Get Your Shop On with 60 Essential Words and Phrases for Shopping in Russian
Regardless of how you shop, one thing is for sure—if you don’t know the language, it could be a disaster.
Luckily, while shopping may blow your budget, learning vocabulary doesn’t need to cost a single ruble.
That’s because this list will teach you the must-know vocabulary to prepare you for your next Russian shopping trip!
Contents
- Essential Words and Phrases for Shopping in Russian
- How to Learn Vocabulary by Shopping in Russian
- And One More Thing...
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
Essential Words and Phrases for Shopping in Russian
Asking for Help
1. Где…? — Where is…?
Где туалетная бумага? — Where is the toilet paper?
2. Я ищу… — I’m looking for…
Я ищу сувенир. — I’m looking for a souvenir.
3. Я хочу… — I want…
Я хочу красную матрёшку. — I want a red matryoshka.
4. У вас есть…? — Do you have…?
У Вас есть что-нибудь качественнее? — Do you have anything nicer?
5. Можно померить? — Can I try it on?
Это может быть мне мало. Можно померить? — This looks a little small. Can I try it on?
Negotiating
6. Сколько?/Сколько стоит? — How much is it?
Мне это нравится! Сколько стоит? — I like this! How much is it?
7. Это слишком дорого — This is too expensive
Это слишком дорого. Вы согласитесь на цену ниже? — This is too expensive. Would you accept a lower price?
8. Есть что-то подешевле? — Is there something cheaper?
У меня только 750 рублей. Есть что-то подешевле? — I only have 750 rubles. Is there something cheaper?
9. Напишите, пожалуйста — Please write it down
Я не понимаю. Напишите, пожалуйста. — I don’t understand. Please write it down.
10. Я возьму это — I’ll take it
Мне нравится эта шаль. Я возьму её! — I love this shawl. I’ll take it!
Stores
11. Магазин — Store
12. Торговый центр — Shopping center
13. Универмаг — Department store
14. Аптека — Pharmacy
15. Оптика — Optical center
16. Супермаркет — Supermarket
17. Рынок — Market
18. Пекарня — Bakery
19. Кондитерская — Confectionary
20. Мясная лавка — Butcher shop
21. Магазин одежды — Clothing store
Signs
22. Открыто — Open
23. Закрыто — Closed
24. Часы работы — Literally, “opening hours;” used like “hours of operation”
25. Ж — Abbreviation of женщины (women)
26. М — Abbreviation of мужчины (men)
27. Парковка запрещена — No parking
28. Не курить — No smoking
Sales
29. Распродажа — Sale
30. Со скидкой — Discounted
31. Бесплатно — Free
32. Дёшево — Cheap
33. Купон — Coupon
Locations in a Store
34. Касса — Checkout
Где касса? — Where is the checkout?
35. Очередь — Line
Пожалуйста, подождите в очереди. — Please wait in line.
36. Примерочная — Fitting room
Можно воспользоваться примерочной? — Can I use the fitting room?
People
37. Покупатель — Customer
38. Продавец — Vendor/shop assistant
Shopping-Related Verbs
39. Ходить за покупками — To go shopping
Я хожу за покупками по субботам. — I go shopping on Saturdays.
40. Купать — To buy
Я бы купил это. — I would buy this.
41. Продавать — To sell
Что продаёт магазин? — What does the store sell?
42. Платить — To pay
Где можно оплатить? — Where can I pay?
43. Искать — To look for
Что Вы ищете? — What are you looking for?
44. Торговаться — To bargain
Вы готовы поторговаться со мной? — Would you be ready to bargain with me?
45. Примерить — To try on
Где я могу это примерить? — Where can I try this on?
46. Глазеть на витрины — Literally, “to stare at windows;” used like “to window shop”
Я хочу глазеть на витрины дорогих магазинов. — I want to window shop at expensive stores.
Online Shopping
47. Добавить в корзину — Add to cart
48. Перейти к оформлению заказа — Proceed to checkout
49. Условия доставки — Shipping/delivery terms
Other Important Words
50. Деньги — Money
51. Тележка — Shopping cart
52. Пакет — Shopping bag
53. Цена — Price
54. Ценник — Price tag
55. Чек — Receipt/check
56. Размер — Size
57. Маленький — Small
58. Средний — Medium
59. Большой — Large
60. Очень большой — Extra large
How to Learn Vocabulary by Shopping in Russian
There are several ways you can make the most out of your shopping sprees. Let’s check out two tips for turning them into Russian immersion experiences!
1. Visit a Russian store near you.
If you live in or near a big city in the United States, there’s probably a Russian store not too far from you. These are excellent training grounds to test out your skills without diving in over your head.
Many of the products will be labeled in Russian, and the store’s employees may even speak Russian. If nothing else, you’ll probably encounter some other Russian-speaking customers you can chitchat with.
Not sure where to start? Just Google the name of your city and “Russian store” to see what’s available near you!
2. Browse Russian stores online.
If there aren’t Russian stores near you, we sympathize.
But guess what?
That doesn’t mean you can’t practice your Russian by shopping.
That’s because there are plenty of awesome online stores that give you ample opportunity to fine-tune your skills!
- RussianFoodUSA. This New York-based site carries food, beauty products, souvenirs and more. Perhaps best of all, you can toggle between Russian and English using the drop-down language menu at the upper right side of the page. If you don’t understand something in Russian, just switch back to English!
- RussianTable.com. Another online store operated out of New York, you can change this shop’s language settings to Russian using the drop-down menu on the left side of the screen. This site sells food, cosmetics and health items.
- AliExpress and OZON are two of the most popular online shopping sites in Russia, but they’re not for the faint of heart. You’ll need an extensive Russian vocabulary to get by. Also, don’t get your heart set on anything since the stores might not ship internationally, or international shipping may be prohibitively expensive.
Russian shopping vocabulary is easy to learn with all these tips and resources!
Now that you know how to go shopping in Russian, maybe you should treat yourself to a little shopping spree. After all, it’s for your Russian education!
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
And One More Thing...
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FluentU has a very broad range of contemporary videos. Just a quick look will give you an idea of the variety of Russian-language content available on FluentU:
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Access a complete interactive transcript of every video under the Dialogue tab. Easily review words and phrases with audio under Vocab.
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And FluentU has a learn mode which turns every video into a language learning lesson. You can always swipe left or right to see more examples.
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