Greetings & Small Talk
The phrases you'll use at the start and end of every single interaction. This page leans hard on the formal/informal distinction — see Phrases Overview if you haven't read it yet.
Hello
| Russian | Literal | Means | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Здра́вствуйте | "Be healthy" (formal) | "Hello" | Formal/plural. The first в is silent — see alphabet. |
| Здра́вствуй | "Be healthy" (informal) | "Hello" | Informal singular — less common than you'd think; most people just use При́вет with friends. |
| При́вет | "Greeting" | "Hi" | Informal only — never use with strangers or elders. |
| До́брое у́тро | "Good morning" | "Good morning" | у́тро is neuter, so до́брое (not до́брый) — see adjectives. |
| До́брый день | "Good day" | "Good afternoon" | The default all-purpose daytime greeting — safe in almost any situation. |
| До́брый ве́чер | "Good evening" | "Good evening" | Used from roughly late afternoon onward. |
| Алло́ | "Hello" | "Hello" (phone only) | Only for answering the phone — never used face-to-face. |
Pattern
«До́брый/До́брое + [time of day]» is a fixed formula, not something you build word by word — the adjective ending just tracks the gender of the noun (день is masculine, у́тро is neuter, ночь is feminine: До́брой но́чи as a parting line, not a greeting).
How are you
| Russian | Literal | Means | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Как дела́? | "How affairs?" | "How's it going?" | Works formal or informal. дела́ is plural of де́ло. |
| Как ты? | "How you?" (informal) | "How are you?" | Informal singular. |
| Как вы? | "How you?" (formal) | "How are you?" | Formal/plural. |
| Как жизнь? | "How life?" | "How's life?" | Casual, informal register. |
| Хорошо́ | "Well" | "Good" / "Fine" | Common reply — genuinely positive. |
| Норма́льно | "Normally" | "OK" / "Not bad" | The most common reply of all — neutral, neither good nor bad, very Russian. |
| Так себе́ | "So itself" | "So-so" | Mildly negative — implies things could be better. |
| Непло́хо | "Not-badly" | "Not bad" | Slightly positive, understated. |
| Отли́чно! | "Excellently" | "Great!" | Enthusiastic — less common in casual daily use than норма́льно. |
| А у тебя́? | "And at you?" (informal) | "And you?" | Literally "at you" — see genitive у + genitive for possession-style constructions. |
| А у вас? | "And at you?" (formal) | "And you?" | Formal version of the above. |
Pattern
Real Russians answer «Как дела́?» with норма́льно far more often than хорошо́ — it's not resignation, it's just the neutral default, the way English speakers say "fine" without meaning much by it. Don't over-translate it as "mediocre."
Introductions
| Russian | Literal | Means | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Как тебя́ зову́т? | "How you [they-]call?" | "What's your name?" | Informal. Literally "what do they call you" — тебя́ is accusative; see accusative. |
| Как вас зову́т? | "How you [they-]call?" | "What's your name?" | Formal — same structure, вас instead of тебя́. |
| Меня́ зову́т Ке́нни | "Me [they-]call Kenny" | "My name is Kenny" | меня́ is accusative of я — see pronouns. |
| О́чень прия́тно | "Very pleasant" | "Nice to meet you" | Standard reply right after learning someone's name. |
| Прия́тно познако́миться | "Pleasant to-get-acquainted" | "Pleased to meet you" | Slightly more formal alternative to о́чень прия́тно. |
| Отку́да ты? | "From-where you?" (informal) | "Where are you from?" | отку́да asks about origin specifically, not current location. |
| Отку́да вы? | "From-where you?" (formal) | "Where are you from?" | Formal version. |
| Я из Аме́рики | "I from America" | "I'm from America" | из takes the genitive — Аме́рика → Аме́рики. |
| Я из США | "I from USA" | "I'm from the US" | США doesn't decline in casual speech; pronounced "es-she-a." |
| Чем ты занима́ешься? | "[By-]what you occupy-yourself?" | "What do you do (for work)?" | занима́ешься is reflexive and takes instrumental чем. |
| Я рабо́таю в... | "I work in..." | "I work at/in..." | в + prepositional for the workplace: в шко́ле, в о́фисе. |
Pattern
«Меня́ зову́т X» never conjugates around "I" — it's fixed. Swap the name only: Меня́ зову́т А́нна, Его́ зову́т Ива́н ("His name is Ivan," literally "him they call Ivan"). The person named is always in the accusative, not the nominative.
Goodbye
| Russian | Literal | Means | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| До свида́ния | "Until [the] meeting" | "Goodbye" | Neutral/formal, safe everywhere. свида́ния is genitive after до. |
| Пока́ | "For-now" | "Bye" | Informal only. |
| Увидимся | "[We-]will-see-each-other" | "See you" | Reflexive future — informal, friendly. |
| До ско́рого | "Until [the] soon" | "See you soon" | Casual, warm. |
| До за́втра | "Until tomorrow" | "See you tomorrow" | за́втра is genitive-looking but is actually an unchanging adverb here after до. |
| До встре́чи | "Until [the] meeting" | "Until we meet again" | встре́чи is genitive of встре́ча — near-synonym of до свида́ния, a touch warmer. |
| Всего́ до́брого | "Of-everything good" | "All the best" | Genitive of всё до́брое — a polite closing line, slightly formal. |
| Споко́йной но́чи | "Of-calm night" (genitive) | "Good night" | Genitive because it's a wish, not a statement — the implied verb is "[I wish you] a calm night." |
Pattern
«До + [genitive noun]» builds an entire family of goodbyes: до свида́ния, до ско́рого, до за́втра, до встре́чи. до always triggers genitive — once you know that, you can guess the ending on any new noun you plug in.