Picking the Right Russian Greetings

It is said that first impressions are everything. Being able to pick the right Russian greetings depending on the time of the day, the gender of the speaker and listener, and the formality of the situation can help you stand out as a proficient learner. The first thing to remember and be cautious about is that Russian greetings fall into several strict categories depending on how polite and formal they are, with words and phrases from one category hardly ever interchangeable with those from another group. If in English you can use ‘hi’ to greet your best buddy and the U.S. President alike, the Russian President will most likely raise his eyebrows to "privet" (the Russian word for ‘hi’), unless you are best friends with him, of course. This website contains a simple guide to basic Russian greetings for all situations to help you properly start a conversation. Most of them are provided with audio and pronunciation tips as tools to make even beginners sound like pros when it comes to Russian greetings.

Learn more:

There are formal and informal ways to greet people in Russian. Learn Russian greetings in the Lesson 1.

Watch this video to learn some Russian greetings: