The grandmother asks for help over the phone.
«Type in your address for me, I'll write it down.».
The child takes a envelope from the table and reads what is printed on it.
1208 Maple Street, Apt 3B
Springfield, IL 62704
This address is fictitious for example. There are only two lines, and the whole conversation revolves around the title. What is the number, what is the name, is it even necessary to say «Klenova Street»?
If grandma is writing down the address for the letter, send it to her in Latin text. Next, it's just a matter of how to read the address and explain it in Russian.
There are fewer familiar words of explanation in the American address
A Russian address is convenient to dictate over the phone with signatures. The street is such-and-such, the house is such-and-such, the apartment is such-and-such, the city, region, and postcode. Each number is accompanied by its own word, and the grandmother understands from these words where to write it down.
The American address contains fewer words of hint than the ones we are used to hearing in Russian. There are Street and Apt, followed by numbers and names. What is there and what isn’t is clear from the position of the line.
In a phone call, the lines are not visible. Therefore, it is convenient to add such captions when dictating in Russian. Home. Apartment. City. State. Index.
And the names remain as they were.
Number at the beginning of the line
In the American line, the house number is placed first, in front of the street. In the Russian tradition, it comes after it.
If you read «thousand two hundred and eight Maple Street» in succession, your grandmother might think it's an index or a phone number.
Just one word is enough.
«House of a thousand two hundred and eight.».
In English, this number is often pronounced as twelve oh eight. In Russian, «twelve zero eight» will also be understood, but for recording it is safer to use an entire number or numbers in one go. One, two, zero, eight.
Maple Street remains Maple Street
Maple in English means «pine». A child who knows both languages is happy to translate and receive the name of the street.
Going back from Maple Street won't be possible anymore. Grandma will either name it after her friend or mark it on the map, and there will be a completely different street or none at all.
The street's name is arranged as a name. The Green neighbor by surname is called Green in Russian; that doesn't make him a Green. Springfield in Russian is Springfield, and no one mentions spring and the fields in it.
No one calls Broadway the Wide Road. Hollywood, if translated by words, would be a forest of islands, and no one calls it that either.
The same goes for the street. In Russian, it is called that because it sounds that way.
«Maple Street».
The name on the envelope remains Maple Street. People say it out loud when they pronounce it in Russian.
The word «street» in such names is written in Russian with a lowercase letter and a hyphen, like in «Wall Street». It is not necessary to add «street» in front; «street» already means that. People just say «we live on Maple Street».
On the envelope, the second half of the name is often abbreviated. St, Ave, Dr, Blvd, Ln. They should be read in their entirety: street, avenue, drive, boulevard, lane. The letters Dr in the address mean Drive; they have nothing to do with a doctor.
Reductions in the American address
On the envelope, the second half of the street name and the word "Apt" before the apartment number are usually abbreviated. They are read out loud in their entirety.
| On the envelope | The full word | How to say it in Russian |
|---|---|---|
| St | Street | street |
| Ave | Avenue | avenue |
| Boulevard | Boulevard | boulevard |
| Dr | Drive | drive |
| Ln | Lane | Lein |
| Apt | Apartment | Apartment |
The table only shows the reductions mentioned in the article. They remain the same on the envelope.
One such address grandma already knows.
Baker Street, 221b.
Sherlock Holmes lives at this address in the stories of Conan Doyle, and nobody calls it Pekarskaya Street in Russian. Baker remains Baker, and Street becomes what is familiar to the Russian ear: «street.».
With Maple Street, it's the same principle.
Where the translation has finally taken root
There is a case where the Russian name translates the title, and it has been a long time since that happened. We are talking about streets with numbers.
In Russian, Fifth Avenue in New York is commonly called the Fifth Avenue. The 42nd Street is called the Forty-second Street.
If the family lives on the street with a number instead of a name, you can also say it that way. The names for maple, oak, and birch remain in English, however; Maple, Oak, and Elm.
An apartment with a letter
Behind the letters Apt is the word «apartment,» in Russian "kvartira.".
In room 3B there are two parts: a number and a Latin letter. It sounds like this out loud.
«Apartment three, and the Latin letter B.
