🚀 Your First Steps in Russian: Core Vocabulary
Imagine you’re a superhero landing in Russia. You need magic words to unlock doors, make friends, and find your way around. These magic words are called vocabulary—and today, you’re going to learn the most powerful ones!
🎯 What We’ll Learn Today
Think of Russian vocabulary like building blocks. Just like LEGO pieces snap together to build amazing things, Russian words snap together to make sentences. Today we’re collecting these essential pieces:
graph TD A[🧱 Core Vocabulary] --> B[💪 Verbs - Action Words] A --> C[🎨 Adjectives - Describing Words] A --> D[📍 Where? Adverbs of Place] A --> E[⏰ When? Adverbs of Time] A --> F[🎭 How? Adverbs of Manner]
💪 Common Verbs: Your Action Superpowers
What are verbs? They’re words that show doing things—like running, eating, or sleeping. In Russian, verbs are your action superpowers!
The Essential 10 Russian Verbs
| Russian | Pronunciation | Meaning | Example Sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| быть | BWEET’ | to be | Я буду дома (I will be home) |
| делать | DYEH-lat’ | to do/make | Я делаю пиццу (I’m making pizza) |
| идти | eet-TEE | to go (on foot) | Я иду в школу (I’m walking to school) |
| есть | yest’ | to eat | Кошка ест рыбу (The cat eats fish) |
| пить | peet’ | to drink | Я пью воду (I drink water) |
| говорить | ga-va-REET’ | to speak | Она говорит по-русски (She speaks Russian) |
| хотеть | ha-TYET’ | to want | Я хочу спать (I want to sleep) |
| видеть | VEE-dyet’ | to see | Я вижу птицу (I see a bird) |
| знать | znat’ | to know | Я знаю ответ (I know the answer) |
| любить | lyoo-BEET’ | to love | Я люблю музыку (I love music) |
🌟 Pro Tip: The Magic Pattern
Most Russian verbs follow a pattern. Watch how “делать” (to do) changes:
- Я делаю = I do
- Ты делаешь = You do
- Он/Она делает = He/She does
It’s like how English adds “s” for “he runs”—Russian just has its own special endings!
🎨 Common Adjectives: Your Describing Paintbrush
What are adjectives? They’re words that paint pictures with words! They tell us what things look like, feel like, or what kind they are.
The Color & Feeling Words
| Russian | Pronunciation | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| большой | bal-SHOY | big | большой дом (big house) |
| маленький | MA-lyen-kiy | small | маленькая кошка (small cat) |
| хороший | ha-RO-shiy | good | хорошая погода (good weather) |
| плохой | pla-HOY | bad | плохой день (bad day) |
| новый | NO-viy | new | новый телефон (new phone) |
| старый | STA-riy | old | старый друг (old friend) |
| красивый | kra-SEE-viy | beautiful | красивая картина (beautiful picture) |
| интересный | in-tye-RYES-niy | interesting | интересная книга (interesting book) |
🎭 The Magic Trick: Gender Matching
Russian adjectives change their endings based on what they describe:
graph TD A[красивый = beautiful] --> B[красивый мальчик<br>beautiful boy - masculine] A --> C[красивая девочка<br>beautiful girl - feminine] A --> D[красивое небо<br>beautiful sky - neuter]
Think of it like clothes that change to fit different people!
📍 Adverbs of Place: Your GPS Words
Where is everything? These words are like a GPS—they tell you exactly where things are!
Your Location Vocabulary
| Russian | Pronunciation | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| здесь | zdyes’ | here | Я здесь (I’m here) |
| там | tam | there | Кот там (The cat is there) |
| везде | vyez-DYEH | everywhere | Дети везде (Children are everywhere) |
| нигде | neeg-DYEH | nowhere | Нигде нет воды (There’s water nowhere) |
| дома | DO-ma | at home | Мама дома (Mom is at home) |
| внутри | vnoo-TREE | inside | Внутри тепло (It’s warm inside) |
| снаружи | sna-ROO-zhi | outside | Снаружи холодно (It’s cold outside) |
| наверху | na-vyer-HOO | upstairs/above | Папа наверху (Dad is upstairs) |
| внизу | vnee-ZOO | downstairs/below | Собака внизу (The dog is downstairs) |
🗺️ The Place Story
Imagine your house as a treasure map:
“The treasure is здесь (here), not там (there)! Look внутри (inside) the box, not снаружи (outside). Check наверху (upstairs) and внизу (downstairs). It’s везде (everywhere) and нигде (nowhere) at the same time—because it’s invisible!”
