Learn how to use basic greetings
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| Let’s take a closer look at each of these expressions. |
| First, do you remember how Karen says, |
| "See you soon!" |
| До скорого! (Do skorogo!) |
| This starts with до (do), meaning "until." До. До. |
| Next is скорого (skorogo), meaning something like "upcoming," in this context. Скорого. Скорого. |
| Note скорого (skorogo) is from скорый (skoryy), meaning "upcoming." Скорый (Skoryy). |
| до скорого (do skorogo). |
| Note, до скорого (do skorogo) is a shortened form of the expression до скорого свидания (do skorogo svidaniya) literally "until upcoming appointment," but translates as "until the coming appointment." До скорого свидания (do skorogo svidaniya). |
| When using this expression, свидание (svidanie), "appointment," is usually omitted. до скорого (do skorogo). |
| До скорого (Do skorogo) is fairly informal, which indicates a close relationship between Karen and Rose Reznikova her former homestay mother. |
| Do you remember how Sasha says, |
| "Goodnight." |
| Спокойной ночи. (Spokoynoy nochi.) "Goodnight." Спокойной ночи. |
| Спокойной ночи (Spokoynoy nochi), literally means "[have a] restful night." Спокойной ночи. |
| Спокойной ночи. (Spokoynoy nochi.) |
| And do you remember how Ben says, |
| "Goodnight." |
| Доброй ночи! (Dobroy nochi.) "Goodnight!" Доброй ночи! |
| Доброй ночи (Dobroy nochi), literally "[have a] Goodnight," but translates as "Goodnight!" |
| Доброй ночи! (Dobroy nochi.) |
| Both expressions used by Sasha and Ben are used to say goodnight to Rose. |
| You use спокойной ночи (spokoynoy nochi), "Goodnight," when you don’t plan on seeing someone again that night, and when someone is about to go to bed. It’s like saying "have a goodnight's sleep." It's very informal, and rather used with people you are close to. |
| Do you remember how Rose says? |
| "See you. Bye!" |
| До встречи. Пока! (Do vstrechi. Poka!) "See you. Bye!" До встречи. Пока! |
| First is до встречи (do vstrechi), "See you." До встречи. |
| This starts with до (do), which means "until" in this context. До. До. |
| After this is встречи (vstrechi), "meeting." Встречи. Встречи. |
| Together, До встречи (Do vstrechi), literally "until meeting [you again]," but translates as "See you." |
| Note: До встречи (Do vstrechi) is an informal parting greeting, and you should avoid it in a formal situation. |
| Next is пока (poka), "bye." Пока. Пока. |
| All together, до встречи. Пока! (do vstrechi. Poka!) "See you. Bye!" |
| До встречи. Пока! (Do vstrechi. Poka!) |
| This sentence is informal. Rose uses this to say goodbye to everyone. She's the most senior person in the conversation, and she uses informal language to sound friendly. |
| The following expressions are used when you expect to see the person, or people, again in the near future, such as this week or the following week: |
| до встречи, "See you."; |
| до скорой встречи, "See you soon." |
| Увидимся, "See you." |
| When parting, it’s not unusual for speakers to often add an additional good-bye phrase to their parting greeting. For example, |
| Всего доброго and Всего хорошего, literally "all of good," but translating as "all the best." |
| Бывай здоров(а) literally, “be healthy,” but translating as "take care." |
| Note: Бывай здоров, is kind of old-fashioned, and it's often shortened to "бывай." |
| There is an interesting Russian expression worth mentioning: Прощай, meaning "farewell." You use this phrase when you do not expect to see someone ever again. |
| In colloquial language, Russians often add "давай" to good-bye phrases. |
| For example "Давай, пока (Davay, poka). "Bye." Давай, пока. |
| Literally, давай is a command meaning "give." Adding давай (davay) does not change the meaning of the greeting. |
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