words and Expressions
• Numbers
• Declensions
• Adjectives
• Conjugations
• Prepositions
• Verbal Aspect
• Interrogative Pronouns
• Personal Pronouns
• Possessive Pronouns
• Appendix
• Alphabet
• Internet Resources

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Introduction

The Russian Wikibook is designed to present lesson material through intellectually conducive methods. The lessons are designed to give maximum immersion, and will only provide Cyrillic text. It might be frustrating initially, but learning the alphabet quickly is the first step to facilitating quicker progress.

Церковь Ильи-пророка, Elijiah Church

The lessons aim to provide the student with a good knowledge of reading and writing. As with any language, to learn Russian it is best to find a language partner: a native speaker who is patient and willing to help correct your mistakes. A book can only take even the most self-motivated student so far. This book is highly integrated with Wiktionary and Wikipedia, giving a stronger foundation in vocabulary and culture. It is highly suggested to read the Wikipedia articles about Russia, Russian language, and Cyrillic alphabet.

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Alphabet >>

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Lesson 1

Герб России

Lesson 1 — Как тебя зовут?

Кремль

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The Kremlin, which is known to be headquarters of Russian authorities.

Dialogue

Read an introductory dialogue between a boy, Sasha, and a girl, Katya. You can read the lines using pronunciation respelling key.

Line	Respelling
Са́ша: Приве́т! Меня́ зову́т Са́ша. Как тебя́ зову́т?	SA-sha: preev-YET! men-YA za-VOOT SA-sha. kak tye-BYA za-VOOT?
Ка́тя: Приве́т, Са́ша. Меня́ зову́т Ка́тя. Как дела́?	KAT-ya: preev-YET, SA-sha. men-YA za-VOOT KAT-ya. kak dye-LA?
Са́ша: Хорошо́. А у тебя́?	kha-ra-SHO. a oo teb-YA?
Ка́тя: О́чень хорошо́.	O-chen kha-ra-SHO
Са́ша: Я студе́нт. А ты студе́нтка?	ya stoo-DYENT. a ti stoo-DYENT-ka?
Ка́тя: Да, я студе́нтка.	da, ya stoo-DYENT-ka
Са́ша: Ну, пока́!	noo, po-KA

Notes

• Приве́т! is an informal greeting, loosely translated as 'Hi!' or 'Hey!'. The more formal meeting is здра́вствуйте (ZDRAV-stvooy-tye)
• Меня́ зову́т... literally means 'Me they call...' or 'They call me...', and is the Russian way of saying 'My name is...'. Similarly, как тебя́ зову́т? literally means 'How you they call?', or 'How do they call you?', and is how Russians ask 'What's your name?'.
• Как дела́? literally means 'How (are) things?' (the word 'are' is omitted in Russian). А у тебя́? means 'And by you?'.
• Хорошо́ is a general catch-all word that means 'good', 'fine', 'OK', etc.
• Студент and студентка both mean 'student', but the former is for males and the latter is for females. Feminine words often end in a -а or a -я, while masculine words often end in a consonant. See the page on gender for more details.
• Russians often omit the copula, i.e., words like 'is', 'are', 'am' - any present tense form of the verb 'to be'. They also omit articles, which in English are 'a', 'an', and 'the'. Thus, 'I am a student' becomes Я студент / Я студентка.
• Ну is an interjection, a filler word that corresponds to the English 'well'.

Translation (test yourself)

Hello!

Здравствуйте!

Russian Vocabulary • Print version 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). Adults always use "ты" when talking to a child. In the vocabulary tables "Notes" column, the "X" denotes an exclusively informal term, and the "O" indicates an exclusively formal term.

Example

• Доброе утро, студенты!

  Good morning, students!

• До свидания, профессор.

  Good bye, professor.

• Катя, пока!

  Katya, bye!

What's your name?

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

Russian Vocabulary • Print version 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."

Example

• 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 both plural and formal.

• 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 Арманд 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 former 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).
  • Sharapova is her family name. Her father's family name is Sharapov.

How are you?

— Мария, как дела?
— Неплохо.

Russian Vocabulary • Print version Как дела? How are you?
English	Русский	Listen	Notes
How are you?	Как дела́?
Well ("good")	хорошо́	·
Bad	пло́хо
Not bad	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

Who is this?

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

Russian Vocabulary • Print version 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	·

Example

• 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." The verb "быть" does have a present tense, but it is considered archaic and old fashioned in standard Russian, albeit still used regularly in most dialects. 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."
• 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.

External links

• Russian for Beginners (free online course) Learning method based on dialogues and audio.

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Lesson 2 >>

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Lesson 2

Произноше́ние - Pronunciation

Usually, Russian is pronounced as you see it. However, there are some exceptions, usually changes in the pronunciation of vowels based on where they are in relation to the stressed syllable.

O sounds like the 'o' in 'rogue' (i.e., 'oh') when it is stressed. An o that is just before the stress is pronounced like the 'a' in far (i.e., 'ah'). Otherwise, it's pronounced like the 'a' in 'about' (i.e., 'uh'). So, the word хорошо́ is pronounced: /xərɐˈʂo/.

E is pronounced 'ye', as in 'yes', when stressed. When it's not stressed, e sounds like и, as in the 'e' in 'piglet'.

If you pronounce these letters without reducing them you will be understandable, but will sound strange.

Voiced consonants at the end of the word become unvoiced. So, таз sounds like 'tas', взвод sounds like 'vzvot', etc. The same thing happens if a voiced consonant is followed by an unvoiced one. For example, подско́к sounds like 'patskók', and водка sounds like 'votka'.

Диало́г - Dialogue

Unlike modern English, Russian has two words for 'you': ты and вы. You use вы when the person you're talking to is someone you don't know, someone you want to show respect to (such as a teacher or elder), or a group of people. In this sense, it is both a more polite form of ты, and a plural form. So you would only use ты to talk to a single person who you know well. In written Russian, a capitalised Вы is used when being respectful, while the lower-case вы is used when talking to many people.
You can also listen to the audio version of this dialogue.

Здра́вствуйте, я рад/ра́да Вас ви́деть!

Zdrastvuyti, ya rat/rada Vas vidjet

Hello, I am glad to see you!

Note: The Russian for 'glad' is рад ('rat') when spoken by a male, or ра́да (rada) when spoken by a female

До́брый день, и я то́же.

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?

Note: This literally means "Me (they) call Joanne, and you?", or "They call me Joanne, and you?" and is the Russian construction of asking someone's name.

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 prosto 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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Lesson 3 >>

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Lesson 3

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, learn good Russian. Russians (and people all over the world) are impressed by good language skills. Note that in English the words "conjugate" (to produce the different forms of a verb) and "conjugal" (relating to marriage) come from the same root word (meaning "to join together"). In other words, Russians think that someone who can say "I study, you study, he studies, she studies, we study, they study" correctly (in Russian) will make a good spouse!

Native speakers learn grammar as children, by listening to adults talk, and being corrected by their peers. 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. Nouns ending in ь that describe abstract concepts are generally feminine, but otherwise there's no rule; you just have to memorize these words.

quiz

Она Арти́стка

	masculine
	feminine
	neuter

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 "you 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: ваш (formal) and твой (informal).

quiz

1 Привет ! Меня зовут Андрей. А тебя?

	formal
	informal

2 Здравствуйте! Меня зовут Петр, а Вас?

	formal
	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.

Russians also use diminutives or nicknames. 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 simply 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. Inanimate 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 (pronounced "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 works in Minnesota" becomes "She works in 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 Atlante" would be "vatlante").

"About" is о, or, if the following word starts with a vowel, об. There are several cases when "about" is обо, e.g. обо мне.

