Russian podcast for beginners | Russian with Olya Dee Olya Dee

Podcasts to learn Russian with free lessons. Each episode of Russian language podcasts is good on its way. Episode 3 of Olya Dee podcast will help you practice the most common words in Russian. It teaches you how to be polite in Russian and how to buy food or drinks in the simplest way!

Actually, I have got a question for you. What are the most popular two words in the Russian language? Of course, these words are ‘yes’ and ‘no’. You should say ‘да’ for ‘yes’ and ‘нет’ for ‘no’. Another useful word which you have already learnt in the first episode of Russian podcast for beginners is ‘хорошо’ which means ‘good’. One more way to agree is to say ‘ага’. It’s sort of ‘yeah’ in English. 



да - yes, 

нет - no, 

хорошо - good, 

дай - give it to me, 

на - here you go,

And the sixth one is ‘ага’ - yeah



QUESTIONS:

Кто это? - Who is this/it?

Что это? - What is this/it?



Кто is used for a living thing, a person, a job or an animal. However, что is applied to a non-living thing such as ‘a chair - стул’ or ‘a table - стол’.



The word ‘это’ is quite frequent in the Russian language. It is referred to a thing which is located not far from you and can be translated as ‘this’. You can also point to something which is far from you, saying ‘то’ - ‘that’.



Это кот. - This is a cat.

То кот. - That is a cat.



It is soooo easy to make a negative sentence in Russian. You just should say the particle ‘не’. Don’t forget that ‘НЕТ’ is ‘’NO, but ‘НE’ helps to negate your statement. 



Это не кот, это собака. - This is not a cat, this is a dog. 

То не кот, то собака. - That is not a cat, that is a dog. 



Это Анна. Анна студентка. - This is Anna. Anna is a student.

То Борис. Борис не студент, он доктор. - That is Boris. Boris is not a student, he is a doctor.



It’s time to practise what we have learnt. I am going to read short dialogues and you can repeat them after me to work on your pronunciation.



Привет, Иван. Кто это?

Это Борис. 



Что это?

Это кот.

Что то?

То собака.



Why is ‘можно’ a magic word? Because you can translate is as ‘you are allowed to’, ‘you can do it’ or as a question ‘Can I…’ / ‘ Can I have…’ Shall we practise it now?



Можно мне хот-дог? Can I have a hotdog?

Можно мне салат? Can I have a salad?



Да, можно. Yes, you can.

Нет, нельзя. No, you can’t.



Нельзя is such a common word. It means you aren’t permitted or you cannot have it. To be polite in Russian, use the words ‘спасибо’ - ‘thank you’ and ‘пожалуйста’ which can mean both ‘you are welcome’ and ‘please’. The word ‘извините’ means ‘’excuse me’. 

Извините, можно мне кофе? (Excuse me, can I have coffee?)

Да, пожалуйта. (Yes, there you go)

Спасибо. (Thank you)



Say ‘большое спасибо’ if you feel really grateful and happy about something a person have done for you.



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Можно мне кофе, пожалуйста? - CanI have a coffee, please?

Можно мне чай, пожалуйста? - Can I have a

Hi everyone. This is Olya Dee from sunny England. Today, you are going to listen to the second episode and learn how to introduce yourself in the Russian language. There are a few ways to say your name. 



First, we are going to learn the easiest way to introduce yourself. You should just say ‘I am’ and your name. Let’s hear the examples.



Я Анна.

I am Anna.



Я Борис.

I am Boris.



Ты Елена.

You are Helen.



Ты Марк.

You are Mark.



It was easy, wasn’t it? The second way to say your name is to say the phrase ‘My name is’. Listen to the examples and repeat after me. 



Моё имя Анна.

My name is Anna.



Моё имя Борис.

My name is Boris.



Твоё имя Елена.

Your name is Helen.



Твоё имя Марк.

Your name is Mark.



