Привет! Первые встречи
Chapter Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Recognize and begin to write a first set of Cyrillic letters, and understand that Russian stress is fixed to a word rather than predictable from spelling.
- Greet someone and say goodbye using level-appropriate expressions.
- Introduce yourself using the formula Меня зовут..., and ask someone else's name.
- Ask and answer a small set of controlled questions using only formulaic language.
- Distinguish an informal ты greeting from a polite Вы greeting in fixed, recognizable contexts.
- Count from 0 to 10 in Russian.
Communication Scenario
Anna is starting a beginner Russian class in the evening. On the first night, the teacher greets everyone at the door, and the students greet each other before the lesson begins. Nobody in the room has met before, so the entire first evening is built from the same small handful of expressions, said again and again, until they start to feel automatic. This chapter follows that first evening, greeting by greeting, name by name.
- You will meet the same expressions in several short exchanges, so that repetition, not memorization, builds your first working Russian.
- Every word introduced in this chapter is marked for stress, since stress in Russian must be learned with each word from the very beginning.
Core Vocabulary
The words below are your first productive Russian vocabulary. Each one is marked with an acute stress mark over its stressed vowel. The stress mark itself is a learning tool, and it does not appear in ordinary Russian writing.
| Russian | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| приве́т | hi, hello | informal, used with ты |
| здра́вствуйте | hello | polite, used with Вы or a group |
| до́брое у́тро | good morning | both stressed words are marked in vocabulary lists |
| до́брый день | good afternoon | neutral, common at any time of day |
| пока́ | bye | informal |
| до свида́ния | goodbye | polite |
| спаси́бо | thank you | |
| пожа́луйста | please, you're welcome | |
| извини́те | excuse me, sorry | polite |
| да́ | yes | |
| нет | no | one syllable, no stress mark needed |
| Russian | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| меня́ зову́т... | my name is... | formulaic, literally "they call me" |
| как вас зову́т? | what is your name? | polite, formulaic |
| как тебя́ зову́т? | what is your name? | informal, formulaic |
| о́чень прия́тно | nice to meet you | formulaic |
| Russian | English |
|---|---|
| 0 но́ль | zero |
| 1 оди́н | one |
| 2 два | two |
| 3 три | three |
| 4 четы́ре | four |
| 5 пять | five |
| 6 шесть | six |
| 7 семь | seven |
| 8 во́семь | eight |
| 9 де́вять | nine |
| 10 де́сять | ten |
All vocabulary in this table is productive, meaning you are expected to recognize it, say it, and write it by the end of the chapter.
Pronunciation: The Cyrillic Alphabet and Word Stress
Russian is written with the Cyrillic alphabet, a complete writing system in its own right, not a code layered over the Latin alphabet. This chapter introduces a first working set of letters through the words above, rather than the full thirty three letter alphabet at once. The remaining letters follow in Chapter 2.
Every Russian word of more than one syllable has one stressed syllable, and that syllable is a fact about the word itself, not something you can predict from its spelling. This textbook marks stress with an acute accent mark, as in приве́т, so that you can hear and say each new word correctly from the start.
- Say each vocabulary word aloud, leaning slightly on the marked syllable.
- Notice that an unstressed о often sounds closer to an a sound, as in хорошо́. This pattern will be explained fully once more vocabulary is available.
- The stress mark itself never appears in ordinary Russian text outside of dictionaries and language textbooks, so do not write it in your own free writing later in the course.
Language Focus: Introducing Yourself
Purpose: greet someone, introduce yourself with a fixed formula, ask a name, and choose between an informal and a polite greeting in clearly marked situations.
1.1 The formula Меня зовут...
The expression меня́ зову́т... means "my name is..." but its word for word structure is different from English, closer to "me they call...". At this stage, treat the whole phrase as one fixed unit. You do not yet need to understand every grammatical piece inside it, since that analysis is scheduled for a later volume.