Куда vs. где

Куда asks "where (whither) are [you/he/she/etc.] going?" It's pronounced "koodá.".

Где asks "where are [you/he/she/etc.]?" I.e., куда is moving, где is static. It's pronounced "gdye," with the d palatalized.

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 а—nouns 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 to show possession, negation, and quantity such as 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.)	моего́	my
твой, твоё (masc., neut.)	твоего́	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.

Genitive case of demonstrative pronouns

Nominative	Genitive	Meaning
тот, то (masc., neut.)	того́	that
э́то, э́тот (masc., neut.)	э́того	this
та (feminine)	той	that
э́та (feminine)	э́той	this
те (plural)	тех	those
э́ти (plural)	э́тих	these

Genitive case of "one" and "third"

Nominative	Genitive	Meaning
оди́н, одно́ (masc., neut.)	одного́	one
тре́тий, тре́тье (masc., neut.)	тре́тьего	third
одна́ (feminine)	одно́й	one
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	Pronunciation	Meaning
кто	у кого́	oo kovo	who
я	у меня́	oo myehnyah	I have
ты	у тебя́	oo tyebyah	you have (informal)
он	у него́	oo nyehvo	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 many cases, the genitive ого́ ending is irregularly pronounced ovo.

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

"No something"

In Russian, you use genitive instead of nominative with negative word нет n'et "no" when you want to say that there isn't something or one does not have something. If there is none of it, it can't be the subject, right?

Positive	Negative
В городе есть аэропорт. vgorradi yest' aihruhporrt In (the) city there is an airport.	В городе нет аэропорта. vgorradi n'et aihruhporrta In (the) city there is no airport.
У меня есть кошка. oo mehn'ah yest' koshka I have a cat.	У меня нет кошки. oo mehn'ah n'et koshki I have no cat.

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; also depending on the vowel. If it is silent or not. But that rarely happens in modern Russian)

Nominative	Dative	Pronunciation	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

Dative case quiz

Dative case quiz

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.

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 — студентка."

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

Russian has the adjectives "this" and "these." To "get by" in Russian use это (pronounced "eta") 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. This follows the conjugation for 'that', implying that the noun is in a remote location (not here). Masculine is тот, Feminine is та, Neuter is то, and Plural is те.

this these and those quiz

This these and those quiz

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. This is not always the case. Sometimes а is replaced by и e.g. груша → груши. 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. This is not always the case. Sometimes o is replaced by и e.g. яблоко → яблоки. Neuter nouns ending in e change the e to я. Thus, neuter plural nouns look like feminine singular nouns.

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").

The four possessive pronouns that change are "my," "your" (informal and formal), and "our."

"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 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 does not modify nouns, it does not change according to gender.

If you just want to "get by," always use что for "what."

Showing Ownership

In English, "my" and "I have" are different, just as "your" and "you have" are different. Russian makes a similar distinction—but 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 него (pronounced "oo nee-go", meaning "with him")

"She has": у неё (pronounced "oo nee-yo", meaning "with her")

"We have": у нас (pronounced "oo nas", meaning "with us")

"They have": у них (pronounced "oo neech", meaning "with them")

Thus the question "У тебя есть 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 existence 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 something other than -ить (e.g. 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:

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 of the verb.

Imperfective Aspect

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

Form будь is imperative of to be, but in this case it 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 English, "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.

Perfective aspect For perfective aspect verbs, just use the table above for present tense endings, and you will get future tense (do you remember that perfective verbs have no present tense?) E.g. заиграть 'to begin playing' - я заиграю 'I shall begin to play'.

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 "eeh"). The ending is их (pronounced ("ih") 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"!)

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 prepare yourself, in this case 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.

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 "takzheh") 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 Takzhye 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, едут—none 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).

