When you’ve just started studying a foreign language, you may not be able to keep up conversations in it, but you should at least know the basic rules of politeness. Greeting and saying goodbye are the most essential aspects of day-to-day communication, and they can make or break your future encounters with native speakers.
Today, RussianPod101.com will teach you how to say goodbye in Russian for a variety of life situations. After learning the following ten phrases, you’ll be much more confident when meeting and speaking with Russians.
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Table of Contents
- До свидания (Do svidaniya)
- Пока (Poka)
- Прощай (Proshchay)
- До встречи (Do vstrechi)
- До скорого (Do skorogo)
- Увидимся (Uvidimsya)
- Спокойной ночи (Spokoynoy nochi)
- Мне пора (Mne pora)
- Счастливо (Schastlivo)
- Давай (Davay)
- Conclusion
1. До свидания (Do svidaniya)
До свидания (Do svidaniya) is the most popular way to say goodbye in Russian. The literal translation of this expression is “Until we meet again.” Its English equivalent is “Goodbye.”
This versatile Russian phrase for goodbye is suitable for any formal situation. Keep in mind that it may sound a little too formal if you’re chatting with good friends or family.
Feel free to implement this expression while talking to someone who is older than you or anyone you’re not very close with. Look at the following example:
- До свидания, Мария Ивановна, спасибо вам за всё!
Do svidaniya, Mariya Ivanovna, spasibo vam za vsyo!
“Goodbye, Maria Ivanovna, thank you for everything!”
Here, we put the pronoun Вам (Vam) instead of Тебе (Tebe). Anytime you say До свидания (Do svidaniya), you need to use the polite forms of any other words in that sentence.
You should definitely learn more about Russian forms of address in order to be polite while talking to older people (and to avoid awkward situations)!
2. Пока (Poka)
Пока (Poka) is the most popular informal expression for saying goodbye in Russian. Its literal translation is “For now,” but it’s just like saying “Bye” in English.
You may use Пока (Poka) in any everyday situation, toward anyone you would address informally as Ты (Ty). This kind of goodbye in Russian is appropriate for ending conversations with friends and close relatives. For instance:
- Пока, дружище!
Poka, druzhishche!
“Goodbye, buddy!”
You may also say Пока-пока (Poka-poka). The meaning won’t change at all, but your farewell will be longer, warmer, and friendlier.
3. Прощай (Proshchay)
This Russian word for goodbye isn’t very common, so you probably won’t hear it in everyday conversations. The literal translation of this word is “Forgive me.” By saying it, you mean “Farewell” or “Goodbye forever.”
Прощай (Proshchay) is used when the speaker knows that he or she won’t see the other person again. It’s suitable to use when somebody is moving away, lying on their deathbed, or breaking up with a girlfriend or boyfriend.
This is the perfect parting word to use when you want to say goodbye and ask for the other person’s forgiveness at the same time. This word carries the additional weight of admitting guilt, and it sounds really sad. Here’s an example:
- Прощай, моя любовь.
Proshchay, moya lyubov’.
“Farewell, my love.”
You’ve probably noticed that the example above uses informal language. If the situation was formal, you would use the polite form Прощайте (Proshchayte).
Sometimes saying goodbye is heartbreaking… And you need special words for it.
4. До встречи (Do vstrechi)
До встречи (Do vstrechi) is one of the safest expressions for saying goodbye in Russian. We say this because it’s appropriate for both formal and informal conversations with people of different ages.
The literal translation of this phrase is “Until the next meeting,” but it’s more like saying “See you soon” in English. Of course, you should only use this phrase to part ways with people you’ll definitely be seeing again. Check this example:
- Мне нужно идти, до встречи!
Mne nuzhno idti, do vstrechi!
“I have to go, see you soon.”
5. До скорого (Do skorogo)
Another phrase you should know for saying goodbye to close friends and family is До скорого (Do skorogo). Its literal meaning is “Until soon,” but it’s really just another way to say “See you soon.”
This is a shortened version of До скорого свидания (Do skorogo svidaniya), which is translated into English as “Until we meet again soon.” For your information, the long version isn’t used in modern Russian.
