SRAS students meeting local peers in St. Petersburg at a special SRAS event. Most interactions with strangers in Russia will be a bit more formal.

SRAS students meeting local peers in St. Petersburg at a special SRAS event. Most interactions with strangers in Russia will be a bit more formal.

Addressing Strangers in Russian: Building Russian Vocabulary

Published: April 17, 2020

The following bilingual Russian MiniLesson is meant to build your vocabulary by providing Russian phrases within English text. Hover over the bold Russian to reveal its English translation.

When addressing strangers in Russia, it is important to maintain an appropriate level of politeness. The address should be in a formal manner, a person should apologize first, by saying โ€œะฟั€ะพัั‚ะธั‚ะตโ€ or โ€œะธะทะฒะธะฝะธั‚ะตโ€. One can also say, โ€œะธะทะฒะธะฝะธั‚ะต ะทะฐ ะฑะตัะฟะพะบะพะนัั‚ะฒะพโ€. Another way to address a stranger is to ask for information in a very humble manner, for example: โ€œะะต ะฟะพะดัะบะฐะถะตั‚ะตโ€ฆ.?โ€ or โ€œะ’ั‹ ะฝะต ัะบะฐะถะตั‚ะตโ€ฆ.?โ€ (Note: both of these translate the same in English, though โ€œะฟะพะดัะบะฐะถะตั‚ะตโ€ is slightly softer. Also note that Russian prefers negative questions to the positive questions that English prefers.)

One can also preface requests with โ€œะฑัƒะดัŒั‚ะต ะดะพะฑั€ั‹โ€ or โ€œะฑัƒะดัŒั‚ะต ะปัŽะฑะตะทะฝั‹โ€ in settings such as shops and restaurants to make their orders more polite.

There is a more direct way to address strangers, which is used when the matter requires more urgent attention, by saying, โ€œะผะพะปะพะดะพะน ั‡ะตะปะพะฒะตะบ!โ€ or โ€œะผัƒะถั‡ะธะฝะฐโ€ when addressing a man and โ€œะดะตะฒัƒัˆะบะฐโ€ when addressing a female. The address โ€œะดะตะฒัƒัˆะบะฐโ€ is typically used very frequently to females of almost any age, except for very old ladies when the address โ€œะถะตะฝั‰ะธะฝะฐ!โ€woman' is more appropriate.

People of very advanced age can be addressed as โ€œะฑะฐะฑัƒัˆะบะฐโ€ or โ€œะดะตะดัƒัˆะบะฐโ€. While the use of these may sound informal to most Westerners, they are generally a title of respect in Russia.

Rarely used but still sometimes heard are the terms โ€œะณะพัะฟะพะดะธะฝ, ะณะพัะฟะพะถะฐ, ะณะพัะฟะพะดะฐโ€. This form of address was commonly used in Russiaโ€™s tsarist days, until it was replaced by โ€œั‚ะพะฒะฐั€ะธั‰โ€ during the Soviet period. It came back into use when Russians were searching for an appropriate form of address to replace โ€œั‚ะพะฒะฐั€ะธั‰โ€ in the immediate post-Soviet period, but is not a very commonly used form of address.

There is a more direct way to form questions when in a hurry such as, โ€œัะบะฐะถะธั‚ะตโ€ฆโ€, but the speaker should keep in mind to add โ€œะฟะพะถะฐะปัƒะนัั‚ะฐโ€ immediately after their request to keep their manner polite.

Gypsies addressing people on the streets in the hope to get some money for fortune-telling may address passers-by in broken Russian, โ€œะผะพะถะฝะพ ัะฟั€ะพัะธั‚ัŒ?โ€

A less cultured manner, which is sometimes used to be intentionally confrontational or to directly contradict someone is to preface requests with โ€œะฟะพัะปัƒัˆะฐะนโ€ or โ€œัะนโ€. A very rude form is โ€œโ€œะกะปั‹ัˆะธัˆัŒ, ั‚ั‹?โ€ It may be used by a person who intends to start fighting.

Young children may address adults they donโ€™t know as โ€œั‚ั‘ั‚ั! ะดัะดั!โ€ Adults wishing to address children they do not know may say โ€œะผะฐะปัŒั‡ะธะบ! ะดะตะฒะพั‡ะบะฐ! ั€ะตะฑัั‚ะฐ!โ€

If you want to make sure that someone is indeed addressing you, you may respond by saying โ€œะ’ั‹ ะบะพ ะผะฝะต (ะพะฑั€ะฐั‰ะฐะตั‚ะตััŒ)?โ€ โ€œะ’ั‹ ะผะตะฝั ะทะพะฒั‘ั‚ะต?โ€

Examples From Literature and the Press

ะะพ, ะฟะพัะปัƒัˆะฐะนั‚ะต, ั‡ั‚ะพ ะถะต ั ะผะพะณัƒ ะฒะฐะผ ะดะฐั‚ัŒ? ะšะฐะบะธะต ัƒ ะผะตะฝั ะผะตัั‚ะฐ?
ะ. Chekhov

โ€œะ˜ะทะฒะธะฝะธั‚ะต ะผะตะฝั, ะฟะพะถะฐะปัƒะนัั‚ะฐโ€™, ะทะฐะณะพะฒะพั€ะธะป ะฟะพะดะพัˆะตะดัˆะธะน ั ะธะฝะพัั‚ั€ะฐะฝะฝั‹ะผ ะฐะบั†ะตะฝั‚ะพะผ, ะฝะพ ะฝะต ะบะพะฒะตั€ะบะฐั ัะปะพะฒ, โ€œั‡ั‚ะพ ั, ะฝะต ะฑัƒะดัƒั‡ะธ ะทะฝะฐะบะพะผ, ะฟะพะทะฒะพะปััŽ ัะตะฑะตโ€ฆ ะฝะพ ะฟั€ะตะดะผะตั‚ ะฒะฐัˆะตะน ัƒั‡ะตะฝะพะน ะฑะตัะตะดั‹ ะฝะฐัั‚ะพะปัŒะบะพ ะธะฝั‚ะตั€ะตัะตะฝ, ั‡ั‚ะพโ€ฆ'โ€even though I am not an acquaintance of yours, may I allow myself to...it's just that the subject of your scholarly conversation is so interesting that...'
ะœ. Bulgakov

โ€œะญะน, ะขะพะปัั‚ะพะน,โ€ ะพะฟัั‚ัŒ ะทะฐะณะพะฒะพั€ะธะป ะšะพัั‚ั‹ะปัŒ, โ€œั‚ั‹ ั‡ะตะณะพ ะผะพะปั‡ะธัˆัŒ-ั‚ะพ?โ€
V. Pelevin

โ€œะ’ะฐัˆ ะฑะธะปะตั‚ะธะบ, ะผะพะปะพะดะพะน ั‡ะตะปะพะฒะตะบ,โ€ โ€“ ัะบะฐะทะฐะป ะบะพะฝั‚ั€ะพะปะตั€, ะฝะตั€ะฒะฝะพ ะฟะพั‰ะตะปะบะธะฒะฐั ะฝะธะบะตะปะธั€ะพะฒะฐะฝะฝั‹ะผะธ ั‡ะตะปัŽัั‚ัะผะธ.
A. Ivanov

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SRAS

SRAS

SRAS is a team of consultants and advisers dedicated to the educational opportunities offered by our unique locations. Our team has studied within the educational systems of the locations we represent and we continue to live in and/or regularly travel to those cities. This gives us the local insight we need to provide effective educational programming as well as safe and informed experiences for our students and clients.

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