Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to RussianPod101.com’s Добро пожаловать на видео уроки русского языка.за три минуты. The fastest, easiest, and most fun way to learn Russian.
Привет, меня зовут Светлана. Очень приятно. Hi, I'm Svetlana. Nice to meet you.
In this series, we’re going to learn basic Russian expressions.
It’s super easy and it takes only three minutes!
In this lesson, you're going to learn how to introduce yourself in Russian. There are a few ways to do this depending on how formal you want to be.
Let’s first look at an informal way to introduce yourself in Russian. It is very short and simple:
Привет, меня зовут Светлана. Очень приятно. Hi, I’m Svetlana. Nice to meet you.
[slowly] Привет, меня зовут Светлана. Очень приятно
Start with the greeting “Привет”. Then you introduce yourself by saying меня зовут, and then your name: “меня зовут Светлана”. Finally, say “nice to meet you”. The simplified and very casual phrase for this is “Очень приятно”.
The whole phrase will be “Привет, меня зовут Светлана. Очень приятно”.
Now let’s look at a more formal version for greeting someone and introducing yourself. It’s a bit longer than the previous one. You ready? Here we go:
Здравствуйте. Меня зовут Светлана. Приятно познакомиться. Hello, My name is Svetlana. It's a pleasure to meet you.
[slowly] Здравствуйте. Меня зовут Светлана. Приятно познакомиться.
What has changed from the previous introduction? Let’s take a close look at these together.
First, we changed the greeting word “Привет” to “Здравствуйте”. This is a very formal and official greeting which can be used any time of the day: morning, afternoon, evening and even at night.
Luckily, the phrase you use to tell the other person your name stays the same - “Меня зовут Светлана”.
Next, after giving your name, you say “Приятно познакомиться”. This is more formal than the previous phrase, but can be used in informal greetings as well. It literally means “It is a pleasure to meet you.”
Once more: the formal way to introduce yourself is:
Здравствуйте. Меня зовут Светлана. Приятно познакомиться.
In the sentence Меня зовут Светлана, “Меня” is “Myself”, and “зовут” is “to be called.” So the literal translation is “I am called Svetlana.” Unlike English, where I would say “My name is Svetlana,” in Russian we basically say “Somebody calls me Svetlana”. Interesting, huh?
Now it’s time for Svetlana’s Tips.
It is common to shake hands both when you greet somebody and take your leave of them in Russia. Handshaking is more common for men, but recently women also do this. And don’t forget direct eye-contact - it is very important in Russia. Good friends usually give each other a hug and kiss each other on the cheeks three times.
Ok! That’s it for this lesson.
Do you know how to say “thank you” in Russian? You’ll learn how to say this and many other words in the next lesson. Пока пока, до скорых встреч. See you soon!

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