Necessity 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

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Lesson 4 >>

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Lesson 4

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).
Актёр	noun	Actor	Aktyehr
A cognate (same word in Russian and English).
Алфавит	noun	Alphabet	Alfaveet
A cognate (same word in Russian and English).
Америка	noun	America	Amyehreeka
A cognate (same word in Russian and English).
Американец	noun	American man	Amyehreekanyets
American men are nuts.
Американка	noun	American woman	Amyehreekanka
When a Russian girl named Anya misbehaves, her mother calls her "Anka."
Англия	noun	England	Angleeya
Английский	noun	English (language)	Angleeskee
English people use angled skis. That's why they're such bad skiers.
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
A cognate (same word in Russian and English).
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
A cognate (same word in Russian and English).
Блузка	noun	Blouse	Bloozka
A cognate (same word in Russian and English).
Ботинки	noun (plural)	Men's shoes	Boteenkee
Russian men remember their moms calling their cute little boots "booteenkees."
Брюки	noun (plural)	Pants	Bryoukee
Britches.

В

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
A cognate (same word in Russian and English).
Виза	noun	Visa	Veeza
A cognate (same word in Russian and English).
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
A cognate (same word in Russian and English).
Голова	noun	Head	Gollova
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
A cognate (same word in Russian and English).
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
A cognate (same word in Russian and English).
Диалог	noun	Dialogue	Deealog
A cognate (same word in Russian and English).
Дипломат	noun	Diplomat	Deeplomat
A cognate (same word in Russian and English).
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
A cognate (same word in Russian and English).
Дом	noun	House	Dom
Дома	adverb	At home	Doma
До свидaния		Good-bye	Do sveedahneeyah
"Sweet on ya"
Драма	noun	Drama	Dramah
A cognate (same word in Russian and English).

Е

Есть	verb	To eat; is; there is, there are	Yehst
That eat and is are homonyms suggests that "to be" and "to eat" are the same to a Russian. Or perhaps "you are what you eat"?
Ещё		Still; yet; else; also; more; another	Yehschyo
Ешё looks like "ewe." Picture a female sheep, standing still. Also picture another female sheep. And picture more female sheep—a whole flock of ewes.

Ж

Жаба	noun	Toad (Bufo sp.)	Zhaba
Жена	noun	Wife	Zhena
Женщина	noun	Woman	Zhensheena
Russian women use hair color that gives them sheen. Also note that жен and жить are the start of many words about women and living, so think of Old World gender roles where a woman's place was in the home.
Живой	adjective	Alive, lively, active	zheevoi
Picture a lively boy, who lives in cottage in the French countryside.
Жить	verb	Live (e.g. where you live)	Zheet
A cognate with the French word "gîte," pronounced "zheet," which is a country cottage you rent by the week. When asking where a Russian lives, picture that he or she rents a cottage in the French countryside. Remember that Жить conjugates by changing the т to в, then the next vowel is ё: я живу, ты живёшь, он/она живёт, мы живём, вы живёте, они живут.
Жук	noun	Bug, beetle	Zhook
Журнал	noun	Magazine	Zhoornal
Cognate with "journal." Don't confuse with Газета (newspaper).

З

Задание	noun	Task, assignment	Zadaneeyeh
"Is it done yet?"
Запись	noun	Recording	Zapees
Здесь		Here	Zdyes
Здравствуйте		Greetings (formal)	Zdrastvooytye
Здравствуй		Greetings (informal)	Zdrastvooy
Значит	particle	So, then	Znacheet
Значить	v.impfv.	To mean, signify	Znacheet
"So" and "meaning" are homonyms.
зовут	noun	Name	Zovoot
Зуб	noun	Tooth	Zoob

И

И		And	Ee
Игра	noun	Game, acting	Eegra
Имя	noun	First name	Eemyah
Институт	noun	Institute	Eensteetoot
A cognate (same word in Russian and English).

Л

лесной	adjective	Forest	Lesnoy
Russians walk silently in forests. They make less noise than Americans.

С

Стол	noun	Table	Stol
(Russian chairs are Стул, stool)
Скрипка	noun	Violin	Scripka
When Russians play violin it screeps or screeches.