To ask someone's name, Russian also uses two different formulas, one polite and one informal, matching the ты/Вы distinction introduced below.
- Меня́ зову́т А́нна. My name is Anna.
- Как вас зову́т? — Меня́ зову́т Ми́ша. What is your name? — My name is Misha.
1.2 Choosing ты or Вы
Russian distinguishes an informal ты from a polite singular Вы, and a separate plural вы used for more than one person. In this chapter, you only need to recognize the difference in two fixed contexts, a classmate greeting another classmate informally, and a teacher or stranger being greeted politely. The full pronoun system is developed gradually across later chapters.
- Приве́т! Как тебя́ зову́т? Hi! What is your name? (informal, classmate to classmate)
- Здра́вствуйте! Как вас зову́т? Hello! What is your name? (polite, to a teacher or a stranger)
1.3 Zero copula: sentences without "is"
You will meet this pattern again in Chapter 2, where it expands to classroom objects and people.
Model Dialogue: Знакомство
Context: The teacher greets a new student at the door on the first evening of class.
Anna sits down next to another student, who turns to greet her informally.
Notice that Anna greets the teacher with Здра́вствуйте and greets Misha with Приве́т, choosing her greeting based on who she is speaking to, not on the situation alone.
Listening Practice
If no audio recording is available, ask a partner, instructor, or text to speech tool to read the lines below aloud, or read them aloud to yourself slowly, paying attention to the marked stress.
- Listen to (or read aloud) the script above, then answer, in Russian, with your own name using the correct formula.
- Listen for the greeting word at the start of the script. Is it the informal or the polite greeting? How do you know?
- Listen for the stressed syllable in Оле́г. Which syllable carries the stress?
Speaking Practice
Управля́емая пра́ктика — Controlled practice: greet and respond
Practice saying each greeting and courtesy word from the vocabulary table aloud, three times each, paying attention to the marked stress.
Коммуникати́вное зада́ние — Communicative task: meet a classmate
With a partner, greet each other informally, ask and answer each other's names, and say goodbye. Then repeat the exchange as if meeting a teacher, using the polite forms.
Самостоя́тельная пра́ктика — Solo alternative
Record yourself greeting an imaginary teacher politely and an imaginary classmate informally, introducing yourself in both exchanges. Listen back and check your stress against the vocabulary table.
Reading Practice
Запи́ска — A short note
Приве́т! Меня́ зову́т Со́ня. Спаси́бо! Пока́!
Задание по чтению — Reading task:
- What is the name of the person who wrote this note?
- Is this note written in an informal or a polite style? Point to one word that tells you.
- Find the word that means "thank you" and the word that means "bye."
Writing Workshop
Complete the following linked writing tasks in order.
Зада́ние 1 — Copy and mark stress: Copy each word from the Core Vocabulary tables by hand, including its stress mark, three times each.
Зада́ние 2 — Complete the exchange: Fill in your own name in the blank, then write the full formulaic answer.
Зада́ние 3 — Short written introduction: Write three short sentences introducing yourself, using only the vocabulary and patterns from this chapter, such as your greeting, your name, and a polite closing.
- Copy the vocabulary with stress marks first. This builds accurate handwriting habits from the start.
- Fill in the blank exchange. Check that your answer uses the full formula, not just your name alone.
- Draft your three sentence introduction. Keep every word within this chapter's vocabulary.
- Read your introduction aloud once. Listen for the stressed syllable in each word.
- Check your Cyrillic letter shapes against the vocabulary tables. Correct any letter that does not match.
Спи́сок прове́рки — Editing checklist:
- Every word is written in Cyrillic, with no Latin letters.
- Stress marks are included where the vocabulary table shows them.
- The formula Меня зовут... is used correctly and completely.
- The greeting chosen matches the intended relationship, informal or polite.
- No new vocabulary from outside this chapter has been used.
