Здравствуйте

Dasha is a seven-year-old girl being raised in a suburb northwest of Chicago. In March, the family received a visit from Lyudmila Petrovna, her grandmother's oldest friend, a seventy-year-old woman who arrived from Moscow with a suitcase that smelled of chocolate. The greeting Dasha offered in the hallway was "privet," the only Russian hello she knew at the time. This choice was met with a noticeable pause, after which the girl's mother said the full "zdravstvuyte," placing a hand on her daughter's shoulder, and restoring the correct tone for the meeting with this word. The mistake made in the hallway was one of distance rather than politeness, because Russian greetings are divided according to the age of the listener and the closeness of the relationship. The question of how to say hello in Russian begins for a family with this division.

Hello and how to say hi in Russian

Privet (привет) is the form Dasha uses when talking to her cousins and the children at her Saturday school. It answers the question of how to say "hi" in Russian in almost all situations a child might encounter. The stress is on the second syllable, pree-VYET, and the 'r' is made with a quick tap of the tongue's tip. The diminutive form, privetik, is used among close friends when a more casual tone is desired, similar to how "hi" can be extended to "hiya" in English. For "hey," Russian teenagers often borrow the English word directly, or they might use the form zdorovo among close friends, though it carries a somewhat locker-room feel.

Hello and the formal hello

The initial "v" sound in "zdravstvuyte" (здравствуйте) is omitted in speech, so the spoken word begins with "zdra" and continues with "stvooytye," with the stress on the first syllable. Have your child practice it in two parts: "zdra" and then "stvooytye," and then speed up to connect the parts. The origin of the word is thought to be linked to an old wish for good health, which explains the weight the word carries in formal address. In Dasha's family, the word is now reserved for teachers and for adults they meet for the first time.

Как дела

"Kak dela?" (How are you?) was the question that followed in that hallway, and it was asked before the suitcase had reached the guest room. The answer that was given by Dasha was "khorosho" (good), and "normalno" (okay) would have performed the same work. Russians treat the question as a genuine one, and a full answer about school or the weather is received without surprise, while a short "fine, thanks" is understood as the end of the exchange. The formal version of this question takes the form of "kak vy pozhivayete," which is used together with "zdravstvuyte" when elders are being addressed, while "kak dela" is used together with "privet" when the conversation is held among friends. The combination "privet, kak dela?" performs the function of "hello, how are you?" in Russian informal situations, and the combination "zdravstvuyte, kak vy pozhivayete?" performs the same function when a formal address is required.

Hello?

Allo (алло) is the form that is reserved for telephone conversations. It is heard by Dasha whenever her grandmother in Moscow answers the phone, a drawn-out "ahh-LOH" with the stress on the end. The word entered the Russian language along with the telephone itself, according to common accounts via the French "allo," and has remained exclusively in the telephone register ever since. Consequently, the use of "allo" in face-to-face conversation is practically unheard of.

Good morning, good afternoon, good evening

Good morning, was brought down the stairs by Lyudmila Petrovna on the first morning of her visit to Chicago. Good day, accompanied the errands of the guest and the mother in Schaumburg, and good evening, was offered to the dinner guests at the door. These three forms are governed by the hour of the day rather than by formality, and they are applied to strangers and to grandmothers in the same manner.

Do you speak Russian and other first questions

At the Russian grocery store in Wheeling, the cashier opens the conversation by asking "vy govorite po russki?" (Do you speak Russian?) every time Dasha's family goes there shopping. The answer Dasha gives is "da, govoryu" (yes, I do), although "nemnogo" (a little) would be the honest answer for a child whose language knowledge is still developing. Dasha's father, who was raised solely on English, has one full sentence ready: "ya ne govoryu po russki" (I don't speak Russian). Strangers also ask "vy russkiy?" (Are you Russian?), and the adjective changes its ending depending on who is being described: "russkaya" for a woman and "russkiy" for a man.

How both greetings are taught at our school

Dasha started lessons at our school in April. Enrollment is opened by an assessment, at which a methodologist determines the child's level, and the child is then placed in a small group at that level with a teacher. Dasha's class is opened by the teacher with "hello," and the group's response is waited for before the lesson continues. Children aged 4 to 17 are taught at our school, and greetings form the material for the first week.

Frequently Asked Questions about saying hello in Russian