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1. Your Very First Russian Words – by eLearnRussian.com
If you’re learning a new language, the first word to learn is simply 'thank you', so in Russian:
с а и о [spa’see’ba] [с а и о If you’re listening to this as well as reading it, you will
пс б , п ’с ’б ].
very quickly be able to read Russian phonetically. Trust me, don’t waste time with the
transliteration. And don’t waste time learning the alphabet first. After all, does learning A-B-C
help you with the pronunciation for ‘through’ and ‘though’?
Most people want or believe they need to see the words written with the English alphabet
(Roman alphabet), but you really don’t, and it will actually slow you down. And you don’t
really need an explanation of what sound each letter makes because you immediately make
associations on your own.
With the word с а и о[spa’see’ba] (thank you), you immediately see that ‘c’ sounds like ‘s’,
пс б
and the ‘name’ of the letter is even ‘s’ like it is in English. So what if it looks like a ‘c’. The
similar appearance simply makes it easier to remember. Learning Japanese hiragana is much
more difficult since there’s no ‘reference’ to help you remember.
‘п is a ‘p’ sound and ‘a’ is an ‘a’ sound the same as they are in English. In this case, they
’
match the sound of the English letter equivalents but not the ‘name’. Is that important to
know? Of course not!
Learning the letters and sounds ‘bit by bit’ (word by word) is much more effective than starting
with the whole alphabet. Can you remember 26 new letters and sounds all in one go? No. So,
start with one word and 6 letters.
Cп с б
а и о[spa’see’ba] (thank you) is the perfect start for learning to understand, read and
speak Russian. When you see the letter ‘и [ee] you perhaps think it looks like a backwards
’
capital ‘N’ and after hearing it several times you will automatically associate it with the sound
‘ee’.
Likewise with the letter ‘б It sounds and even looks a bit like the letter ‘b’ in English, or
’.
perhaps you think it looks like the number 6. It doesn’t matter what association you make
since you will very quickly be reading it phonetically without need for any associations.
Seeing the letters in capitals is also important since the shapes change, as they do with any
alphabet.
Аа ; Бб ; Сс ; Дд... ( A a ; B b ; C c ; D d … )
So do you remember the word for ‘thank you’ in Russian? Most people won’t, so you’re doing
great if you do. Cп с б
а и о[spa’see’ba] (thank you). ‘Spaced repetition’ is the best way to
really learn a new word. And when you learn this way, rather than by making associations or
other ‘memory tricks’, you won’t forget the word, even years later.
This is ‘physical’ learning; like learning a sport or how to play a musical instrument. You’re
literally training your eyes, ears and mouth.
Now let’s take a look at the last letter in the word с а и о[spa’see’ba] [с а и о It’s
псб п ’с ’б ].
exactly the same as the ‘o’ in English, only, in the word с а и о it makes an ‘a’ sound. As
п сб ,
in English, some letters make multiple sounds and instead of learning a long list of rules, it’s
best to simply learn the word and its associated sound. For example ‘chair’ and ‘choir’. Do
you know the rules for how to pronounce words in English? So I think you’ll agree it’s best to
skip the rules for now.
The letter ‘o’ in Russian makes either an ‘o’ sound, like in English but with a small inflection,
or an ‘a’ sound, and learning to use it properly is no harder than learning in English to match
the letter ‘c’ with the ‘s’ sound or the ‘k’ sound.
What’s the Russian word for ‘thank you’?

2. Cп с б . Did you remember? And were you able to read it and pronounce it correctly
аи о
without looking above? No problem if you had to ‘cheat’, most people will forget and a good
language program recognizes this and provides an effective solution.
The second word to learn in any language is ‘hello’, ‘п и е ’ [pree’veeyet] [п и е]. It
рвт р ’в т
almost sounds like there are three syllables, but it’s essentially only two. Immediately you see
that the ‘p’ in Russian, sounds like an ‘r’ but looks like a ‘p’ in English. Similarly, the ‘в looks
’
like a capital ‘B’ but sounds like a ‘v’, and the Russian letter ‘тlooks and sounds like ‘T’ in
’
English. Note that the Russian ‘r’ is rolled liked in Spanish and other languages.