Culture and Communication
Among many Russian speakers, the choice between an informal and a polite greeting is one of the first social judgments a speaker makes on meeting someone, based on age, familiarity, and setting rather than on a single fixed rule. Classmates of a similar age commonly greet one another informally from the start, while a teacher, an older stranger, or a service worker is more commonly greeted politely.
Russian is spoken as a first or additional language by communities in many countries, including the Russian Federation, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, the Baltic states, Israel, and diaspora communities elsewhere. Speaking Russian does not by itself indicate a person's citizenship, ethnicity, or political views, and this course will return to that distinction directly in Chapter 3.
Common Mistakes
Error: Adding an extra word for "is" in a simple identification sentence, by analogy with English, such as treating Это as if it needed a following verb.
Correction: Remember that Russian uses no present tense verb "to be" in sentences like Это А́нна. The noun follows это directly.
Error: Copying a new word without its stress mark, then guessing at pronunciation later from spelling alone.
Correction: Copy every new word together with its stress mark from the vocabulary table, since Russian stress cannot reliably be predicted from spelling.
Error: Greeting a teacher or an unfamiliar older person with Приве́т and как тебя́ зову́т, simply because these forms feel easier to remember.
Correction: Match your greeting to the relationship, using Здра́вствуйте and как вас зову́т with a teacher or a stranger.
Chapter Review
Часть A — Понимание (Comprehension)
1. Return to the Model Dialogue, and answer these short questions.
- Which greeting does Anna use with the teacher, and which does she use with Misha?
- What does Misha say after learning Anna's name?
Часть B — Пи́сьменная речь (Writing)
1. Write the formula for asking someone's name politely, and the formula for asking informally.
2. Write the numbers 1 through 10 in Russian, with stress marks.
Часть C — Чте́ние (Reading)
1. Return to the short note in Reading Practice, and identify which words are formal or informal.
Часть D — Говоре́ние (Speaking)
1. Greet a partner politely, then greet the same partner informally, and explain to your partner which greeting felt more natural to you and why.
Practical Performance Task
Chapter 1 Practical Check
First Meetings, Fully Introduced
Complete the following connected tasks, in order, treating them as one small first meeting.
- Read the model dialogue and the short note. Answer the comprehension questions above before continuing.
- Prepare and deliver a polite introduction. Greet an imagined teacher, give your name, and say goodbye politely.
- Prepare and deliver an informal introduction. Greet an imagined classmate, give your name, and say goodbye informally.
- Write your three sentence introduction. Apply the editing checklist from the Writing Workshop.
- Count aloud from 0 to 10. Check your stress against the vocabulary table.
| Criterion | What is assessed |
|---|---|
| Formula accuracy | The learner uses Меня зовут... correctly and completely in speech and writing. |
| Register choice | The learner selects an informal or polite greeting appropriately for each context. |
| Stress and pronunciation | The learner produces the marked stress on practiced vocabulary with reasonable accuracy. |
| Cyrillic control | The learner writes practiced vocabulary in accurate Cyrillic letter shapes. |
| Numbers 0 to 10 | The learner counts aloud accurately and with recognizable stress. |
This checkpoint uses only material introduced in this chapter. No item on this rubric requires a system that has not yet been taught.
Answer Key
Model Dialogue — Comprehension
- Anna greets the teacher with the polite Здравствуйте, and greets Misha with the informal Привет.
- Misha says Очень приятно, meaning "nice to meet you."
Writing
- Polite: Как вас зовут? Informal: Как тебя зовут?
- оди́н, два, три, четы́ре, пять, шесть, семь, во́семь, де́вять, де́сять
Reading
- The note is written informally. Привет and Пока are both informal, while a polite note would open with Здравствуйте.
Looking Ahead
Что вы уже уме́ете — What you can do now
You can greet someone informally or politely, introduce yourself with Меня зовут..., ask someone else's name, say a small set of courtesy expressions, and count from 0 to 10, all using accurate Cyrillic and marked stress.