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RussianVocabulary

40 Common Russian Phrases Every Beginner Should Learn First

July 4, 2026 · 4 min read

If you only ever learn forty things in Russian, make it these. This list isn't a phrasebook dump — it's the set of phrases that carry the most everyday conversations, chosen by frequency and usefulness. Learn them as whole phrases with audio, not word-by-word: that's how they'll come out of your mouth automatically when you need them.

A note on reading: everything below is in Cyrillic with an approximate pronunciation. If you haven't learned the alphabet yet, spend a week on it first — it's far easier than it looks, and transliteration is a crutch that damages your pronunciation. Our roadmap for learning Russian covers how.

Greetings and goodbyes

  1. Привет (pree-VYET) — Hi. Informal, for friends and peers.
  2. Здравствуйте (ZDRA-stvooy-tye) — Hello. The polite default with strangers; yes, the consonant cluster is real, and yes, everyone survives it.
  3. Доброе утро (DOH-bra-ye OO-tra) — Good morning.
  4. Добрый день (DOH-bry dyen) — Good afternoon. Safe in any daytime situation.
  5. Добрый вечер (DOH-bry VYE-cher) — Good evening.
  6. Пока (pa-KA) — Bye. Informal.
  7. До свидания (da svee-DA-nee-ya) — Goodbye. Polite.
  8. Увидимся! (oo-VEE-deem-sya) — See you!

The absolute essentials

  1. Да / Нет (da / nyet) — Yes / No.
  2. Спасибо (spa-SEE-ba) — Thank you.
  3. Большое спасибо (bal-SHO-ye spa-SEE-ba) — Thank you very much.
  4. Пожалуйста (pa-ZHA-loo-sta) — Please — and also "you're welcome." Two phrases for the price of one.
  5. Извините (eez-vee-NEE-tye) — Excuse me / I'm sorry. Your all-purpose polite opener.
  6. Ничего страшного (nee-che-VO STRASH-na-va) — No problem / it's nothing.
  7. Хорошо (ha-ra-SHO) — Good / okay. You will say this fifty times a day.
  8. Конечно (ka-NYESH-na) — Of course.

Surviving as a learner

These are the highest-value phrases on the page — they keep conversations alive when you're out of your depth:

  1. Я не понимаю (ya nye pa-nee-MA-yu) — I don't understand.
  2. Я не говорю по-русски (ya nye ga-va-RYU pa-ROO-skee) — I don't speak Russian.
  3. Я немного говорю по-русски (ya nyem-NO-ga...) — I speak a little Russian. Watch faces light up when you say this one.
  4. Говорите медленнее, пожалуйста (ga-va-REE-tye MYED-lyen-nye-ye) — Speak more slowly, please.
  5. Повторите, пожалуйста (pa-fta-REE-tye) — Please repeat.
  6. Как сказать … по-русски? (kak ska-ZAT ... pa-ROO-skee) — How do you say … in Russian? The phrase that turns every native speaker into your teacher.
  7. Что это значит? (shto E-ta ZNA-cheet) — What does that mean?
  8. Вы говорите по-английски? (vy ga-va-REE-tye pa-an-GLEE-skee) — Do you speak English?

Meeting people

  1. Как вас зовут? (kak vas za-VOOT) — What's your name? (polite)
  2. Меня зовут… (mee-NYA za-VOOT) — My name is… Literally "they call me," which is charming once you notice it.
  3. Очень приятно (O-cheen pree-YAT-na) — Nice to meet you.
  4. Как дела? (kak dee-LA) — How are you? Informal.
  5. Хорошо, а у тебя? (ha-ra-SHO, a oo tee-BYA) — Good, and you?
  6. Откуда вы? (at-KOO-da vy) — Where are you from?
  7. Я из Франции (ya eez FRAN-tsee-ee) — I'm from France. Swap in your own country.

Getting around and getting things

  1. Где…? (gdye) — Where is…? Attach anything: Где метро? Where's the metro?
  2. Сколько это стоит? (SKOL-ka E-ta STO-eet) — How much does this cost?
  3. Можно…? (MOZH-na) — May I…? / Can I have…? One word, endlessly useful: Можно кофе? — Can I get a coffee?
  4. Мне, пожалуйста… (mnye pa-ZHA-loo-sta) — For me, please… The standard way to order.
  5. Помогите, пожалуйста (pa-ma-GHEE-tye) — Help, please.
  6. Я хочу… (ya ha-CHOO) — I want…
  7. Мне нужно… (mnye NOOZH-na) — I need…

Two to sound human

  1. Ладно (LAD-na) — Alright / fine. The conversational lubricant of spoken Russian.
  2. Давай! (da-VIGH) — Let's go / come on / deal! — and among friends, even "bye." Learn it, love it.

How to actually make these stick

Reading a list once creates recognition for about a day. To make these phrases yours:

  • Learn them with audio. Russian stress is unpredictable from spelling, and a phrase learned silently is learned wrong half the time.
  • Review on a schedule. See each phrase again tomorrow, in three days, in a week — spaced repetition turns a list into reflexes.
  • See how the phrase maps to the meaning. Knowing that in «Меня зовут Анна» the chunk «Меня» is the "me" part and «зовут» is the "they call" part is what lets you build new sentences instead of reciting frozen ones.

That combination — real phrases, native audio, color-coded meaning mapping, spaced review — is exactly what LinguExcel gives you for free. The Russian starter decks include these phrases and hundreds more, each one a real sentence you can hear and review until it's automatic.

Учись с удовольствием — happy learning!