- Please and Thank-You. The two most important words you will learn in Russian are please and thank-you. You can just add these to any sentence to make it more polite.

Спасибо ("spa-see-ba") - Thank-You

Пожалуйста ("pa-zhal-sta") - Please (and You're Welcome)

- Yes and No. Two other very important Russian words are "Yes" and "No".

Да ("da") - Yes

Нет ("nyet") - No

- Saying Hello. When you are in Russia and you meet somebody, the first thing you will want to do is to say "hello". There are two forms of this word.

Здравствуйте ("zdra-stvooy-tye") - Hello (Formal)

Привет ("pree-vyet") - Hi (Informal)

- Introducing Yourself. In order to introduce yourself, you may need the following phrases.

Меня зовут ... ("min-ya za-voot") - My name is ...

Как вас зовут? ("kak vas za-voot") - What is your name?

Очень приятно ("och-en pree-yat-na") - Pleased to meet you.

- How are you? The most natural way to ask someone how they are in Russian is to ask: "how are things?"

Как дела? - How are things?

Хорошо спасибо - Good/Well Thank-You

Плохо - Bad

- Saying Good-Bye.

До свидания ("da-svee-da-nee-ye") - Good-bye. (The до is pronounced as if it is part of the next word)

Пока ("pa-ka") - Bye (Informal, slang)

- Asking about languages

Вы говорите по-английски? - Do you (formal) speak English?

Вы говорите по-русски? - Do you (formal) speak Russian?

Я говорю по-английски - I speak English

Я говорю по-русски - I speak Russian

Я понимаю - I understand

Я не понимаю - I don't understand