How to learn Russian fast. 1. Immerse yourself in the language: Surround yourself with Russian as much as possible by listening to Russian music, watching Russian movies and TV shows, and reading Russian books and newspapers. 2. Find a language partner: Look for a native Russian speaker who is willing to help you practice speaking and…
Learning the Russian Cyrillic alphabet can be an interesting and rewarding process. Here is a brief overview of the alphabet along with some tips on how to learn it: 1. Familiarize yourself with the letters: The Russian Cyrillic alphabet consists of 33 letters, some of which look similar to the Latin alphabet, but have different sounds.…
Many people want to read Russian literature in the original language. There’s just one big problem. It’s incredibly difficult. And in order to practice reading Russian, you already need a reasonable vocabulary. So if you’re a beginner, you can’t practice reading, since you lack the necessary experience. But you also can’t gain experience, since you don’t…
About 10% of Russian words resemble their English counterparts. But don’t get too comfortable with guessing. These are also many words that look or sound the same but have different meanings between the two languages. For example, in English, “angina” means chest pain. But the Russian word Ангина means tonsillitis, a much less severe affliction (and…
Russian courses and 1:1 lessons at all levels for corporate clients, on company premises in Cyprus. In a group course you will feel part of the team, practise your language skills and exchange ideas with other learners at the same level, so it can be more fun as well as more profitable! 30 lessons initial course…
Russian, as a part of the Slavic language group, has a reputation for being difficult to learn. The question is, how difficult is it to learn Russian, really? Is Russian hard to learn? In this article, you’re going to find out how difficult Russian is for English speakers and what you should focus on if you…
What kind of a language learner are you? To answer this question, you need to know the person who is doing the lessons, at least a little bit. Here are the factors to consider: Are they good linguists naturally, that is – do they have a good memory, can they retain words in their memory, can…
Parts of sentence – why do we need to know them in Russian For example, someone who does not know what a direct object is, will not be able to use the Accusative case correctly. And without understanding what the subject of a sentence is, it would be impossible to use the correct gender of the…
Business Russian is a vast field I often have requests for teaching business Russian, and often people who want to do it are very vague about what aspect of Business Russian they are interested in. The fact is that business Russian is a very broad term, covering a vast range of vocabulary and functions: from telephoning…
Discovering the handwritten version of the Russian alphabet usually causes either a slight shock (oh my God, I’ve just learned the alphabet, and now there is another one to learn) or curiosity and desire to start using it. Either reaction is fine: these days you, the learner, have a choice – to use or not to…
If reading War and Peace in the original is your goal to be achieved at the end of your Russian course, prepare to be patient and learn some French as well as Russian… As your Russian tutor will tell you, Leo Tolstoy wrote the longest sentences ever, and his texts are often used to test the…
What do you need to know, while working or socialising with Russians? Are there any western habits that would seem strange or unattractive to Russians, and the other way round? Should you shake hands with Russian women in a business meeting? How formal or friendly should you be? These are the kind of questions that a…
Key facts and figures • Russian is the most widespread language of Eurasia, and the most widely spoken Slavic language. In Europe, more people speak Russian as a mother tongue than any other language. • Russian belongs to the family of Indo-European languages (which means that it is related to all Western European languages) and is…
How many words are there in the Russian language? The biggest dictionary of the Russian language (“The Contemporary Dictionary of the Russian Language” in 3 volumes) lists about 250 thousand words. The vocabulary of Pushkin (Russian equivalent of Shakespeare) is about 20 thousand words. An ordinary person needs a couple of thousand words to communicate successfully.…
1. Learn the Russian Cyrillic alphabet If you’re planning to get around on your own, your life will be much easier if you learn the Cyrillic alphabet. Most street signs and signs in the public transport are not translated into English. However, in the recent couple of years, Moscow street names have been translated into the…
What should you know about learning Russian grammar if you are considering taking a Russian course? Here are the main features of Russian grammar that you need to be aware of, if you are about to start learning Russian. Russian grammar at the beginner level Most English speakers who have never learned a Slavic language before…
Are Russians superstitious? Sometimes students ask – are Russians superstitious? And if so, are Russian superstitions similar to English ones? The answer is, yes and yes. Russians are superstitious. Most people will laugh if you ask them about superstitions, but… we do not like it when a black cat crosses our path, or when the first…
Язык мой – враг мой. Эта сентенция невольно приходит на ум, когда двадцать раз на дню слышишь от самых разных людей вроде бы обыденные, привычные слова, от которых, тем не менее, дрожь пробирает. Причем дрожь вовсе не приятная, а совсем даже наоборот. Ниже приведем список из 10 слов современного русского языка, без которых он, увы, уже…
