By Kelly Virginia Phelan Last updated: November 9, 2023

171 Russian Words and Phrases to Survive Any Conversation

Word frequency lists can be a great resource for Russian language learners.

But there’s a caveat: most word frequency lists are taken from written texts, not spoken language.

As a result, commonly-spoken Russian words like привет (hi) and здравствуйте (hello) might not even make it onto some Russian word lists.

This practical, user-friendly, conversation-focused list of basic Russian words promises to fix that!

Contents

• Greetings and Departures
• Introductions
• Personal Details
• Language Ability
• Agreement, Disagreement and Confusion
• Manners and Polite Phrases
• Food and Drink
• Family and Friends (Including Pets!)
• Useful Adjectives
• Introductory Verbs
• Requesting Assistance and Reading Common Signs
• Basic Russian Slang
• Tips for Learning Russian Words
• • 1. Learn the Alphabet
  • 2. Emphasize Listening and Speaking
  • 3. Focus on Simple Sentences First
  • 4. Keep Formality in Mind

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

Greetings and Departures

Naturally, one of the first things any language learner should grasp is the ability to greet other individuals, so here are some of the most common Russian greetings:

Introductions

You’ll want to be prepared to introduce yourself and cover some of the basics:

Personal Details

Continuing the conversation from above, it’s helpful to be able to explain where you’re from and what you do for a living as these are the two most common questions asked of foreigners.

Language Ability

These phrases can help you clarify and avoid misunderstandings:

Agreement, Disagreement and Confusion

These words and phrases are self-explanatory and commonly heard multiple times a day:

Manners and Polite Phrases

Russians are often perceived as being unfriendly, but good manners are appreciated, especially if you’re asking someone for assistance:

Food and Drink

Russians love their traditional foods. While you may not eat borscht or smetana on a regular basis, it’s good to know some basic food vocabulary:

Family and Friends (Including Pets!)

You’ll likely be asked about family members, so be ready to talk about your relatives as well as any pets:

Useful Adjectives

Here are some common adjectives you’ll need to know:

Introductory Verbs

There are a few basic verbs that most Russian learners almost immediately use. Here are a few to get you started:

Requesting Assistance and Reading Common Signs

It’s always good to know how to ask for help and read basic signs so you can find your way:

Basic Russian Slang

If you’re feeling adventurous and want to impress a new Russian acquaintance with some fun slang phrases, here are a few you can try:

Tips for Learning Russian Words

Here are some important tips and tricks to advance your Russian studies:

1. Learn the Alphabet

Hopefully, you’re already aware that Russian uses the Cyrillic alphabet, not the Roman alphabet.

Be sure to learn the 33 letters of the Russian alphabet and the corresponding pronunciations. To a large extent, Russian sounds the way it’s spelled, so you can see words written and sound them out if you know how the individual letters are pronounced.

2. Emphasize Listening and Speaking

Linguistic input is crucial, especially when starting a new language. Input-based learners may attempt to immerse themselves in a language by reading, practicing with flashcards, listening to music, watching movies or a host of other techniques.

If your aim is to communicate with people, be sure you’re training your ear. Don’t hesitate to watch YouTube clips with vital words over and over again.

By the same token, be sure you’re speaking. Listen to a clip and then repeat it. Your mouth needs to become comfortable making the unfamiliar sounds common in Russian.

Tutors are also invaluable resources. They can help you perfect your pronunciation to ensure you’re well understood. They can also get you accustomed to the pace of speech.

As with any language, some Russians speak quickly, mumble or run their words together. A tutor can help you get used to deconstructing what you’re hearing.

Getting into authentic Russian content is also important. As a beginner, this might get a bit overwhelming, so you might want to start with material aimed at children.

Some programs make it a bit easier to sort media according to difficulty. FluentU, for example, has six learner levels in its virtual immersion program.

3. Focus on Simple Sentences First

You’re not going to be able to form complex grammatical sentences as soon as you learn the Cyrillic alphabet. As with learning any language, you need to start with basic constructions such as:

Я хочу яблоко.  — I want an apple.

Я хочу собаку.  — I want a dog.

Я хочу парня.  — I want a boyfriend.

As you learn new grammar concepts, your sentences will become longer and more complex, but it’s important to start small and build from there.

4. Keep Formality in Mind

Similar to French or Spanish, Russian uses two versions of the word “you” that differ based on formality.

Ты   (you) is used in informal situations when speaking to an individual.  Вы  (you) is used in two instances: when speaking to two or more people and when speaking to an individual in a formal manner.

As a general rule, ты should really only be used when addressing children or close friends. The formal Вы should be used any time you’re speaking to strangers, acquaintances you don’t know well, anyone older than you or someone in a position of authority. 

The list of basic Russian words and phrases above is far from comprehensive, but should help set you on track to start feeling comfortable speaking Russian from day one.

If you’re feeling up for it, you could even check out some more challenging words now to impress your Russian friends! 

Удачи! (Good luck!)
 

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)