The word «Latin» is not superfluous here. The printed B looks like the Russian «v», and without prompting, grandma can write the Russian «V».
A state of two letters
After the city there are two capital letters, IL. This is how the postal service abbreviates the name of the state; each state has its own abbreviation, always consisting of two letters.
The full name here is Illinois. In Russian, this state is called Illinois, with a «s» at the end, although in English pronunciation the last letter is not heard. Russian state names have long been established, and it is worth mentioning them. California, Texas, Florida, New York.
One sentence is enough for the grandmother.
«Illinois State.».
If she needs the letters themselves, it's the Latin I and L, out loud «ay, el», both capitalized.
The index is read using one digit.
In our example, the ZIP Code consists of five digits. An American address also has an extended ZIP+4 with four more digits after the hyphen. In Russian, it is called a «postal code».
If Grandma is used to the Russian index, it has six digits. It’s better to warn her about the fifth one, otherwise she’ll keep waiting for the sixth one.
«Index, five digits. Six, two, seven, zero, four.
In Russian, zero is called nol. The English habit of saying «ooh» instead in Russian dictation only confuses things.
If you need the letters themselves
Sometimes the grandmother needs to write the name in Latin letters, like on an envelope. Then they dictate it word by word.
Russian speech has its own tricks for this, and in every family they are a little different. «Es like a dollar.» «And with a dot.».
But it's easier to send a photo of the envelope or the address via text message. The address is needed for another reason. Grandma wants to know where her grandchildren live and to be able to say that name.
How it sounds in its entirety
The same envelope, read in Russian.
«Write down. House one thousand two hundred and eight, Maple Street.».
«Apartment three, and the Latin letter B.
«The City of Springfield».
«Illinois State.».
«Index, five digits. Six, two, seven, zero, four.
All the names remained in their places. Maple, Springfield, Illinois. Five Russian words were added that weren't on the envelope, and grandma figured out the rest from them.
Address by parts
The same conditional address from the article, broken down into one part. In the third column is the Russian signature and how to pronounce that part.
| On the envelope | What is that | How to read in Russian |
|---|---|---|
| 1208 | house number | house thousand two hundred and eight |
| Maple Street | street name | Maple Street |
| Apartment 3B | Apartment | Apartment three, and the Latin letter B |
| Springfield | city | the city of Springfield |
| IL | state | Illinois state |
| 62704 | ZIP Code, postal code | Index, five digits, six, two, seven, zero, four |
The address is fictitious for the example. For the letter, the address is sent to the grandmother in Latin text, as it is written on the envelope.
Frequently asked questions about the American address in Russian
Is it necessary to translate the name of an American street into Russian?
No. The street name is arranged as a name; in Russian, it is pronounced as it sounds. Maple Street is pronounced "Maple Street" out loud, and on the envelope it remains "Maple Street".
What is a ZIP Code in Russian?
Postal code. In the example from the article, it consists of five digits; there is also an extended ZIP+4 code with an additional four digits after the hyphen. It is convenient to read the index out loud using one digit at a time.
What does Apt mean in an American address?
Behind the letters Apt is the word apartment, in Russian «kvartira». Apt 3B sounds like this: «apartment three, and the Latin letter is b.».
How to decipher St, Ave, Dr, Blvd and Ln in an address?
These are Street, Avenue, Drive, Boulevard, and Lane. In Russian, they are read in their entirety: street, avenue, drive, boulevard, lane. The letter Dr in the address means Drive.
What do the two letters after the city name mean?
So the postal service abbreviates the state name; each state has its own abbreviation, always two letters. IL stands for Illinois. It’s enough for grandma to say «the state of Illinois.».
How do you spell Maple Street in Russian?
The word «street» in such names is written in Russian with a lowercase letter and a hyphen, like in «Wall Street».
How to dictate an American address to a grandmother for a letter?
For the letter, it is better to send it in Latin text as it is written on the envelope. In Russian, with the signatures «house», «apartment», «city», «state», and «index», the address is read so that the grandmother can understand where the grandchildren live and can pronounce that name.
There are articles about the letter itself on the blog. Letter to Grandma and more name written in Cyrillic.