I need to point out that the word ‘п и е’ [pree’ veeyet] [п и е] is actually like ‘hi’ in English.
рвт р ’в т
It’s casual and used with friends. The more polite form of ‘hello’ is ‘з р в т у т’
д асв йе
[strasvyite] but trying to tackle that word at this point is pretty challenging, so let’s stick with
the simple form ‘п и е ’ for now.
рвт
When creating a program for learning a new language, it’s important to really understand the
difficulties of a student and the simple facts of how our minds work. For example, when you
turn the page, what you ‘learned’ on the previous page is typically ‘gone’. Simply telling you
and showing you once isn’t enough. You need the ‘spaced repetition’ and physical practice of
seeing, hearing and speaking.
You perhaps remember the Russian word for ‘thank you’, с а и о[spa’see’ba] [с а и о
пс б п ’с ’б ].
And how about ‘hi’? П и е! [pree’veeyet] [п и е ]
р вт р ’в т
To create a dialogue or exercise to use these words many times, over and over, is essentially
impossible. That’s why the next best step when learning Russian, or any other language, is
with a simple dialogue of What’s this? What’s that? : Ч оэо (shto eta)
т т?
You see again that the letter ‘o’ sounds like ‘o’ and ‘a’. The letter ‘тis like ‘T’ in English. The
’
new letter ‘ч[cha] looks like the number 4 and normally sounds like ‘ch’ but sometimes very
’
close to ‘sh’. Does knowing the ‘name’ for the letter ‘ч [cha] help you to say Ч оэо (shto
’ т т?
eta) (What’s this? What’s that?). Heck no! In fact it adds an extra level of confusion that is
best to avoid.
There are actually several Russian letters that have an ‘sh’ sound, so you need to focus on
the sound carefully and learn to make the distinction.
With the word ‘чо (what), make sure you get the ‘sh’ sound at the beginning: ч о[shto].
т’ т
The next word, ‘э о [eta] means ‘this’, ‘that’ or ‘it’. So literally, Ч оэо means ‘What that?’ /
т’ т т?
‘What this?’ / ‘What it?’.
Here’s a sample of how the exercise works:
Ч оэо [shto eta] (What’s this/that?)
т т?
Ч о [shto] (What?)
т?
Э о [eta] (This/That.)
т.
Э ок и а [eta k’neega] (It’s a book.)
т н г.
With the word for book, к иа it’s important to make the ‘k’ sound distinct and don’t say
н г,
‘knee’ and relate it to the English word.
The distinct ‘k’ sound is found in all Russian words, including ‘ко (who), and it’s not 2
т’
syllables like ke-toe. It’s said quickly ‘ко (k’toe). Practice makes perfect, so doing Lesson 1
т’
gives you a solid foundation of these basic words.
К оэ о (Who’s this/that?)
т т?
К о (Who?)
т?
Э о (This/That.)
т.
Э оБ а . (That’s Brad.)
т рд
Make sure you don’t say ‘eto’!! It’s an ‘a’ sound ‘эо (eta).
т’

3. Before reading further, you should try Lesson 1 which will help you continue to master the
Russian alphabet and improve your listening and speaking abilities. Really focus on making
the ‘sounds’ as accurately as possible. And remember that the ‘sound’ can change
substantially when said quickly and naturally. For example in English: “What do you want to
do now?” (Waddya wanna do now?). Focus on the sound!
Proceeding to Lessons 2, 3 and 4 is recommended and when teaching Russian, we typically
cover all four lessons in the first ever lesson of 1 hour. At that point you’ll feel like you’ve had
a serious workout, and will also feel like you’ve learned a lot. Now, let’s do a ‘warm down’
with a few other important words and ideas.
Another useful word when in a Russian speaking country is ‘м ж о [moe’zshna] (may). So if
о н’
you want to sit down somewhere you could say: Мо н ? [mozshna] (May I?) and they would
жо
say: По а у с а [pa’zshal’sta] (Go ahead./Please.), and you’d say: С а и о (Thanks.)
ж л й т. псб.
