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. Let’s get started! Start with a bonus, and download the Must-Know Beginner Vocabulary PDF for FREE!(Logged-In Member Only) Table of Contents До свидания (Do svidaniya) Пока (Poka) Прощай... Show more

If you’re thinking about learning Russian but are hesitant to get started, you may be asking yourself: "Is Russian hard to learn?"  You’ve read in the language forums that it is, and maybe you’ve even heard this firsthand from someone you know who’s learned the language. But here’s a spoiler: it’s not that bad. And even though I’m a native Russian myself, and learned how to speak Russian at the same time as I learned how to walk (oh, a double struggle!), I can sympathize with the experience of my students and apply my own language-learning observations to help them combat common issues. So if you still haven’t decided whether you want to include Russian in your daily schedule or not, I might be able to help you decide. In this... Show more

Being able to ask questions is a very important communication skill that makes conversation sound lively and interesting. If you’re going to chat with a native Russian speaker, or if you want to travel to Russia one day, you should definitely know some basic questions in this language.  In this guide, we’ll help you learn ten of the most common questions in Russian. We’ll also give you some information about how to use these Russian questions and answers depending on the age of the person you’re speaking to, and teach you some Russian question words.  Let’s begin! Table of Contents Как тебя зовут? Откуда ты? Сколько тебе лет? Ты говоришь на ___? Сколько ты учишь ____? Ты был в ___? Как дела? Что... Show more

At some point in your Russian-learning journey, you’ll probably want to test your mettle and see how far you’ve come. After all, few things are as motivating as tangible progress!  To establish your proficiency in Russian, you have to pass the international TORFL test. If you don't know much about this examination, read our article to learn the basics. If you’ve already decided to take the main Russian test for foreigners, you should stick around too, because we’ll help you prepare for the big day! Table of Contents General Info on the TORFL Russian Language Test Who Needs to Take the TORFL Russian Exam? What’s Inside the TORFL? How to Pass the TORFL Russian Language Test Where to Take the TORFL Practice Test What... Show more

Making sentences in Russian isn’t easy for foreigners. To do it, you have to know not only vocabulary, but also the grammar of this complex language. If you want to start speaking as soon as possible, you’d better learn some Russian sentence patterns. By remembering them, you’ll be able to build your own sentences really quickly, without thinking too much about rules. In this article, you’ll find ten really useful Russian sentences for beginners. These sentences will help you have basic conversations with native speakers and feel more confident in your knowledge of the language. Don’t be lazy; we recommend that you spend a few hours remembering them. We’re sure that in the future, you’ll appreciate yourself for doing so! Table of... Show more

Why learn about Russian adverbs and Russian adverb rules? Imagine you’re in a city you’ve never been to and you’re asking for directions. The person knows exactly where you should go, but they just keep repeating "Go, then turn, then go." You’re stunned. What’s going on?  This is what life without adverbs would look like. As soon as you include "straight," "left," and "right" in the conversation with that passer-by, the interaction suddenly makes much more sense. This is what adverbs do: they add minor and major nuances to our everyday life. So, you actually have a solid reason to be interested in adverbs, and you’re in the right place to learn more about adverbs in Russian! In this article, we’ll cover Russian adverbs placement,... Show more

Russian verb conjugation… If you’re a beginner, you must be looking for your first conjugation tables to finally see what those proficient Russian learners have been intimidating you with. Or maybe you’re an intermediate learner who’s already mastered basic Russian conjugation rules and are now looking for more of a challenge. Maybe you’re an advanced learner who wouldn’t mind going over the basics again or learning new verb conjugation nuances you’ve never heard of? In any case, I’m happy to reveal some secrets to you that will help you tame the Russian verbs. It’s not a secret that Russian grammar (and verb conjugation, in particular) are demanding. It’s a long and complicated adventure, but I’m happy to guide you through the dark... Show more

Why is it important to study the most common verbs in Russian? Verbs are the backbone of every sentence. They help you keep track of the action in a sentence, and are absolutely essential for improving your language skills. So, this article is all about Russian verbs and will try to explain some of their important and unique aspects. Then at the end, we’ll give you a list of the 100 most essential Russian verbs to know for everyday situations. Before continuing, though, you may find it helpful to brush up on other parts of speech in Russian. We recommend checking out the following RussianPod101.com blog posts: Top 100 Adjectives in RussianTop 100 Nouns in RussianTop Russian Pronouns Table of Contents Learning the Russian... Show more

Psss, psss, you.  Yes, you.  RussianPod101 has chosen you for a top-secret mission. Don’t worry, no guns or poisoned apples are required. All you need is to equip yourself with a new portion of the Russian language and learn Russian pronouns with us. The thing is that we need you to deliver a message with secret information to a Russian spy. He’ll find you in the crowd on the street himself. The only difficulty is that you can’t name things directly in case there are enemy ears around. You’ll need to just drop some hints, and the Russian agent will understand. How? Well, Russian pronouns will help you. These tiny words replace nouns, and even adjectives, so that only the one who knows what you’re talking about will get the... Show more

Have you ever had difficulties with combining Russian words? We’re sure you know what we’re talking about. Russian word order is important because it makes sentences make sense. Without understanding the main principles of combining words, you won’t be able to communicate with native speakers while, let’s say, vacationing in Russia over the holidays or chatting on social media.Russian sentence structure is one of the most significant parts of learning the grammar rules of this language. If you learn how to make sentences word by word now, you probably won't have problems with more difficult themes in the future. So let's start studying! Table of Contents Overview of Word Order in Russian Basic Word Order with Subject, Verb, and... Show more