Learn how to say, "how are you"
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Erik: Hi! Welcome to RusianPod101.com. A fast, easy and fun way to learn Russian. My name is Eric and I’m joined here by? |
| Anna: Ana. привет! Hello, my name is Ana. And today we’re about to introduce you to a new fun way to learn Russian. |
| Erik: And according to this revolutionary new language learning system, it’s a radio talk show format. Which is entertaining while at the same time educational. If you will, edutainment. |
| Anna: That’s great, Eric. Not only we’ll have fun learning Russian, but we will have you speaking Russian from the very first lesson. |
| Erik: With our revolutionary breakdown approach. Even if you’re completely new to Russian, you’ll be able to speak some Russian by the end of this first lesson. |
| Anna: Each lesson is hosted by one native Russian teacher, that’s me, and one native English speaking teacher, fluent in Russian. That’s Eric. |
| Erik: The dialogues are all recorded by professional voice actors who are Russian or fluent in Russian. |
| Anna: And the lesson centers are current in practical dialogues you hear in Russia every day. |
| Erik: In addition to the dialogue, we break down the pronunciation of vocabulary words and phrases, so you can understand them and say them right away. |
| Anna: We’ll also cover cultural insights. Experiences about living and traveling in Russia and tips on using Russian you just won’t find in a textbook. |
| Erik: Now, the audio lesson you’re about listen to is just one part of our powerful system, as these lessons were designed to be used together with accompanying material on our site, RussianPod101.com |
| Anna: On our site, you can find bonus audio tracks, lesson notes, quizzes and other learning tools for each and every lesson. |
| Erik: There, you can sign up for a free lifetime account and try out all the powerful tools to get you speaking, right away. |
| Anna: So, Eric. What do you think? Let’s show them how it works! |
| Erik: Yes, Ana, that’s a great idea. Today we’re going to go through some phrases when you want to say “How are you?” in Russian and be able to respond politely. |
| Anna: This is a fast and fun lesson that is useful in lots of situations. |
| Erik: To see the phrases we’re going to cover today, stop by RussianPod101.com to get your free account and view the lesson note’s PDF while you listen or after you listen. |
| Anna: The lesson note’s PDF also has additional information as well. |
| Erik: Or, if you’re listening on an iPod, click the center button or tap the screen twice on an iPhone or iPod Touch. And you can see the phrases right there. So, Ana, what are we going to talk about today? |
Lesson focus |
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| Anna: Today, we’re going to talk about some very common phrases that can be used when you greet someone in Russian. These phrases are not only useful, but you’ll be able to impress your friends and family by teaching them how to say these three following phrases or words in Russian. “How are you?”, “Good.” and “Thanks.” |
| Erik: And as we will be talking about greetings, first we’re be going over? |
| Anna: Как дела? |
| Erik: Which means “How are you?” |
| Anna: Literally Как means “how” and дела means “matters” or “things”. |
| Erik: So, “How are things” in Russian, right? |
| Anna: Yes. |
| Erik: Okay. And just a quick note, if this is too easy for some of you listening, remember to stop by RussianPod101.com, there we have many more lessons that will start you on the road to your Russian language learning. |
| Anna: Yes, Eric. We have lessons for everyone. But, let’s move on. Let’s explain Как дела?. This is one of the most common ways to ask how he or she is doing. You can use it with your friends and acquaintances alike. Practice at home with your own family or friends as a fun way to change an everyday phrase. Say it in Russian! This is a great way to greet someone and together with this lesson and the next, you’ll be able to say “Hello”, ask how someone is and respond to the same question. |
| Erik: All right. Great explication, Ana. And just like that, in our lessons, when we give a vocabulary word or phrase, we give you an explication on how to use it. |
| Anna: But you know what else we do? |
| Erik: The proper pronunciation! So you can just start speaking like Ana here! So, Ana, can you repeat that phrase for us? And for those of you listening, don’t forget to repeat after Ana. All right, here we go. |
| Anna: Как дела? |
| Erik: One time, slowly. |
| Anna: Как дела? |
| Erik: Now, one more time, natural native speed with the translation. |
| Anna: Как дела? |
| Erik: “How are you?” All right, I think we got the pronunciation perfected. And we will give essential vocabulary words or phrases in our lessons, we always break it down just like that. One time fast for you to hear the natural speed. |
| Anna: One time slowly, so you can fully grasp the pronunciation. |
| Erik: And one more time at natural native speed, so you can speak like a native. |
| Anna: There is also a review track that provides you with Russians words, you can repeat and practice them and then gives you an English meaning. |
| Erik: You can try our review track if you visit our site. All right, now that we got the pronunciation perfected, we have our PDF lesson notes. |
| Anna: So we know exactly when and where to use these phrases. |
| Erik: So, Ana, when and where would we use this phrase Как дела? Can we use this phrase with anyone? |
| Anna: Well, Eric, you can use this phrase with almost everyone. But sometimes you just need to slightly modify it. |
| Erik: You can make a casual phrase, in this case Как дела?. |
| Anna: Right. |
| Erik: More polite by saying? |
| Anna: Как у вас дела? |
| Erik: So we just add у вас. So, what does that do in this case, Ana? |
| Anna: It gives a polite meaning to this phrase. |
| Erik: So, if I were speaking to my boss, for example. |
| Anna: You should say Как у вас дела? |
| Erik: Как у вас дела? and to my friend? |
| Anna: Как дела? |
| Erik: Как дела? What about to my mother? |
| Anna: Как дела? |
| Erik: Как дела? So really it’s a formal business setting. |
| Anna: Right. You’re right. Or if you meet the person for the first time. |
| Erik: Got you, thank you Ana. So, an important thing to know is that Russian places a lot of emphasis on politeness levels. |
| Anna: Yes, Eric. You’re right. There’s certain situations where you have to use polite language and other situations where you can use casual language. |
| Erik: Exactly. That’s why we offer both casual and polite language in our lesson notes. For example, the lesson notes PDF for this lesson would contain both formal and informal Russian, as well as the English translations, so you can compare the different politeness levels. |
| Anna: You know Eric, looking in the dialogue while listening at the same time really improves reading fluency in addition to improving listening ability. |
| Erik: Not just the dialogue, but vocabulary word and phrases that we cover in our audio lessons are also included in our PDF lesson notes, so that you can remember every single word that comes out in the lesson. So, Ana, what’s next on our list? |
| Anna: It’s an answer to the question Как дела?, and the answer is Хорошо, cпасибо.. |
| Erik: All right, Ana, let’s look at the word хорошо first. What does this mean? |
| Anna: It means “good”. |
| Erik: “Good”. And, is this a common response for the question Как дела?? |
| Anna: Actually there’s a variety of different answers you can use for this question, but хорошо is very common. |
| Erik: Okay. So let’s break it down, shall we? |
| Anna: Okay. хорошо |
| Erik: One time, slowly. |
| Anna: хорошо, хорошо |
| Erik: One time, natural native speed with the translation. |
| Anna: хорошо |
| Erik: “Good.” Okay, so if I ask you Как дела? |
| Anna: Хорошо, Эрик. |
| Erik: All right. |
| Anna: Как дела Эрик? “How are you, Eric?” |
| Erik: Хорошо, Ана. “Good, Ana.” Now, there’s a way that you can make this response ever a little bit better and learn one of the most common words that even some people on the street might know. |
| Anna: Right. |
| Erik: Yeah, I think many people know this word but they don’t know the meaning. What’s the word that we’re talking about right now? |
| Anna: This is cпасибо or “Thanks”. |
| Erik: “Thanks” or can it mean “Thank-you” as well? |
| Anna: Yes, of course. |
| Erik: Okay. So, if you want to give an even nicer response, you can use “Good, thanks.” |
| Anna: Хорошо, cпасибо. |
| Erik: Excellent. All right, let’s do this one more time. Ана, Как дела? |
| Anna: Хорошо Эрик, cпасибо. |
| Erik: Let’s break that one more down in English. And we’ll give out time for our listeners to repeat it. |
| Anna: Как дела? |
| Erik: “How are you?” |
| Anna: Хорошо, cпасибо. |
| Erik: “Good, thanks.” Okay, Ana, thank you very much. Спасибо. |
| Anna: Thank you, Eric. Спасибо Эрик. |
| Erik: These PDF lesson notes are perfect to look at while you’re listening to the lesson. You can print it out and even take notes on it to practice writing. |
| Anna: Yes, the lesson notes are indispensable. |
| Erik: So, definitively stop by RussianPod101.com, sign up for a free lifetime membership and pick up the lesson notes PDF. It’s a really effective and convenient way to study. |
| Anna: That’s right, Eric. And Russian pronunciation can be very different from your own language, so the best place to practice your Russian pronunciation is the premium learning center, there we have line by line audio. |
| Erik: One of our most powerful tools for improving pronunciation fast. There, you can listen to phrases as many times as you need too. |
| Anna: You can hear us again and again. |
| Erik: Oh boy. And with our line by line feature, you have the ability to rapidly improve your listening comprehension. Listen to the native Russian speakers and bite [some sizes] and phrases so you can perfect every single aspect of your Russian listening comprehension. |
| Anna: Repeat after the speaker to improve your pronunciation and don’t forget the recording software. You can perfect your pronunciation, too. |
| Erik: Right. On the same page, you can record your voice side by side to the native Russian speakers. This is the perfect way to compare you pronunciation with the native Russian speakers. |
| Anna: You can keep practicing and recording your voice. |
| Erik: That’s right. You can keep recording until you find your pitch and intonation. Build your fluency and perfect your pronunciation. |
| Anna: I actually had followed records for the first time. |
| Erik: Is that so? Hearing your voice for the first time is interesting, indeed. Hearing yourself speak in another language is surreal. It’s pretty fun, too. |
| Anna: Speaking of fun. Did you have fun? |
| Erik: Ana, I always have a fun time with you. |
| Anna: Thank you, Eric. You’re so kind. Oh, one more thing related to this lesson! A bit of cultural insight. |
| Erik: Sure, Ana, that’s a great idea. I have a couple of questions for you, actually. |
| Anna: Okay. |
| Erik: So, how do people greet each other in Russia? Do they say “Hello” every time and do they ask each other how they are or do they just say “Hello”? |
| Anna: Eric, it depends actually. But, sometimes you can say Хей, Как дела? which means “Hey, how are you?” |
| Erik: You say “Hey” in English. |
| Anna: Okay, we say Ей. |
| Erik: Ей Okay. This is with your friends. |
| Anna: Right. |
| Erik: Ей, Как дела? |
| Anna: Ей, Как дела? |
| Erik: Okay, and maybe in a more formal situation you would say “Hello” first? |
| Anna: Yes, you would say Здравствуйте! |
Outro |
| Erik: Which we’re going to learn all about in our next lesson. |
| Anna: Great, Eric. Thank you so much. |
| Erik: Okay. Ана, спасибо! |
| Anna: Спасибо Эрик! Пока пока! |
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