Video Lesson: Russian Stress Patterns

Everything you wanted to know about stress in Russian words — in the video below.

Russian Word of the Day: до

до - until, till, up to, before

до + genitive case

Russian Word of the Day: -нибудь

-нибудь is a particle that shows uncertainty. It can be added to some words. Let’s look at the examples:

Russian Word of the Day: верить

верить - to believe, to trust

Russian Word of the Day: ли

ли — whether, if

It's one of those tricky-to-translate words, so let's look at the sentences with ли.

Не пойти ли нам погулять? - Won't we go for a walk?

Не знаю, могу ли я это сделать. - I don't know whether I can do it.

Купить ли мне новый телефон? - Should I buy a new phone?

Мне ли не знать. - I should know.

Russian Word of the Day: один

один - one, alone, some

Возьми одно яблоко. - Take one apple.

Я расскажу тебе одну историю. - I'll tell one story.

У циклопа есть только один глаз. - A cyclops has just one eye.

Принимай по одной таблетке три раза в день. - Take one pill three times a day.

Russian Word of the Day: чтобы

чтобы, чтоб — to, so that

Чтобы стать образованным человеком, надо много читать. - You should read a lot to become educated.

Чтобы волосы были красивыми, надо пользоваться натуральным шампунем. - You should use natural shampoo, if you want to have beautiful hair.

Russian Word of the Day: стать

One of the meanings of стать is to become.

Russian Word of the Day: если

если - if

Russian Word of the Day: аллергия

аллергия - allergy

Russian Word of the Day: много

много – a lot of, much, many

Russian Word of the Day: пляж

пляж - beach

Russian Word of the Day: водка

водка - vodka

Russian Word of the Day: почему

Today's word is почему (why). It's very easy to use.

почему

Почему кровь красная? - Why is blood red?

Почему у тебя зелёные волосы? - Why is your hair green?

Russian Word of the Day: первый

Hello there. Today we are starting a series of short posts that will show you how to use various Russian words. And we'll start with the word первый, which means... first!

первый - first

первый раз - first time

первый класс - first class, first grade

первая любовь - first love

Living in Moscow: Videos

Many people learn Russian to live and work in Russia. Here are a few informative videos about living in Moscow.

The Russian Language

My opinion is that it's rude to not even try to learn the language of the country you live in. Locals will love hearing you speak some Russian, don't be shy!

Living in Moscow: An Overview

How to learn foreign languages: video collection

Here are a few great videos about language learning. Some are short, some are longer. They cover all sorts of topics – make sure to write down the most important tidbits!

Hacking language learning

“Взламывая» иностранные языки

Ciaela's tips

Советы Сиаэлы

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

Russian vocabulary: привычка, привыкнуть

  Today we will look at Russian words describing habits and doing things one is used to.

привычка - custom, habit, wont, mannerism

привыкнуть - to get used to, to become accustomed to

отвыкнуть - to get out of the habit of, to become disaccustomed

привычный - habitual, customary, accustomed

привычно - habitually

непривычный - unusual, unfamiliar, uncustomary

вредная (дурная) привычка - “harmful habit”, bad, obsessive habit (such as smoking or biting your fingernails)

Russian texts online

  Reading is one of the best ways to enrich your vocabulary and improve grammar skills. If you don't have access to physical books in Russian, there are still many options online.

Project Gutenberg offers free e-books in many languages including Russian.

Журнал «Самиздат» is a place where Russian beginner authors can publish their works online. Some even get a contract with a publisher, if their stories become popular. You can search the site by genre (Жанры), view latest entries (Последние поступления) or simply check the best works (Избранное, Топ-40 and Топ-30).

Стихи.Ру publishes modern poetry in Russian.

Multilingual Books offers you an extensive list of links to Russian literature online.