Now I hope you can see already the natural progression that can be made when learning a
new language. When an entire program is set up this way, slowly feeding you new words and
expressions one by one, with a clear understanding of the ideas being expressed, then the
learning progress is dramatically improved.
Using simple natural dialogues are an ideal way to learn, but it is vitally important that the
dialogues are natural and simple, with a very limited vocabulary to begin with, and the idea
being expressed must be clear and intuitive. Building a strong foundation will yield much
better long term results in a shorter time period.
Notice your first example of ‘intuitive learning’. When you hear,
- Ч оэ о
т т?
- Чо
т?
- Эо
т.
your brain will automatically understand the words based on the context of the situation,
especially if you see the actions in a video.
Similarly, if you use photos of well known people, it really helps learn the Russian alphabet
quickly.
К оэ о (Who’s this?)
т т?
Э оБ э и т (That’s Brad Pitt.)
т р дП т.
Нуд , [nu da], let’s carry on with some more words. From this you’ve already intuitively
а
understood that Н а means “So then,…” or “Anyway, …”. Again, that’s what we mean by
уд ,..
natural learning. Actually, н у[nu] means ‘well’ (well, so, well then), and the dictionary
definition really doesn’t help much. It gives you the basic ‘hook’, or the first bit of
understanding, but then, from seeing it used in situations where the idea is clearly understood,
that’s when you truly begin to understand the word and how it’s used.
д а[da] means ‘yes’, and н т
е [nee’yet] means ‘no’. So why combine them as Нуд а[nu da]?
It doesn’t matter why. All languages have lots of expressions that “don’t make any sense”,
but they’re natural expressions so simply learn to use them. Match the expression to the idea.
Now let’s try a little exercise and see how many words you remember:
thank you = ______________ пие
р в т[pree’vee’yet]
hi = ______________ ко(k’toe)
т
what = ______________ эо[eta]
т
who = ______________ с а и о [spa’see’ba]
псб
this / that = ______________ ч о[shto]
т
It’s also useful to begin learning to write in Russian. Again, the physical action helps lock it
into your memory. See the answers on the next page and don’t worry if you didn’t get them
all.

4. If you got them all correct you’re really doing well. If not, no problem, very soon you will have
mastered them.
thank you = с а и о [spa’see’ba]
псб
hi = п и е [pree’vee’yet]
рвт
what = чо[shto]
т
who = ко(k’toe)
т
this / that = эо[eta]
т
And do you remember how to ask permission for something? “May I?” _______________
And the reply: “Please. Go ahead.” ____________________
If you remembered them you’re doing really great.
May I? = Мо н ? [mozshna]
жо
Go ahead. = П ж л й т . [pa’shal’sta]
о а у са
And how about the word for book? And ‘yes’ and ‘no’? And the expression “Anyway…” to
carry on with a conversation, etc. I can’t imagine anyone remembering the word for book
since you only saw it once 2 pages back. But, that’s exactly what happens with many books
and programs for learning languages. They tell you once and then never mention it again and
assume it’s been learned.
book = к иа[k’neega].
нг
yes = да[da]
no = н т[nee’yet]
е
Anyway,.. = Н а [nu da]
уд ,
With our program, there’s no need to make a huge effort to memorize words. Simply follow
the program, step by step, and everything gets learned ‘naturally’ and ‘easily’. It may not feel
very ‘easy’ yet, but have faith and stick with it. 
‘Locking’ words into your memory is a simple function of how your brain works. Short term
memory has the capacity for about 7 things, so we’ve already exceeded that and you
probably can’t remember all 11 Russian words already introduced. No problem. After seeing
a word about 5 to 7 times with a gradually increased space such that you ‘almost forget’, then
the word will have generally been ‘locked in’ and learned. It’s a natural, physical occurrence
that works for everyone.
As I mentioned earlier, it’s always important to focus on the idea being expressed by a word
or expression. For example it’s very common in Russian to say: Д е . [da nee’yet] (Yes
ан т
no.) which makes absolutely no sense in English but actually means ‘no’, but it’s different than
simply saying ‘no’, н т It’s more like “of course not”, or you’d like it to be yes but it’s not, or it
е.
would be nice if was true but it’s not.
