Russian in Petersburg

31/12/2019

22/09/2019

25/08/2019

Our new video!

Can foreigners speak with SIRI in Russian? TEST with students of Russian as a foreign language: - we gave them questions in English - challenge: translate th...

27/07/2019

Hello,everyone! Do you know which fruits are the most popular ones at the end of summer season in Russia? Take a look at this picture! Those are АРБУЗ (watermelon) and ДЫНЯ (melon)! Interestingly,their names are completely different,unlike in English! Why? Well,the word АРБУЗ might have come from Turkic languages ('karpus'). And the word ДЫНЯ is believed to be deriving from the verb "ДУТЬ" (to blow,to inflate) ДУТЫЙ (inflated,big) - ДЫНЯ (a fruit as big,as if it was inflated). In any case,we love them both! And you? А что вы любите больше: арбуз или дыню? Let us know in the comments!

21/07/2019

Hello,everyone! Did you know that July,17 was the International Emoji Day? Well,now you do! Can you guess why? 'Cause that's what the 'calendar' pictogram in the emoji collection used to say!📅😊 We use smileys everyday to express our emotions while texting. But whose idea it originally was? You'd be surprised to find out that it was...the famous writer Vladimir Nabokov's! Yes,it was him indeed,who proposed to use the bracket symbol ')' as a written substitute to the smile back in 1969! The emoji alphabet has been developed and moderated considerably ever since! Which emoji do you use more often? Which one is your favourite? Leave us a comment!

13/07/2019

Hello,everyone! Do you recognize the girl from this picture? Is it someone's daughter? A princess? Well,it is not. And Russians only associate this picture with one thing...Chocolate! Why? Keep on reading to find it out! Did you know that July, 11 was the International Day of Chocolate? Now you do! As for this cute face,it is the landmark of the most well-known and beloved Russian chocolate brand called АЛЁНКА. It is produced since 1965. Why is it called that? Well,it was the daughter of the first female Soviet astronaut Valentina Tereshkova who gave the name to the brand. What about the image? Was it her portrait as well? Surprisingly,it wasn't! In 1960 a picture of a pretty little girl appeared in the "ЗДОРОВЬЕ" magazine ('Health'). Later on, in 1965 a contest for the best chocolate cover was announced. And someone remembered the photo from back then. It was slightly changed and put on the package of "АЛЁНКА".Nowadays the delicious Russian chocolate,along with the girl on its cover, are known not only in Russia,but all over the world! Have you ever seen or tried it? We hope that you will some day! Have a nice weekend,everyone!

16/06/2019

Hello,everyone! How do you name the object on the left of this picture in Russian? It is РУЧКА! What about the right one? Well,it is... РУЧКА as well! Why? Those are two homonyms derived from the word РУКА (a palm,a hand),'cause we hold pens and door handles in our hands,don't we? 😊 Do you know other Russian homonyms? Write them in the comments below!

02/06/2019

Hello,everyone! Do you know which case is the most used one in Russian? Well,it is the Genitive case! We use it with numbers from 5 to 20 and numeric nouns (МНОГО,СКОЛЬКО,НЕСКОЛЬКО,НЕМНОГО,МАЛО),with НЕТ/НЕ БЫЛО/НЕ БУДЕТ, with a lot of verbs, etc. It is also one of the most difficult ones,especially its plural forms. Here they are! The thing is,it is actually easier to make the Genitive plural from the Nominative singular form,regardless of the gender of a noun. So,if a noun ends with a consonant,we should add ОВ in Genitive plural: СТОЛ-СТОЛОВ. If it is Й, then we replace it with ЕВ: ТРАМВАЙ-ТРАМВАЕВ. For Ш,Щ,Ч,Ж,Е,Ь the Genitive plural ending would be ЕЙ: НОЧЬ-НОЧЕЙ,ЭТАЖ-ЭТАЖЕЙ,ПОЛЕ-ПОЛЕЙ. But when we have ИЯ,ИЕ in the Nominative,we replace it with ИЙ in plural: ЗАДАНИЕ-ЗАДАНИЙ, АУДИТОРИЯ-АУДИТОРИЙ. And for the nouns with А,Я,О there will be no ending in Genitive plural (plus we eliminate the existing ones!): КНИГА-КНИГ,НЕДЕЛЯ-НЕДЕЛЬ,СЛОВО-СЛОВ. This is the basic rule for the Genitive plural. Are there any exceptions? Yes,there are! And we'll take a look at them next week. Stay tuned!

27/05/2019

Happy Birthday Piter!

26/05/2019

Hello,everyone! What is the least favourite Russian sound for all the foreigners,who learn Russian? We are pretty sure the most popular answer would be Ы! Why is that? Well,because it is unique and very hard to pronounce. In fact,most of the learners use the "next best thing" instead - the sound И. But sometimes the difference between the word with Ы and И can be crucial. Take a look at this picture and see for yourself! There are two words: МЫШКА (a little mouse) and МИШКА (teddy bear)! So,the incorrect pronunciation of those words can lead to a funny misunderstanding! Can you pronounce the sound Ы correctly? Do you have some tips for those who cannot? Leave us a comment below!

14/05/2019

Hello,everyone! There are quite some things that are not easy for the foreigners who learn Russian,and the question "How do you say "both" in Russian?" is certainly one of them! Well,in Russian we have two words that can be translated as "both"- ОБА and ОБЕ! Do you know the difference between them? We use ОБА for two male or neuter nouns,and ОБЕ for the female ones! Either way,they should be followed by the noun in the Genitive case singular (as it is the quantity): ОБА БРАТА,ОБЕ СЕСТРЫ, ОБА ОКНА. Did you know that? :) Give us your own examples in the comments!

03/05/2019

Hello,everyone! Do you know how to say "I can" in Russian? Well,we'll have to use the verb "МОЧЬ" (to can) for that! This verb,just like other short verbs,has irregular forms: Я МОГУ,ТЫ МОЖЕШЬ,ОН МОЖЕТ,МЫ МОЖЕМ,ВЫ МОЖЕТЕ,ОНИ МОГУТ. By the way,it is always followed by the infinitive indicating what one can or cannot do: Я МОГУ РАССКАЗАТЬ ЭТУ ИСТОРИЮ. ОНИ НЕ МОГУТ ВИДЕТЬ НАС. What about the word МОЖНО? When do we use it? Well,it is necessary while making an impersonal phrase,where an actual subject would be in the Dative case: ЕЙ МОЖНО ПИТЬ КОФЕ. МОЖНО НАМ САЛАТ И ЧАЙ? Unlike МОЧЬ, the word МОЖНО can be followed by an infinitive and by the Accusative case: ТЕБЕ МОЖНО СМОТРЕТЬ ЭТОТ ФИЛЬМ. ЕМУ МОЖНО ПИЦЦУ? And both of them can be used as short answers to a question: МОЖНО ВОЙТИ? - МОЖНО (May I come in? - Yes,you may). Я МОГУ ПОГОВОРИТЬ ЗДЕСЬ ПО ТЕЛЕФОНУ? - ДА,МОЖЕТЕ. (Can I use my phone here? - YES,you can).