Russian roofs can be... different

  Russian word for a roof, крыша, means more than just that. It originates from крыть - to cover. Let's start with which prepositions you can use with крыша:

на крыше (plural: на крышах) — on the roof (something is there)

на крышу (на крыши) — to the roof

по крыше (по крышам) — on the roof (something is moving there)

о крыше (о крышах) — about a roof

с крыши (с крыш) — from the roof

в крыше (в крышах) — in the roof

под крышей (под крышами) — under the roof

из-за крыши (из-за крыш) — from-behind the roof

нет крыши (нет крыш) — no roof

много крыш — many roofs

Дождь барабанит по крыше. - Rain is drumming on the roof.

Весна. С крыш капает. - Spring. It's dripping from the roofs.

Ласточки построили гнездо под нашей крышей. - Swallows built a nest under our roof.

Сейчас же спустись с крыши! - Get down from the roof now!

крыша над головой (a roof above one’s head) means home, a place to stay.

Хорошо, когда есть крыша над головой. - It's nice to have a place to stay.

выше крыши - a lot, too much (literally: above the roof)

Работы выше крыши. - There is a lot of work.

Крыша can also mean sanity.

крыша поехала - «roof slid off»

крыша едет - «roof is sliding off»

крыша не в порядке - «the roof is not okay»

All these things mean that someone has lost his marbles.

У меня крыша поехала. - I've gone nuts.

Тихо шифером шурша, крыша едет не спеша. - «Quietly rustling with slate, the roof is slowly sliding away.» It means to slowly go insane or to not be able to comprehend something, like after a whole night of studying for exams. Do you get Russian humour now? :)

And of course not mentioning mafia would be wrong. :) Крыша also means protection provided by criminal organizations for businesses, such as shops. You have “krysha” — other criminals won't dare bothering you. (Read more about Russian criminal slang here.)

You can also read a Wikipedia article about (normal) roofs in Russian for additional practice, if you like.

Bonus song

Юрий Антонов «Крыша дома твоего»

Yuri Antonov “Your house's roof”

1983