Here’s an example of how to use this Russian informal goodbye phrase:
- Ну, мы пойдём, до скорого!
Nu, my poydyom, do skorogo!
“We’re going now, see you!”
The most appropriate situation for using this expression is when you know you’ll see the person again very soon. For example, if you’re working, studying, or even living together.
Saying goodbye is not sad when you know that you’ll see the person again soon!
6. Увидимся (Uvidimsya)
This expression means almost the same thing as the previous one. Увидимся (Uvidimsya) is literally translated into English as “See each other.” It’s like saying “See you soon” in English.
This phrase is a good way to say goodbye in Russian in more casual situations. You may say Увидимся (Uvidimsya) to your friends if you know you’ll see them again in the near future, like in the following example:
- Увидимся на неделе.
Uvidimsya na nedele.
“See each other again this week.”
You may also say the longer version: Ещё увидимся (Eshchyo uvidimsya). The meaning will stay the same.
7. Спокойной ночи (Spokoynoy nochi)
Спокойной ночи (Spokoynoy nochi) is a good phrase for ending a conversation late in the evening. The literal translation of it is “Have a calm night,” and it’s like saying “Goodnight” in English.
This phrase is very versatile, and you can use it in both formal and informal situations. This language construction is appropriate for when it’s late, and you know that the person whom you’re talking to is going to bed. Look at this simple example:
- Спокойной ночи, выспись хорошенько!
Spokoynoy nochi, vyspis’ khoroshen’ko!
“Goodnight, get enough sleep!”
There are some Russian equivalents for this phrase, as well:
- Доброй ночи.
Dobroy nochi.
This one sounds good in both formal and informal situations.
- Сладких снов.
Sladkikh snov.
This one sounds very informal and even romantic, so you’d better save it for use with really close friends or your sweetheart.
If someone wishes you goodnight every day, you’re happier than many people.
8. Мне пора (Mne pora)
This is a great example of how to say goodbye in Russian when leaving a formal conversation. Мне пора (Mne pora) may be literally translated as “It’s time for me,” but it actually means “It’s time for me to go.”
Using this phrase implies that you not only need to cut the conversation short, but that you also need to leave your current location. It’s a good idea to elongate it with a more traditional way of saying goodbye in Russian, like in the example below:
- Мне пора, до свидания!
Mne pora, do svidaniya!
“It’s time for me to go, goodbye!”
You may also say:
- Боюсь, что мне пора.
Boyus’, chto mne pora.
“I’m afraid it’s time for me to go.”
9. Счастливо (Schastlivo)
Счастливо (Schastlivo) is a colloquial phrase for ending everyday conversations. The literal translation of it is “Happily,” and it’s like saying “All the best” in English.
We recommend that you use this phrase with people whom you know pretty well—otherwise, it would sound overly familiar. This is a good example of how it should be used:
- Классно провели время. Счастливо!
Klassno proveli vremya. Schastlivo!
“We’ve had a cool time. All the best!”
Pay attention to the stress. In this case, it falls on the vowel И, not on А like in all of the other cases.
10. Давай (Davay)
The literal translation of this word is “give” or “let’s,” but people often use it to mean something like “Bye-bye” in Russian.
Russians often use this word to say goodbye after a phone call or Skype chat with friends. Here’s an example:
- Давай, ещё созвонимся.
Davay, eshchyo sozvonimsya.
“We’ll talk later, byе.”
You should only use this goodbye phrase with your friends, acquaintances of your age, and close relatives.
Most Russian Skype sessions end with the word Давай. Russians really love this way of saying goodbye!
11. Conclusion
All of the words and phrases we covered in this article are used regularly in Russia. If you’re only a beginner, it’ll be sufficient for you to learn one formal, one informal, and one universal phrase from this article. If you’re an intermediate or advanced student, you’d better learn all ten of them (or even more!).
Please remember that if you need more help saying goodbye in Russian—or any other aspect of the Russian language—we have a Premium PLUS service called MyTeacher. One-on-one tutoring with your personal teacher will help you succeed at any point of your language-learning journey.
Do you know any other ways to say bye in Russian that we didn’t mention in this article? If yes, please leave a comment below.
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