Greeting and Good Bye in Russian

Everyone​ ​wants​ ​to​ ​sound​ ​friendly,​ ​especially​ ​when​ ​they​ ​start​ ​using​ ​a​ ​foreign​ ​language with​ ​native​ ​speakers.​ ​Undoubtedly,​ ​among​ ​the​ ​first​ ​expressions​ ​you​ ​want​ ​to​ ​master​ ​are greetings​ ​and​ ​saying​ ​goodbye​.

1.​ Здр​а​вствуйте! [Zdr​ah​-stvooy-tye] Hello A​ ​formal​ ​​Hello​ ​​when​ ​you​ ​address​ ​one​ ​person​ ​or​ ​many​ ​people.

2.​ ​​Здр​а​вствуй! [Zdr​ah​-stvooy] Hello A​ ​less​ ​formal​ ​​Hello​ ​​you​ ​can​ ​use​ ​when​ ​addressing​ ​one​ ​person.

3.​ ​​Прив​е​т! [Pree-v​ye​t] Hi,​ ​Hey An​ ​informal​ ​way​ ​of​ ​saying​ ​​Hi​ ​​to​ ​someone​ ​you​ ​are​ ​on​ ​friendly​ ​terms​ ​with.

4.​ ​​Прив​е​тствую​ ​вас! [Pree-v​ye​ts-tvoo-you​ ​vahs] Greetings! Has​ ​a​ ​slight​ ​old-fashioned​ ​meaning​ ​to​ ​it.​ ​You​ ​might​ ​want​ ​to​ ​use​ ​it​ ​at​ ​a​ ​formal​ ​occasion​ ​when addressing/welcoming​ ​a​ ​group​ ​of​ ​people​ ​(e.g.​ ​wedding,​ ​conference,​ ​etc).

5.​ ​​Д​о​брое​​ ​у​тро![Dob-r​ah-​je​ ​​oo-​trah]Good​ ​morning!

6.​ ​​Д​о​брый​ ​день![D​o​briy​ ​dyen]Good​ ​afternoon!

Russian​ ​perception​ ​of​ ​times​ ​of​ ​the​ ​day​ ​is​ ​slightly​ ​different​ ​to​ ​English.​ ​While​ ​2am​ ​or​ ​3am​ ​is effectively​ ​a​ ​morning​ ​for​ ​an​ ​English​ ​speaker,​ ​it​ ​is​ ​still​ ​night​ ​time​ ​for​ ​a​ ​Russian​ ​speaker.​ ​Morning starts​ ​with​ ​the​ ​sunrise.

7.​ ​​Д​о​брый​ ​в​е​чер![D​o-​brij​ ​vy​e​-cher]Good​ ​evening!

8.​ ​​До​ ​свид​а​ния![Dah​ ​svi-d​a​-​nee-ya]

Good​ ​bye! Formal

9.​ ​​Пок​а​![Pah-k​a​h]Bye! Informal

10.​ ​​До​ ​встр​е​чи![Dah​ ​fstr​e​-chee] See​ ​you​ ​later! Literally​ ​“until​ ​meeting”

11.​ ​​До​ ​ск​о​рого![Dah​ ​sk​o​rah-vah]See​ ​you​ ​soon! Literally​ ​“until​ ​soon”

12.​ ​​Всего​ ​хорошего![Fsee-v​o​​ ​khah-r​o​-she-vah]All​ ​the​ ​best!