Search by tag «Speak Like a Russian» 32 results

• Speak Like a Russian: On Kvetching And How Things Go Wrong

  Since early December, I’ve been looking forward to see some real winter: sparkling white snow, chilling winds, lucid sunsets. Yet, all we get now are drizzling rain and cold mud. I don’t know about you, but I find this all very frustrating, which made me choose quite a specific topic for this article. Simply put, our today’s words will have to do with kvetching and bad things in general.

  20.01.2020

• Speak like a Russian: New Year’s Words

  The New Year is almost here, and tomorrow evening will be celebration time. There will be congratulations, speeches and toasts – so let's learn a few basic expressions that’ll help you join in on the fun! 

  30.12.2019

• Speak Like a Russian: 5 Ways to Describe Winter Cold

  Winter is finally here, and since the previous Monday’s article was dedicated to braving the cold, today we’ll focus on the Russian words that you can use to describe it!

  02.12.2019

• Speak Like a Russian: Getting Around, Part 2

  In one of our previous articles, we already touched upon the key Russian words that will help you get around: things like the types of public transport and a few associated expressions. This time, we’ll focus on the words that can help you find a specific place, and the few challenges you might face in the process.

  11.11.2019

• Speak like a Russian: Autumncalypse

  We’re halfway through autumn, and it seems that we won’t be getting any late warmth or “sun-lit, golden leaves under a clear blue sky” type of scenery (though I really hope that I’m wrong). Well, don’t you worry! Fall in St. Petersburg is not just about the endless rains, but also sludge, sulk, and an occasional runny nose – the things that will be the topic of today’s Speak Like a Russian article.

  14.10.2019

• Speak Like a Russian: Student Slang

  Thus far, we’ve been learning various words and expressions that can help you adapt to living in Russia, but didn’t touch upon quite an obvious topic: student life. So, in order to catch up and since it’s the beginning of the academic year, we’ve decided to focus our today’s article on Russian student slang!

  09.09.2019

• Speak Like a Russian: of Time and Deadlines

  One thing that Russians are surely not famous for is punctuality: it is a quality that we respect in others but rarely possess. This kind of a laid-back attitude has a great effect on the Russian mentality, culture, and language. For one, everything associated with time and deadlines can be rather obscure – so when you ask a time-related question, be prepared to hear very misleading responses.

  26.08.2019

• Speak Like a Russian: Getting Around

  I’m one of those people who like to explore various places on their own, and I often prompt others to do the same: I believe that going with a guide or pre-planning too much can spoil a good adventure. Still, being adventurous doesn’t mean coming ill-prepared, especially in a different country, where getting lost can become a real problem. So, let’s learn some basic words that will help you in this kind of a situation.

  29.07.2019

• Speak Like a Russian: Colors

  The words for colors are some of the first we learn in any new language. Simple and easy to remember, they also have connotations that you can use to spruce up your speech; although many of them are similar in most languages, knowing some of the local expressions will sure come in handy!

  08.07.2019

• Speak like a Russian: Science Words that Made it into Common Speech

  One thing that I really love about languages is how the meaning of many scientific terms change once regular people start using them. So let’s take a look at a few of them that made it into common Russian!

  24.06.2019