Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Transcript

Let's take a closer look at the conversation.
Do you remember how Mark asks,
"How are you?"
Как дела? (Kak dela?)
First is как (kak), "how." Как. Как.
Next is дела (dela), meaning "things," as in the general state of affairs. Дела. Дела.
Together, it's Как дела? (Kak dela?), literally “How things," but it translates as "How are you?" Как дела?
Как дела? (Kak dela?) is the shortened form of the following:
Как у тебя дела? (Kak u tebya dela?), or
Как твои дела? (Kak tvoi dela?).
Both literally mean something like “How your things,” but translate as “How are things?”
Как дела? (Kak dela?)
Let's take a closer look at the response.
Do you remember how Edward says,
"I'm well."
Хорошо. (Khorosho.)
"I’m well." Хорошо. (Khorosho.)
Note, Хорошо (khorosho) may translate as "well," "fine," "good," but we’ll use "[I’m] well," for this lesson.
Хорошо (Khorosho). Хорошо.
Note, хорошо (khorosho) is the shortened form of у меня всё хорошо (U menya vsyo khorosho), literally something like "I have everything good," but translating as "I’m well." However, in Russian, у меня всё (U menya vsyo) is usually omitted.
Хорошо. (Khorosho).
Note the question "Как дела?" (Kak dela?) is for informal situations.
For formal situations, use "Как поживаете?" (Kak pozhivayete?)
Как поживаете? (Kak pozhivayete?) literally means "How [are you] living," but it translates as "How are you?" in formal situations.
Поживаете (pozhivayete) is from the verb поживать (pozhivat’), "to live." Поживать.
Remember this variation. You'll see it again later.
When asking about someone’s well being in Russian, don’t be surprised if you get a life story instead of a short response, such as, "I am fine," or "I’m okay." A Russian person may tell you about his, or her, life in detail, especially if you are friends or have known each other for a long time.

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