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.
If a man likes a woman, he can ask of her
or, if he is more bashful, and she will understand that he is asking her on a date. She can agree . When they meet, he might pay her compliments by saying or, if he wanted to seem more “hip” and modern, he could say . If, over time, he develops stronger feelings, he might tell her that or, if he wanted to use another common but less direct phrase he might say that, . Of course, if he wants to get right to the point, he would say .To describe his feelings to his friends using slang, he might say
or he might use the more commonly accepted phrase . If the woman likes him as well, she might begin , and say when he calls her. He might respond with and say or even .The two might begin to refer to each other with pet names such as
, and .Russian lovers don’t call each other “honey” and often think it amusing when English speakers do. They most often use the words
, and , and very often some derivation of the word . More creative titles include “родная”, which comes from the same stem as and , two of the highest valued elements in traditional Russian culture. Other terms are , , and even (not commonly used).Probably no one is more famous for sweet nothings in Russian than A.C. Pushkin. His best known diatribe on love starts as follows:
. Most of Pushkin’s poems on the subject juxtapose love and sorrow. Take, for example, “The man might decide one day to tell the woman
or . He might simply say and she will understand that he feels that he needs her in his life always.At this time, the man might decide that it is time to
. He might say, after repeating much of the above phrases, or he might use , which is more common and pithier.Later on, if their family is happy, people can say about them
, meaning that they live in perfect harmony, that they are soul mates. People may also say simply . He might call he by more mature terms of endearment such as or “родная”, which means “darling” but also implies “my home” or “my own place, where I am meant to be”. She can call him , meaning that she can rely on him for anything.Although many Russians are beginning to adopted more western-oriented values in this regard, most Russians believe that ideal home is one in which the wife
, to which the man will always .