Learn Russian — Grammar First

A structured path from "Duolingo vocabulary, shaky grammar" to solid A2.

Why this site exists

Duolingo builds recognition vocabulary but never explains why «я вижу собаку» has -у on the end. Russian is a case language: word endings do the work that word order does in English. Until cases and verbal aspect click, you're memorizing sentences instead of building them. This site fixes that.

How to use it

1. Roadmap — the 6-month week-by-week schedule. Start here.
2. Alphabet — you can sound out words; this gets you to fluent reading, plus the pronunciation rules Duolingo never states (vowel reduction, devoicing).
3. Grammar — the core. 13 lessons in dependency order. Don't skip ahead; each lesson leans on the previous ones.

4. Phrases — every phrase comes in three layers:

   Как дела? — lit. "How affairs?" — "How's it going?"

   The literal gloss shows you the machinery; the natural translation shows you the meaning. Read both, always.

5. Practice — drills with hidden answer keys. Do these after each grammar lesson.

6. Flashcards — spaced-repetition app with phrase and grammar decks. 10–15 min daily.

The weekly rhythm

• 1 grammar lesson per week (read twice: once fast, once slow with the tables)
• Matching practice drills mid-week
• Flashcards daily — this replaces Duolingo streak time
• Keep Duolingo if you enjoy it, but treat it as vocab review, not instruction