Good job, guys, I am so proud of you! Now, it is time to learn the longest way to say ‘My name is…’ which literally means ‘I am named…’. So this way is pretty popular so it is worth to remember it. 



First, you will hear the phrase.

Меня зовут Анна.



Which means:

My name is Anna.



Меня зовут Борис.

My name is Boris.



Тебя зовут Елена.

Your name is Helen.



Тебя зовут Марк.

Your name is Mark. 



Я Анна.

I am Anna.



The second one was:

Моё имя Анна.

My name is Anna.



And the third one was:

Меня зовут Анна.

My name is Anna.



Good, I have a question for you my lovely ones. Have you thought about Russian names? Where do they come from? What are the most common names in Russia? You probably have heard the most common names for girls. 



The first one is:

Анна = Аня 



We used it today. Анна is a full form of the name. However, there is a short name of it. It is Аня. You can also transform it into a sweet form using some bits at the end of the word like Аннушка (Annushka) or Анюта (Anuta). 

Анастасия is Настя in short.

Катерина is Катя

Татьяна is Таня

and Мария is Маша 



So, Настя is going to be Настюша or Настенька, 

Катя - Катюша or Катенька

Таня would sound like Танюша or Танечка

And then, they have got ‘Маша’ which can be ‘Машенька’.



Максим which is Макс is short

Александр would be Саша as a short form.

Дмитрий is Дима

Иван is Ваня in short.

Андрей It doesn’t have a short form.



You could also say the sweet Максик, Сашуля, Дамочка, Ванечка or Андрюша. 



Как тебя зовут?

What’s your name?



Как вас зовут?

Which is also ‘What’s your name?’



Как тебя зовут?

What’s your name?



Как вас зовут?

What’s your name?



In the Russian-speaking countries, you will often notice that people tend to have three names. The first name is their actual name, like Anna. The last name ‘фамилия’(their surname) which ends mostly in ов/ова like Иванов or Иванова. But how about the third name ‘отчество’ like ‘Петровна’ / ‘Петрович’. This name is called a patronymic name, which is derived from their father’s name. For example, you use ‘Петровна’ for a girl, and then you know that her father’s name is Пётр like Peter. And it is something like ‘the daughter of Пётр’.



And the dialogue time! I am going to read a few dialogues. Try to translate the phrases right after me. This method will help you review the things you have learnt today.


Привет. Как тебя зовут?
Привет. Меня зовут Анна.




Как вас зовут? (What is your name?)
Я Максим. А вас? ( I am Maxim. And you?)
Я Анастасия.  (I am Anastasia)



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Episode 1 | Greetings | Russian with Olya Dee | Russian podcast



Hi everyone! This is Russian with Olya Dee. Today you are going to listen to the first episode and learn some ways how we greet people in Russian. We are gonna talk about the cultural habits and the correct pronunciation of the words so that you could speak like a native. 



First, I am sure you have already heard these words. They are soo popular and even people who are not good at Russian at all would know them.



‘Привет’ which means ‘Hi’

‘Здравствуйте’ this is Hello.



The other greetings are:



Доброе утро - Good morning 

Добрый день - Good afternoon

Добрый вечер - Good evening 

Доброй ночи - Good night 



The next few phrases are going to help you to ask a person how they are.  



Как дела? - How are you?

Как ты? - How are you? (Informal)

Как вы? - How are you (formal)



А ты? - And you? (Informal, friendly) 

А вы? - And you? (Formal)

Okay. That was a bit of history and etymology of the words. Now, We are about to learn the ways to answer those questions. In Russian, you can say these:



Я отлично - I’m great

Я хорошо - I’m good

Я нормально - I’m fine

Я плохо - I’m bad

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You should listen to this podcast a few times. The next episode will contain the vocabulary so that you would be able to introduce yourself to others. How to say your name, words like ‘thank you’ and ‘sorry’. Don’t forget to tell your friends that you have been learning Russian with Olya Dee. 

До встречи, хорошие мои. Пока Пока