I find phrase lists depressing.
I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, though.
They can be incredibly helpful and have been provided to the public by many kind people, from Rick Steves to the fine bloggers here at FluentU.
It’s …
Colors are some of the first words children learn.
The ball is red.
The dog is brown.
The toy is yellow.
While these terms come naturally in your first language, they may not come as naturally when you’re studying a …
He’s your honey.
She’s your dear.
They’re your darlings.
When you’re really fond of someone, sometimes you just want to express it by using cutesy terms of endearment.
Luckily, if you’re learning Russian and can’t resist a good pet name, …
Denial, anger, bargaining, declension, acceptance.
Wait, that’s not right, is it?
If anything, the five stages of Russian learning grief involve struggling with the existence of declension.
You have to work your way up to accepting that it’s just something …
You count your blessings.
You don’t count your chickens before they hatch.
You make sure everyone in your life knows they can count on you.
But can you… count?
Hey, it’s totally understandable if you can’t count in Russian yet.…
Taxes. Seasonal allergies. Cleaning out your fridge.
I might as well add “verb conjugation” to this list of tedious and unpleasant experiences.
Yes, conjugation is notorious for being a language student’s nightmare.
Unlike some aspects of language, it’s not …
Making your own tomato sauce is easy.
Marcella Hazan’s famous recipe calls for only four ingredients: tomatoes, butter, onion, salt.
But many people still buy jarred sauce. Maybe because it’s slightly easier.
Or because no one has ever told them, …