Another interesting expression you’ll hear when people didn’t quite hear what you said, is:
Ч оч о (What what?). A German guy I met living in Kiev adopted the English expression
т т?
“What what?” instead of “Pardon?” (Pardon me?) (What was that?).
If you start using some of these basic words everyday, it will help make it all natural and easy.
So don’t say ‘thank you’, say: С а и о Don’t say, “Pardon me?”, say “Ч оч о
пс б . т т ?”.
Here’s another good one to use everyday.
Okay. = Х р шо [ha’ra’sho]
оо .
And of course you can use it as a question also: Х р шо (Okay?)
оо ?

5. Let’s try a short dialogue now and notice again that it’s intentionally set up so that the idea is
clear, thus helping students to intuitively learn vocabulary and grammar.
- П и е!
рвт
- П и е!
рвт
- Ч оэ о
т т?
- Чо
т?
- Эо
т.
- А э оа -п д
, т и о.
- Мо н ?
жо
- П ж л й т.
о а уса
- С аи о
пс б .
Could you understand all that? Feels great to have made such progress already right? And
again, using recognizable English words and names helps you to learn the Russian alphabet
more quickly.
You’ll often hear the Russian word ‘A,..’ at the beginning of sentences and it generally
translates to ‘And’ or ‘But’ or ‘Oh’. There’s no need to translate it though. Simply get used to
hearing it and using it.
When you’re really grateful for something, and want to say “Thanks a lot.” or “Thank you very
much.”, in Russian you’d say: Сп с б о ь е [spa’see’ba bal’shoy], which literally
а и об л шо .
means ‘thanks big’.
Here you see the Russian letter, which I call, small ‘b’, ‘ь which is called the ‘soft sound’ and
’
has no actual sound. There’s no need or benefit in explaining it further at this point, simply
get used to seeing it and get used to using it when you write or type in Russian.
Do you remember the word for ‘okay’? No problem if you don’t and well done if you do. Let’s
learn one more new word, then we’ll do a quick review. Х р шо [ha’ra’sho]
оо ?
You’ll hear this word a lot in Russian: д в й [da’vai] ( Come on. / Let’s go. / Go! ) It’s used
аа
in a variety of situations so there’s no specific translation in English. That’s not a problem
however, since you’ll quickly become comfortable with this word and use it a lot.
So, a quick review:
с а и о [spa’see’ba] (thank you)
пс б
п ж л й т [pa’zshal’sta] (please; you’re welcome)
о а уса
б л шо [bal’shoy] (large, big)
оь е
п и е [pree’vee’yet] (hi)
р вт
з р в т у т [sdras’vootya] (hello)
д асв йе
д [da] (yes)
а
н т[nee’yet] (no)
е
ч о [shto] (what)
т
э о [eta] (this/that/it)
т
к и а [kneega] (book)
нг
ко [k’toe] (who)
т
мо н
ж о[mozshna] (may, possible)
ну[nu] (well, so, then)
a [a] (and, but, oh)
х р шо [ha’ra’sho] (okay)
оо
д в й [da’vai] ( Come on. / Let’s go. / Go! )
аа

6. You’re now well on your way to having mastered your first 16 Russian words, and you’ll hear
them a lot. Many people say that the most common 100 words make up 50-80% of a
language. It’s probably true, which means it’s vital to rea lly know and understand these
words well.
It’s also surprising and frustrating to sometimes see or hear an expression and know all the
words but have no idea what it means. Again, a good system will make sure you learn all
these small details. We’ve already learned a few expressions:
Нуд ,.. [nu da],.. (Anyway, …)
а
Д е. [da nee’yet] (Of course not.)
ан т
Ч оч о [shot shto] (Pardon?)
т т?
Conversely, you might say something based on the pattern used in English but it may be
strange or even wrong to say it that way in Russian. And vice versa, Russians speaking
English will make ‘strange’ expressions like ‘go in for sport’ instead of ‘play sports’.
That’s why you have to really get into the feel for using the language directly, without
translating. Building up a solid foundation and building on it slowly will help achieve that goal.