⏰ Adverbs of Time: Your Time Machine Words
When does everything happen? These words are your time machine controls!
Your Time Vocabulary
| Russian | Pronunciation | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| сейчас | sey-CHAS | now | Я ем сейчас (I’m eating now) |
| потом | pa-TOM | later/then | Потом мы играем (Then we play) |
| скоро | SKO-ra | soon | Скоро лето (Summer is soon) |
| всегда | vsyeg-DA | always | Я всегда счастлив (I’m always happy) |
| никогда | nee-kog-DA | never | Я никогда не лгу (I never lie) |
| иногда | ee-nog-DA | sometimes | Иногда идёт дождь (Sometimes it rains) |
| сегодня | sye-VOD-nya | today | Сегодня понедельник (Today is Monday) |
| вчера | vchye-RA | yesterday | Вчера был дождь (Yesterday there was rain) |
| завтра | ZAV-tra | tomorrow | Завтра праздник (Tomorrow is a holiday) |
| рано | RA-na | early | Я встаю рано (I wake up early) |
| поздно | POZD-na | late | Уже поздно (It’s already late) |
⏱️ A Day in Time Words
Picture your perfect day:
“Сегодня (today) I wake up рано (early). Сейчас (now) I eat breakfast. Потом (then) I go to school. I всегда (always) do my homework, but иногда (sometimes) I play games. Завтра (tomorrow) will be even better! Вчера (yesterday) was fun, but I никогда (never) want it to end поздно (late)!”
🎭 Adverbs of Manner: Your “How” Words
How do you do things? These words describe the style of actions—like adding superpowers to your verbs!
Your Style Vocabulary
| Russian | Pronunciation | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| хорошо | ha-ra-SHO | well/good | Я говорю хорошо (I speak well) |
| плохо | PLO-ha | badly | Он поёт плохо (He sings badly) |
| быстро | BWIS-tra | quickly/fast | Бегите быстро! (Run quickly!) |
| медленно | MYED-lyen-na | slowly | Говори медленно (Speak slowly) |
| громко | GROM-ka | loudly | Не кричи громко (Don’t shout loudly) |
| тихо | TEE-ha | quietly | Говори тихо (Speak quietly) |
| легко | lyekh-KO | easily | Это легко! (This is easy!) |
| трудно | TROOD-na | with difficulty | Это трудно (This is difficult) |
| вместе | VMYES-tye | together | Давай вместе (Let’s do it together) |
| отдельно | at-DYEL’-na | separately | Они живут отдельно (They live separately) |
🎬 The Action Movie
Imagine you’re directing a movie:
“The hero runs быстро (quickly)! The villain speaks громко (loudly), but the spy whispers тихо (quietly). The team works вместе (together). Learning Russian is легко (easy) when you practice хорошо (well)!”
🔗 Putting It All Together
Now let’s combine everything! Watch how these pieces build real sentences:
graph TD A[Subject] --> B[Verb] B --> C[Adjective/Adverb] C --> D[Complete Thought!] E[Я/I] --> F[иду/go] F --> G[быстро/quickly] G --> H[домой/home]
Example sentences combining all categories:
-
Я всегда говорю медленно здесь. I always speak slowly here. (verb + time + manner + place)
-
Большая кошка быстро бежит там. The big cat runs quickly there. (adjective + manner + place)
-
Сегодня мы вместе делаем хороший торт. Today we’re making a good cake together. (time + manner + verb + adjective)
🎯 Key Takeaways
graph TD A[🧱 Your Building Blocks] --> B[💪 10 Essential Verbs<br>быть, делать, идти...] A --> C[🎨 8 Key Adjectives<br>большой, маленький...] A --> D[📍 9 Place Words<br>здесь, там, везде...] A --> E[⏰ 11 Time Words<br>сейчас, потом, завтра...] A --> F[🎭 10 Manner Words<br>хорошо, быстро, вместе...]
🌟 Remember:
- Verbs are your actions — they make things happen
- Adjectives paint pictures — they describe nouns
- Adverbs are superpowers — they modify verbs (how, when, where)
- Practice daily — even 5 minutes helps!
🚀 You Did It!
You’ve just learned nearly 50 essential Russian words! That’s like collecting 50 keys that unlock thousands of doors in the Russian language.
Every Russian conversation you’ll ever have uses these exact words. You’re no longer a beginner—you’re a vocabulary superhero!
Next step: Practice using these words in simple sentences. Start with “Я” (I) + verb + adverb. Example: “Я говорю хорошо” (I speak well).
Удачи! (Good luck!) 🍀