Learn useful phrases to use at the post office
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| Hello and welcome to Russian Survival Phrases. This course is designed to equip you with the language skills and knowledge to enable you to get the most out of your visit to Russia. So join us for Russian Survival phrases. You will be surprised at how far a little Russian will go. |
| Exchanging money in Russia is quite convenient and exciting! One can exchange money at airports, banks, withdraw money from an ATM or buy or sell the currency on the street. Rates applied when withdrawing money from an ATM are likely to be the best; however, when using an ATM is advisable to make one large withdrawal as you may be charged by both the local bank and your home bank. So first things first, let's find a location that will exchange money. |
| Yet, when you get lucky it is more profitable to exchange currency at the street dealers. Although, it can be dangerous, if you have neither Russian, nor foreign acquaintances, who have been dealing with such dealers for some time. |
| First, let's review some previous phrases and patterns we've already covered. |
| In Russian “Is there an ATM near here?” is “Zdes’ pablizasti yest’ bankamat?”. Zdes’ pablizasti yest’ bankamat? Let`s break it down by syllable: Zdes’ pab-li-zas-ti yest’ ban-ka-mat? Now, let`s hear it once again: Zdes’ pablizasti yest’ bankamat? |
| The first word “zdes’ “ means “here“. Let`s break down this word and hear it one more time: zdes’. |
| This is followed by “pablizasti”, which in English is “near”: pab-li-zas-ti and pablizasti. |
| So to recap here, we have “zdes’ pablizasti”. Literally this means “here near”. |
| Let's take a look at the next “yest’ ”, which means “is”: yest’ and yest’. |
| The last word is “bankamat”, which means “ATM”: bankamat and bankamat. |
| So altogether we have “Zdes’ pablizasti yest’ bankamat?”. Literally this means “Here near is an ATM?”. |
| Now to ask for a bank, we can just replace the word for ATM with bank and the phrase works just fine. “Is there a bank near here?” in Russian is “Zdes’ pablizasti yest’ bank?”. Zdes’ pablizasti yest’ bank? The only thing that changes is the thing you are looking for. In this case it’s “bank”. Let`s break down this word and hear it one more time: bank and bank. |
| For times when there is neither a bank or an ATM, you can ask, "Where can I exchange currency?", which in Russian is “Gde ya magu razmenyat’ valyutu?” Gde ya magu razmenyat’ valyutu? Let`s break it down by syllable: Gde ya ma-gu raz-me-nyat’ va-lyu-tu? Now, let`s hear it once again: Gde ya magu razmenyat’ valyutu? |
| The first word is “gde”, which means “where”. Let`s break down this word and hear it one more time: gde and gde. |
| This is followed by “ya”, which in English is “I”: ya and ya. |
| So to recap here, we have “gde ya”. Literally this means “where I”. |
| Let's take a look at the next “magu” which means “can”: ma-gu and magu. |
| Then follows “razmenyat’”, which means “exchange”. Let`s break it down by syllable: raz-me-nyat’ and raz-me-nyat’. |
| And the last word is “valyutu”, which means “currency”: va-lyu-tu and valyutu. |
| So altogether we have “Gde ya magu razmenyat’ valyutu?”. Literally this means “Where I can exchange currency?”. |
| Exchanging currency is pretty straightforward. You need to fill out some forms, and then present the amount you want to be exchanged. One extremely useful phrase is: "Smaller denominations, please", as it is usually beneficial to have smaller amounts of currency on you for paying for the bus fare, taxi fare, etc. |
| In Russian “Smaller denominations, please” is “Melkimi kupyurami, pazhalusta”. Melkimi kupyurami, pazhalusta. Let`s break it down by syllable: Mel-ki-mi ku-pyu-ra-mi, pa-zha-lus-ta. Now, let`s hear it once again: Melkimi kupyurami, pazhalusta. |
| The first word “melkimi” means “smaller”. Let`s break down this word and hear it one more time: mel-ki-mi and melkimi. |
| This is followed by “kupyurami”, which in English is “denominations”: ku-pyu-ra-mi and kupyurami. So, to recap here, we have “melkimi kupyurami”. Literally this means “smaller denominations”. |
| Let's take a look at the next “pazhalusta” which means “please”: pa-zha-lus-ta and pazhalusta. |
| So, all together we have “Melkimi kupyurami, pazhalusta”. Literally this means ““Smaller denominations, please””. |
| Finally, you can also use the phrase “Break this, please” to indicate you would like smaller amounts of the currency. In Russian “Break this, please” is “Razmenyaite eta, pazhalusta”. Razmenyaite eta, pazhalusta. Let`s break it down by syllable: Raz-me-nyai-te e-ta, pa-zha-lus-ta. Now, let`s hear it one more time: Razmenyaite eta, pazhalusta. |
| The first word “razmenyaite” means “break”. Let`s break down this word and hear it one more time: raz-me-nya-ite and razmenyaite. This is followed by “eta”, which in English is “this”, eta, e-ta and eta. So, to recap here, we have “Razmenyaite eta”. Literally this means “Break this”. Let's take a look at the next “pazhalusta” which means “please”: pa-zha-lus-ta and pazhalusta. |
| So altogether we have “Razmenyaite eta, pazhalusta”. Literally this means “Break this, please”. |
| Working hours of banks in Russia very depending on banks and regions those are located in. All departments including currency exchange basically work from 9 to 4 p.m. Sometimes currency department open hours are prolonged till 5 p.m. But it usually works with banks in distant regions with higher rate of foreign visitors. |
| Ok, to close out today`s lesson we'd like for you to practice what we`d just learnt. I will provide you with the English equivalent of the phrase and you are responsible for saying it aloud. You'll have a few seconds before I`ll give you the answer. Udachi! That means “good luck”! Ok, here we go! |
| Is there an ATM near here?……..Zdes’ pablizasti yest’ bankamat? |
| Is there a bank near here?……..Zdes’ pablizasti yest’ bank? |
| Where can I exchange currency?........Gde ya magu razmenyat’ valyutu? |
| Is there a bank near here?……..Zdes’ pablizasti yest’ bank? |
| Smaller denominations, please……...Melkimi kupyurami, pazhalusta |
| Break this…………….. Razmenyaite eta, pazhalusta |
| Alright, that's going to do for today. See you tomorrow, which in Russian is da zaftra! |
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