Alan Kaufman - Russian For Dummies

Russian For Dummies, 3rd Edition

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Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2022936572

ISBN 978-1-119-86860-6 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-86861-3 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-98463-4 (ebk)

1. Chapter 2
2. Chapter 7

Speaking more than one language is like living more than one life, one of the ancient philosophers said. And its true traveling in a foreign country such as Russia suddenly becomes a lot more exciting when you can engage in elegant small talk with a hotel receptionist, compliment your tour guides dress, or actually read the menu and order the food that you really want. Being able to ask for things instead of pointing at them and getting directions from the locals instead of staring at a map are some of the little things that make you feel at home.

You dont even need to cross the ocean to immerse yourself in Russian culture; you can find little Russian neighborhoods (or even pretty big ones!) in many American cities. Whether your colleagues, your neighbors, or your friends speak Russian, the best way to win their hearts is to speak their language to them.

Now, Russian For Dummies, 3rd Edition, wont make you a fluent reader of the original works of Dostoevsky (most Russians themselves need some preparation for that). Neither is it a textbook or grammar reference book. It will, however, equip you with phrases necessary to function in many life situations, from shopping to visiting the theater. And little gems of cultural wisdom offered throughout the book help you not only translate the language, but also understand Russians so much better. So, buckle up, and good luck on your journey! Or, as the Russians like to say, eaeaa ! (zhi-lah-eem vahm ooh-dah-chee!) (We wish you good luck!).

The best thing about Russian For Dummies, 3rd Edition, is that you dont have to read all the way through it to get the information you need. Again, this is not a Russian textbook where each new chapter or unit is built upon what youve learned before. What this means is you you can open the table of contents, find the section that interests you at the moment, and start talking! You dont have to read the previous chapters to understand any sections of this book. And if you decide that you want more information about something, a convenient system of cross-references takes you to just the right place.

Another thing you dont need to do is memorize long vocabulary lists or grammar rules. We give you ready-made phrases; you just need to read them to start using them right away to impress your Russian friends!

Here are some conventions that allow you to navigate through this book with maximum ease:

• We present Russian in Russian, or what is also known as the Cyrillic alphabet. You can see the Cyrillic alphabet in . Russian terms are easily found in the text because theyre set in boldface.

• Each Russian word or sentence is followed by its pronunciation shown in English letters, and its English translation, respectively, in parentheses. In each pronunciation, the stressed syllable is in italics (Russian stresses are unpredictable and the words need to be remembered with their stresses); translations are also in italics.

  Heres a little example to give you an idea of what we mean: The phrase for I love you in Russian is e (ya tee-bya lyooh-blyooh) (I love you).

• Verb conjugations (lists that show you the forms of a verb) are given in tables in this order: