A new word for today

[mendeleyev]

It certainly does not hurt to have a little humour when learning. Here is a creative video that teaches, repeats, and reinforces the following dialogue:

- Бабушка!  (Grandma!)

- Бегу, Митенька! Бегу, маленький! (I'm coming, Mitya! I'm coming, my little one!)  Please pay careful attention to how the term is stressed.




- Бабушка!  (Grandma!)

- Бегу, Митенька! Бегу, маленький! (I'm coming, Mitya! I'm coming, my little one!)
 

[mendeleyev]

Continuing on the grandmother theme, here are some terms for family mothers that I borrowed from another post:

The Russian term for family is семья (syem-ya) and the word for relatives is родственники (ROST-ven-niki). You likely know that grandmother is Бабушка (BAh-bush-ka), and grandfather is Дедушка (DYEH-dush-ka). Great-grandmother is прабабушка (pra-BAH-bush-ka).

A common nickname for any elderly lady can be Bah-bush-ka (grandmother), or it can be Баба (BAH-ba) and this latter term can be good, generic or bad. For example, if you see an old woman in a village out herding her goats you can use Баба and such use, depending on how you express it, is generally generic and thus okay. It can also be a very endearing and intimate nickname for your grandmother.

Баба can be, however, a very negative description, so be careful.

[mendeleyev]

This week, Naya with Russian featured her grandmother's blini recipe, and gave insights on how each day of pancake week is observed. You can learn more in thread here in this section of the forum, titled "Understanding her holidays."

Here are some of the words that Naya introduced:

milk  - молоко [malak`o]
water - вода [vad`a]
eggs - яйца [y'ay'tsa]
sugar - сахар [s`ahar]
salt - соль [sol']
vegetable oil - растительное масло [rast'it'il'nae masla]
flour - мука [mooka]
pancakes - блины [bl'ini]
honey-мёд [my'ot]
red/black caviar- красная/чёрная икра [krasnaya/chy'ornaya ikr`a]
cottage cheese - творог [tv`orag]

[mendeleyev]

Here are a couple of words used today on this forum:

Пожалуйста (pa-ZHA-loo-sta) has two meanings, and are often used together It is both Please and You're Welcome. Thus it is very common to hear the following:


- Пожалуйста (pa-ZHA-loo-sta) meaning "Please."

- Спасибо (spa-SEE-ba) meaning "Thank you."

- Пожалуйста (pa-ZHA-loo-sta) meaning "You're Welcome.




Also used on the forum today was this term: капитан which is really easy for those learning the Cyrillic alphabet. It translates easily. капитан is K-a-p-i-t-a-n, Captain.

[SANDRO43]

Пожалуйста (pa-ZHA-loo-sta)

IINM, the -loo- part (Brits, don't smirk ) is reduced to -l- only in normal speech?

[Anotherkiwi]

IINM, the -loo- part (Brits, don't smirk ) is reduced to -l- only in normal speech?

Agreed.  I've never heard it (from a native speaker) as anything other than pa-ZHARL-sta - so I copied it. 

[mendeleyev]

Ah, the bug a boo is in the letter й. And, my bad for quickly copying something without checking it thoroughly. My apologies.








While the pronunciation is uniformly the same, the way of transliterating it to English is not so uniform:

[mendeleyev]

More on пожалуйста.

There are 10 vowels in Russian, paired. Thus, 5 are hard and 5 are soft. Each soft vowel is paired with a hard vowel. There is the й letter that is not a vowel, even when sometimes called a "semi-vowel" but it is really an unpaired soft consonant. This short e sound takes its cues from surrounding letters.

At the end of a word it is often expressed as an extending e sound. синий is the colour blue, and sounds like "see-nee." That second й sound added to the existing e sound, ий, is what fills out the "nee" in "see-nee." We can hear the same in русский (Russian) "rue-skee." Think of украинский (Ukrainian), "ooh-kra-enskee" and Белорусский (Belorussian) "Byela-rue-skee."