Т

Твой		Your (informal)	Tvoy
Товарищ	n.	Comrade	Tovarishch

---

Lesson 5

Словарь (Vocabulary)

слова́рь - vocabulary; dictionary :

текст - text

э́то - this; this is / these are

он - he

Ва́ся Петро́в - Vasya Petrov (short for Васи́лий - Vasily)

ру́сский - Russian (male) (noun and adjective)

живёт - lives; жить to live

Москва́ - (Moskva) Moscow

ему́ - to him (dative case)

ему 12 (двенадцать) лет - he is 12 years old

лет - years (genitive plural); год - year

у́чится - (he, she) studies; учи́ться to study

шко́ла - school

в - in, at

в шко́ле - at school (prepositional case)

в шко́лу - to school (accusative case)

хоте́ть - to want, хо́чет - wants

стать - to become (+ instrumental case)

лётчик - pilot, flyer

хорошо́ - well

есть - is, have

па́па - dad, оте́ц - father

ма́ма - mum, мать - mother

ста́рший - elder, older

сестра́ - sister

мла́дший - younger

брат - brother

Ви́тя - Vitya (short for Ви́ктор - Victor)

Ле́на - Lena (short for Еле́на - Yelena)

их - their, theirs

дом - house

недалеко́ - not far, near

от - from

ходи́ть - to walk, to go, хо́дит - walks, goes

пешко́м - on foot

люби́ть - love, like, лю́бит - loves, likes

игра́ть - to play

футбо́л - football, soccer

ры́ба - fish

лови́ть ры́бу - to fish, (literally: to catch fish)

мно́го - many, much, a lot (of) (+ genitive)

друг - friend, друзья friends

Ва́син (m), Ва́сина (f) - Vasya's

программи́ст - programmer

рабо́́тать - to work, рабо́́тает - (he/she) works

большо́й - big; large

о́фис - office

иностра́нный - foreign

фи́рма - firm

учи́тель (m), учи́тельница (f) - teacher

учи́тельница англи́йского языка́ (genitive case) - English teacher (f)

англи́йский - English (adjective)

язы́к - language; tongue

сейча́с - now

университе́т - University

реши́ть (to decide)

реши́л (decided - male singular), реши́ла (decided - female singular), реши́ли (decided - plural)

журнали́ст (m), журнали́стка (f) - journalist

ещё - still

ма́ленький - little, small

но - but

о́чень - very

рисова́ть (to draw), рису́ет (he/she draws)

Текст (Text)

Э́то Ва́ся Петро́в. Он ру́сский. Он живёт в Москве́. Ему́ 12 лет. Он у́чится в шко́ле. Он хо́чет стать лётчиком. Он у́чится хорошо́. У Ва́си есть па́па и ма́ма, ста́ршая сестра́ Ле́на и мла́дший брат Ви́тя. Их дом недалеко́ от шко́лы и Ва́ся хо́дит в шко́лу пешко́м.

Ва́ся лю́бит игра́ть в футбо́л и лови́ть ры́бу. У Ва́си мно́го друзе́й.

Ва́син па́па - программи́ст. Он рабо́тает в большо́м о́фисе иностра́нной фи́рмы. Ва́сина ма́ма - учи́тельница англи́йского языка́ в шко́ле.

Ле́на сейча́с у́чится в университе́те. Она́ реши́ла стать журнали́сткой.

Ви́тя ещё ма́ленький, но он о́чень хорошо́ рису́ет.

Counting years:

1 год (nominative), 2 года, 3 года 4 года (genitive singular)

5 лет, 6 лет ... 20 лет (genitive plural)

21 год (nominative), 22 года, 23 года 24 года

25 лет, 26 лет ... 30 лет (genitive plural)

...

Saying: I have, you have, etc.

У меня есть...

У тебя есть...

У него есть...

У неё есть...

У нас есть...

У вас есть...

У них есть...