7 Best Ways To Learn Russian (Like a Pro)
Russian is one of the most widely spoken native languages in Europe. It belongs to the Slavic group of the Indo-European language family. The total number of Russian language speakers around the world is estimated to be from 255 to 285 million.
Russian is one of the five official languages of the United Nations and ranks as the major world language along with Chinese, English, Spanish and Hindi. It is the native language of 142 million citizens of the Russian Federation, the world’s largest country.
As the language is widely spoken and ranked in the major languages of the United Nations there are many benefits from being able to communicate with all kinds of people in all types of situations in Russian-speaking countries and beyond.
In this blog, we will discuss the 7 best ways to learn Russian (like a pro)
1) Master the Russian Alphabet
If you want to know how to learn Russian, the alphabet is the best place to start. The Russian alphabet is easy to learn because it’s very phonetic. Russians use the “Cyrillic” alphabet, named after the Greek monk, St. Cyril.
The alphabet consists of 33 letters, and it may seem unfamiliar at first. However, it has many similarities to the English alphabet. Some of the letters look and sound exactly like their English counterparts: A, B, D, K, L, M, O, and T.
On the other hand, some Cyrillic letters have the same pronunciation as English letters but look differently. For example, the Cyrillic “г” sounds like the English “g,” and the Cyrillic “ф” sounds like the English “f.”
There are really only a few new sounds that need to be learned, but the rules of Russian pronunciation are simple. With a few exceptions, you typically pronounce words as they’re spelt and spell them as they’re pronounced.
Realistically, you could learn Cyrillic in a day. While you may make a few mistakes at first, practice will help you learn to distinguish between the English and Russian alphabets.
2) Learn Common Russian Words First
common words Every language has words that are more commonly used than others, so it’s helpful to learn these first as they’ll come in handy during the daily conversation. Start by learning the words listed below.
- Здравствуйте (Hello)
- Привет (Hi)
Доброе утро (Good morning)
- До свидания (Goodbye)
- Как Вы живёте? (How are you?)
- Было приятно познакомиться с Вами (Nice to meet you)
- Да (Yes)
- Нет (No)
- Пожалуйста (Please)
- Спасибо (Thank you)
If you’re learning Russian for a specific purpose, such as travel or business, there will be a set of vocabulary terms that you should work to memorize first. Be sure to let your Russian teacher know your goals, and he or she will help you learn the most useful vocabulary right away.
3)Find Cognates in Russian
When wondering how to learn Russian quickly, one of the first steps you should take is to find words that have the same meanings in both Russian and English.
There are many words in Russian that sound just like their English counterparts. Start with the examples below.
- Телефон (telephone)
- Компьютер (computer)
- Такси (taxi)
- Аэропорт (airport)
- Лампа (lamp)
- Технология (technology)
- Температура (temperature)
4) Learn the Rules of Russian Grammar
There are three genders in the Russian language: masculine, feminine, and neuter. Here are the rules for determining which gender a certain noun is. Look at the last letter of the word.
- If it is a consonant, or “й”, the word is masculine.
- If it is “а” or “я”, the word is feminine.
- If it is “о” or “е”, the word is neuter.
- If it is a silent letter, like “ь”, then it could be either masculine or feminine.
There are very few exceptions to these rules, but the notable ones occur mainly because of physical gender. For example, the following exceptions occur because the person you’re referring to is male, so the word is masculine.
- Папа (Dad)
- Дядя (Uncle)
- Дедушка (Grandfather)
- Мужчина (Man)
5) Take Advantage of Flexible Sentences
practice writing Word order in Russian sentences is very flexible and different from the firm, “subject-verb-object” structure that English speakers are used to. For example, in Russian there are several ways to express the statement, “I live in Miami.”
- Я живу в Маями. (I live in Miami)
- В Маями я живу. (In Miami I live)
- Живу в Маями. (Live in Miami) – You can skip the pronoun altogether!
6) Learn From a Russian Teacher
Private lessons from an experienced Russian teacher are the best way to learn Russian – whether you take in person or online lessons. A professional speaker can provide a structured learning plan that is tailored to your individual needs and goals.
If you want to learn Russian like a pro then there is an online language learning course available at Multibhashi. They have highly professional teachers. You can interact with them personally or group wise. So join us now at-
7)Practice Speaking & Writing
The best way to learn Russian quickly is to use every opportunity to speak it. Become more confident and comfortable in your speaking skills by memorizing Russian idioms, common sayings, and practising short dialogues daily.
When communicating with native speakers, be brave and ask them to correct your mistakes. Need someone to practice with? Find a language partner near you, or online, with sites like Meetup and My Language Exchange.
Finally,
So, basically, the above-provided ways are the best to practice your Russian. Also, you can enrol in Multibhashi to be perfect in your Russian learning.
All the best!