However, it is not always an e at the end of a word--think of the pronoun мой which has a hint of the short e, but more of a y sound. And, when й is next to the letter A it becomes "ay." Think of the word чай (tea) "chai."  Think of a чайник (tea kettle), "chai-nik."

Sometimes when not at the end of a word, this form of e is sometimes silent, or it can take on other sounds from the word around it. For example, it becomes somewhat of a oy sound in the word Йо-Йо (Yo-Yo). Observe the same in Нью-Йорк (New York), and in йогурт (yogurt). This usage is most common in foreign words incorporated into Russian.

[mendeleyev]

Adverbs (наречия/наречий) that you may find useful to know:

 
осторожно = carefully/cautiously "ahs-ta-ROZ-ha"  You hear this sound every time a Metro door is about to close. 

точно = exactly/certainly "TOCH-na"

с надеждой = hopefully "sna-dyezh-DE"

сразу = immediately/at once  "SRA-zu"

иногда = sometimes/occasionally  "in-agh-DA"

может быть = maybe  "MO-zhet bweet"  быть is difficult but worth mastering. It literally means "be."

возможно = perhaps  "vahz-MOZH-na"

быстро = quickly/fast/rapidly  "BWE-stra"

постоянно = constantly/continually/regularly  "pas-ta-YAhN-na"

серьёзно = seriously/really/in earnest  If you speak this as "sere-YOZ-na" it will be understood.

Although it is one of the "soft vowels" in Russian, the letter ё is always stressed in a word. You don't often see this letter, but one of the most recognizable words is ёлка or "YOL-ka" which is the New Year tree (Christmas tree in the West).

To complicate matters, most Russian speakers do not write it as ё, but usually write is as e, and native Russian speakers understand when it is supposed to be spoken as an ё instead of an e.

[mendeleyev]

Two new words:

лук = onion "Luk"

приз = prize  "preez"
 

Which chips might taste the best? At left there is the малосольные огурчики с укропом (Salted cucumbers with dill) flavour, and to the right is Lay's зелёный лук (green onions) variety.



Perhaps you might be tempted by the one on the right because the top of the pack advertises a приз (prize) in each packet! (These are not called bags or packages, they are "packets".)

Which would you buy?

[jone]

I buy the Krab ones.  They are my favorites.

[jone]

Do you serve Crabs here?  Yes sir, we serve anyone.

[mhr7]

At first, I was skeptical about малосольные огурчики с укропом but they are now my favorite. Krab isn't bad either.

[msmobyone]

Thanks, Mendy

checked in and learnt I've been putting the wrong emphasises on some everyday words... grateful for all these examples

[mendeleyev]

Your best teacher, and tester of how you are doing, is that lovely lady!

[msmobyone]

Your best teacher, and tester of how you are doing, is that lovely lady!

Yes ..and no ... We don't correct each other, all the time - as we'd never get a conversation finished... 

Now, I find I get Russians looking at me...like, ''WHAT did he just say...?'' -  She understands exactly what I meant and repeats it ...and then I get the why didn't he say that in the first place look 

That's WHEN she tries to explain where I'm going wrong...

[mendeleyev]

Here is a practical quiz:

You find yourself in Moscow, near the Paveletskaya Metro and Train stations, and need to purchase some items/services. You stand in line behind this guy so that you make your purchases.

What can you buy here?




Bonus question: if you need transportation yourself in getting around this immediate neighborhood, what question might you ask the fellow in front of you?

If you need a closer view with a larger photo to see items, click on the photo below.

[Anotherkiwi]

Here is a practical quiz:

You find yourself in Moscow, near the Paveletskaya Metro and Train stations, and need to purchase some items/services. You stand in line behind this guy so that you make your purchases.

What can you buy here?

Pretty much everything except the kitchen sink. 

Bonus question: if you need transportation yourself in getting around this immediate neighborhood, what question might you ask the fellow in front of you?

Where did you hire your bike?  Do they hire out GPS units as well?