Let’s see what words you remember, and don’t worry if you don’t remember them all, or even
any. Simply continue following the program and no matter how bad you are at learning
languages, you’ll soon discover that you’re making great progress.
Test yourself below by covering up the Russian words to the right, read the English, then say
the Russian word before sliding the cover down to read the word in Russian. And say the
Russian word out loud again as you read it for extra ‘physical learning’!
(thank you) с а и о[spa’see’ba]
пс б
(please; you’re welcome) п жлйт
о а у с а[pa’shal’sta]
(large, big) б л шо
о ь е[bal’shoy]
(hi) п ие
р в т[pree’vee’yet]
(hello) з рв ту т
д а с в й е[sdras’vootya]
(yes) да[da]
(no) н т[nee’yet]
е
(what) ч о[shto]
т
(this/that/it) э о[eta]
т
(book) к и а[kneega]
нг
(who) ко [k’toe]
т
(may, possible) мо н
ж о[mozshna]
(well, so, then) ну[nu]
(and, but, oh) a [a]
(okay) х р шо [ha’ra’sho]
оо
( Come on. / Let’s go. / Go! ) д в й [da’vai]
аа
Are you reading the Russian words now without looking at the transliteration beside them?
It’s very important to read Russian and not transliterate because transliterations aren’t exact.
It’s impossible to show the small inflections and other variations. For example in English, you
can’t show the ‘th’ sound in any way except with ‘th’, and to make the sound you have to stick
your tongue out and bite it slightly then pull it back in as you say it.
this, that, these is not dis, dat, dese or zis, zat, zese.
The Russian words for ‘you’ illustrate this situation.
т [tu’ee] (you) (casual, singular)
ы
в [vu’ee] (you) (formal, plural)
ы

7. They’re usually transliterated as ‘ty’ and ‘vy’ but it really doesn’t match the proper sound.
т (you) (casual, singular)
ы
в (you) (form al, plural)
ы
Similarly, when you hear a Russian speaker answer the phone and say: А л (hello), you’ll
л o.
recognize immediately that it’s been adapted from English, but there is a mysterious inflection
that is very difficult to master yourself. The spelling when written can vary, А е А л and it
л , л e,
didn’t help me with getting the sound right. Keep trying though and don’t be satisfied until you
get it.
In English, there’s no distinction between ‘casual’, ‘formal’ and ‘plural’ “you”, so it takes some
practice to do this naturally in Russian. Similarly, to master the change in verb endings takes
practice. Once again, learning the rules is less important than practicing to the point that it
becomes ‘natural’ and ‘automatic’.
Here’s the Russian for the common phrase: “Do you know….?”
Т з а шь
ы н е ...? [tu’ee znai’yesh] (casual)
Вы з а т...? [vu’ee znai’yet’ye] (formal, plural)
нее
And since you probably won’t understand anything past these first two words, your easiest
reply is simply: Ян н ю. [ya ne znai’you] (I don’t know.) And smile!! 
ез а
As with English, or any language, common expressions are said quickly, so try to say it
quickly by copying the sound you hear. And often expressions get shortened: Нез а н ю.
(Dunno.)
Try this next dialogue and see if you can read and understand it all.
К оэ о (Who’s this?)
т т?
Э оБ э и т (That’s Brad Pitt.)
т р дП т.
К оо ? (Who’s he?)
т н
К оо ?! Т н н е
т н ы ез а шьБ э аПи т? (Who’s he?! You don’t know Brad Pitt?)
рд та
(Т н н е
ы еза шькоБ э и т (You don’t know who Brad Pitt is?)
т р дП т?)
The final sentence is fairly complicated in structure but because it was presented in a
completely natural manner, you probably understood it completely, or at least vaguely, all on
your own. You also get an insight into how endings change even for names in Russian.
Let’s finish learning the pronouns:
он[on] (he, it ‘masculine’)
о а[ana] (she, it ‘feminine’)
н
о о[ano] (it ‘neuter)
н
о и[anee] (they)
н
If you’ve gone through the lessons, you’ve already mastered these and discovered that rather
than give the student all the pronouns at once, we prefer to focus on just three to begin with:
о , о а о о get them locked in, then continue with the others. Step by step, developing the
н н, н ,
physical ability and making everything ‘automatic’.
