How to Use Basic Greetings

Learn how to use basic greetings

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Russian by RussianPod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use basic greetings in Russian.

For example, "good afternoon" is

Добрый день. (Dobryy den'.)

Karolina Kalashnikova is the Maslova family's Russian teacher.

Her schedule for the day is:

Milena Maslova at 9:00 a.m.

Marina Maslova at 12:00 p.m.

Mikhail Maslov at 6:00 p.m.

Before you listen to the greeting exchange between the three pairs, let's preview some of their key components.

Доброе утро. (Dobroye utro.)

"Good morning."

Доброе утро.

Добрый день. (Dobryy den'.)

"Good afternoon."

Добрый день.

Добрый вечер. (Dobryy vecher.)

"Good evening."

Добрый вечер.

Здравствуйте. (Zdravstvuyte.)

"Hello."

Здравствуйте.

Listen to their conversations, and pay attention to the time of day.

Karolina Kalashnikova has a morning class with Milena Maslova at 9 a.m.

Доброе утро. (Dobroye utro.)

Later, Karolina Kalashnikova has an afternoon class with Marina Maslova at 12 p.m.

Добрый день. (Dobryy den'.)

At the end of the day, Karolina Kalashnikova has an evening class with Mikhail Maslov at 6 p.m.

Добрый вечер. (Dobryy vecher.)

Здравствуйте, Михаил. (Zdravstvuyte, Mikhail.)

Once more with the English translation.

Доброе утро. (Dobroye utro.)

"Good morning."

Доброе утро. (Dobroye utro.)

"Good morning."

Добрый день. (Dobryy den'.)

"Good day."

Добрый день. (Dobryy den'.)

"Good day."

Добрый вечер. (Dobryy vecher.)

"Good evening."

Здравствуйте, Михаил. (Zdravstvuyte, Mikhail.)

"Hello, Mikhail."

Let’s take a closer look at each of these expressions.

In the first conversation, do you remember how Milena says,

"Good morning."

Доброе утро. (Dobroye utro.)

First is доброе утро (dobroye utro). "Good morning." Доброе утро.

Note, доброе утро (dobroye utro), can be used until around noon.

The teacher 's response is the same,

Доброе утро. (Dobroye utro.)

Доброе утро (Dobroye utro) is a common way to greet people during the morning. You can use it in formal and less formal situations.

In the second conversation, which takes place at noon, do you remember how Marina says,

"good day."

Добрый день. (Dobryy den'.)

Добрый день. (Dobryy den'.) "Good day." Добрый день .

Note, добрый день (dobryy den') can be used from around noon until around 5 PM.

The teacher 's response is the same,

Добрый день. (Dobryy den'.)

Добрый день (dobryy den’) is a common way to greet people during the day. You can use it in formal and less formal situations.

In the third conversation, which takes place in the evening at 6 p.m., do you remember how Mikhail says,

"Good evening."

Добрый вечер. (Dobryy vecher.)

Добрый вечер. (Dobryy vecher.) "Good evening." Добрый вечер .

Добрый вечер (Dobryy vecher) is a common way to greet people during the evening in both formal and less formal situations.

Do you remember the teacher's response,

"Hello, Mikhail."

Здравствуйте, Михаил. (Zdravstvuyte, Mikhail.)

Здравствуйте (Zdravstvuyte). Literally "be in good health" but it translates as "hello." Здравствуйте.

Next is Mikhail’s name pronounced in Russian. Михаил (Mikhail). Михаил . Михаил.

Together, it's Здравствуйте, Михаил. (Zdravstvuyte, Mikhail.) "Hello, Mikhail."

Note, здравствуйте (zdravstvuyte) is the most common formal way to greet someone. It can be used throughout the whole day.

Здравствуйте, Михаил. (Zdravstvuyte, Mikhail.)

Note that the teacher addresses Mikhail by his first name, as he’s younger. This makes the greeting sound more informal.

In Russian, the most common greeting is Здравствуйте (Zdravstvuyte), a formal greeting translating as "Hello." Здравствуйте, means something like "be healthy" or "be in good health," as in "I wish you to be healthy" or "Be in good health." This greeting comes from the outdated word здравие (zdraviye), "health".

You can use this greeting when meeting someone for the first time or with someone in a higher social status, such as a teacher or a boss. “Здравствуйте.”

Здравствуй (Zdravstvuy), also meaning "Hello," is slightly less formal, and can be used when speaking to people of equal social status, such as a colleague. Здравствуй.

In your Russian learning journey, you will come across Здрасьте (Zdras’te), an informal greeting meaning, "Hello."

Здрасьте (Zdras’te) is quite casual, and is used in informal situations, such as when greeting a friend or neighbor. Note, this expression can come across as too casual and possibly offend the listener or listeners. Therefore, while you should be aware of Здрасьте (Zdras’te), the safer greeting is Здравствуйте.

In Russian it's not common to address people with "Mr." and "Mrs." When it comes to formal greetings, Russians address someone by their first name, together with the patronymic.

The patronymic is formed from the father's given name and the suffix -ович (-ovich) or -евич (yevich) for men, and -овна (-ovna) or евна (yevna) for women.

So for example, if the fathers name is Сергей (Sergey) the patronymic for men would be Сергеевич (Sergeyevich) and for women Сергеевна (Sergeyevna).

Let’s look at the greetings once more.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speaker.

Добрый день. (Dobryy den'.)

"Good day."

Добрый день. (Dobryy den'.)

Добрый вечер. (Dobryy vecher.)

"Good evening."

Добрый вечер. (Dobryy vecher.)

Доброе утро. (Dobroye utro.)

"Good morning."

Доброе утро. (Dobroye utro.)

Здравствуйте. (Zdravstvuyte.)

"Hello."

Здравствуйте. (Zdravstvuyte.)

Привет! (Privet!)

"Hi!"

Привет! (Privet!)

Let’s take a closer look at the last greeting.

Привет! (Privet!) "Hi!" Привет! Привет!

In informal situations, you can just use the greeting, привет (privet), "hi," at any time of the day.

Привет is one the most common greetings in Russian. However, it’s only suitable for informal situations, such as when greeting friends or relatives.

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how Milena says,

"Good morning."

Доброе утро. (Dobroye utro.)

And how Marina says,

"Good day."

Добрый день. (Dobryy den'.)

Do you remember how to say,

"Good evening."

Добрый вечер. (Dobryy vecher.)

Do you remember the formal way to say,

"Hello"?

Здравствуйте. (Zdravstvuyte.)

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Mikhail Maslov , and you're attending your morning class.

Respond by saying "Good morning."

Ready?

Здравствуйте, Михаил. (Zdravstvuyte, Mikhail.)

Доброе утро. (Dobroye utro.)

Listen again and repeat.

Доброе утро. (Dobroye utro.)

Let's try another.

Imagine you're Milena Maslova , and you’re attending your afternoon class.

Respond by saying "Good day".

Ready?

Добрый день. (Dobryy den'.)

Listen again and repeat.

Добрый день. (Dobryy den'.)

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you're Marina Maslova , and you meet your neighbor in the evening.

Respond by saying "Good evening."

Ready?

Добрый вечер. (Dobryy vecher.)

Listen again and repeat.

Добрый вечер. (Dobryy vecher.)

This is the end of this lesson.

In this lesson, you learned how to use basic greetings in Russian. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of using basic greetings.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

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