Once again you can see, Russian isn’t 100% consistent with its phonetics, but trust me,
English is infinitely worse, so consider yourself lucky not to be learning English.
Let’s do a quick review before introducing some new words. Х р шо [ha’ra’sho] (Okay?)
оо ?
We’ll give the Russian word first and you quickly check to see if you remember the meaning
before it’s given, and make sure you repeat the word out loud in Russian, so you continue the
‘physical learning’.
As you begin working with the dialogues, you’ll discover that the traditional approach to
language learning and vocabulary building isn’t necessary. You’ll spend very little time with
vocabulary lists or flash cards and such. You’ll be learning intuitively and will simply
‘remember’ without even trying. And when you try speaking, words and expressions will just
‘come out’ without any conscious thinking.

8. Нуд , here are the words we’ve covered so far:
а
с а и о [spa’see’ba] (thank you)
пс б ,
п жлйт
о а у с а[pa’shal’sta] (please; you’re welcome)
б л шо
о ь е[bal’shoy] (large, big)
п ие
р в т[pree’vee’yet] (hi)
з рв ту т
д а с в й е[sdras’vootya] (hello)
А л (hello) (on the phone)
л o.
да[da] (yes)
н т[nee’yet] (no)
е
ч о[shto] (what)
т
ко[k’toe (who)
т
э о[eta] (this/that/it)
т
к и а[kneega] (book)
нг
мо н
ж о[mozshna] (may, possible)
ну[nu] (well, so, then)
a [a] (and, but, oh)
х р шо [ha’ra’sho] (okay)
оо
д в й [da’vai] ( Come on. / Let’s go. / Go! )
аа
And now the pronouns:
я[ya] (I, me)
т [tu’ee] (you ‘casual’)
ы
в [vu’ee] (you ‘formal’ and plural)
ы
мы [mu’ee] (we)
он[on] (he, it ‘masculine’)
о а[ana] (she, it ‘feminine’)
н
о о[ano] (it ‘neuter)
н
о и[anee] (they)
н
We introduced an extra new word, м [mu’ee] (we), in order to give you the full list. And you
ы
can see how the verb endings change with the verb ‘to know’, за ь
н т:
(я з а [znai’you] (I know)
) ню
(т з а шь [znai’yesh] (you know)
ы) н е
(о , о а з а т [znai’yet] (he/she knows)
н н) н е
(м з а м [mu’ee zyai’yem] (we know)
ы) н е
(в за т [znai’yet’ye] (you know) (formal, plural)
ы) н е е
(о и з а
н ) н ют [znai’yoot] (they know)
з а (I know)
ню
з а шь (you know)
не
з а т (he/she knows)
не
з а м (we know)
не
з а т (you know) (formal, plural)
н ее
за
н ют (they know)
Trying to memorize the changes, as with memorizing numbers and days of the week, etc, is a
difficult task and quite unnecessary. By simply progressing through all the various material
and exercises, it will all become ‘second nature’. The learning process becomes much more
effective and complete, and there’s much less risk of error when you try and speak Russian.

9. For example you need to instinctively use т or в in order to avoid a slip in real life because
ы ы
you’re busy trying to ‘remember’.
In Russian, the reply to a question is often simply the verb again, instead of saying ‘yes’.
- З а шь (З а т?)
не ? нее
- За
н ю.
This can be really tricky since you will tend to reply with the same word they used, which is
wrong since it’s the ‘you’ form. Practice makes it automatic.
Quite a bit of Russian follows the same pattern as English, so that helps the learning process.
For example:
К оо ? (Who’s he?)
т н
К оо а (Who’s she?)
т н?
К оо и (Who are they?)
т н?
And perhaps you’ve noticed already that Russian doesn’t use the verb ‘to be’ like we do in
English, even though it does exist and is used similarly in other situations.
And if you say: К ов
т ы? (Who are you?), it’s a bit abrupt and rude as it is in English, and is
used in exactly the same situations, like finding a stranger in your house, in which case you
might be even more emphatic and say: К ов тк й The definition of т к й[takoi] is
т ы ао ? ао
‘such’, which doesn’t help explain the meaning of the sentence at all, so don’t worry about the
definition. Focus on the idea being expressed, which is abundantly clear from the situation,
and after seeing it several times you’ll be adding тк йin exactly the right spots.
ао
Similarly, with the expression Ч оэо (What’s this/that?), you can make it more emphatic
т т?
by saying Ч оэ от к й (What the heck is this/that?)
т т ао ?
Let’s review some short dialogues and make sure you repeat out loud, so you continue
training the muscles in your mouth.
Ч оэо [shto eta] (What’s this/that?)
т т?
Ч о [shto] (What?)
т?
Э о [eta] (This/That.)
т.
Э ок и а [eta kneega] (It’s a book.)
т н г.
And this routine can be done with several other objects, in order to increase repetition, as is
done in the lessons.
Ч оэо [shto eta] (What’s this/that?)
т т?
Э ож р а . [eta zhoornal] (It’s a magazine.)
т унл
Ч оэо [shto eta] (What’s this/that?)
т т?
Э огз т. [eta gazyeta] (It’s a newspaper.)
т а еа
Ч оэот к й [shto eta takoi] (What the heck is this?)
т т ао ?
If you’re like me, you’ll have a tendency to mix up ж р а
у н лand гзт , or think of them both
а еа
as newspaper since you’re making a word association that’s familiar to you. And that’s why
the physical practice is necessary to literally ‘hard-wire’ your brain with the right connections
and associations.
Knowing that your ‘memory bucket’ can only hold 5 to 7 items, there’s no need to fill it up with
a bunch of nouns. What’s more important is to develop the ability to use the language, and
whenever you don’t know the word for a certain object, you can just ask: Ч оэо (What’s
т т?
this?).
And we intentionally chose the 3 objects: к иа ж р а
н г, у н лand гзт
а еаso that it leads naturally
into the next step in the learning process. Ч оо д л е? (What’s he doing?) О ч т е
т н е ат н иат
к и у (He’s reading a book.)
н г.

10. You immediately recognize the word for ‘book’ and see that it’s changed slightly. No big deal,
and no need for a long explanation. Your brain registers it and thus you begin learning the
grammar rules in a natural and progressive manner.
Ч оо д л е? (What’s he doing?) Онч т е гзт . (He’s reading the newspaper.)
т н еат и а т а еу
Ч оо д л е? (What’s he doing?) Онч т е ж р а . (He’s reading a magazine.)
т н еат иат у нл
к и аbecomes к иу[k'nee'goo]
нг нг
гз т
аеаbecomes гзт аеу[ga’zeeyetoo], and
жу н лstays the same: ж р а
ра ун л
Clearly, if the last letter is -a, then it changes to -y. Pretty simple, but understanding the rule
and ‘remembering’ to follow it are two entirely different things. Thus it’s again important to
simply ‘make it automatic’. Learn it physically, then you don’t have to ‘remember’ anything.
And to learn everything physically, you simply need to follow the program; like hiking a trail in
the mountains, just stick to the trail and you’ll reach the summit.
And do you remember the other short dialogue?
Пр в т
и е!
Пр в т
и е!
Ч оэо
т т?
Чо
т?
Эо
т.
А эоа -п д
, т и о.
Мо н ?
жо
По а у с а
ж л й т.
Сп с б .
аи о
And do you remember the formal way to say hello? З р в т у т .
д а св й е
Another handy expression to know is ‘Excuse me.’ И в н т. [ee’zvee’nee’tya]
зи ие
So if you come up to a park bench with someone sitting on it, and you want to sit there also,
you could say:
Из и и еп жа у са м ж о (Excuse me please, may I?) And they’d likely reply:
в н т о л й т, о н ?
По а у с а And you’d say: С а и о
ж л й т. псб.
I hope you see now that language learning can be reasonably straight forward. It’s still a lot
of work and requires significant time and effort, but with a clear, systematic program that’s
engaging and enjoyable, then the road to success is a lot less challenging.
That’s the end of this introductory audio. I now recommend you listen and read through
Lessons 1 through 4.