In southern Ukraine everyone speaks Russian, and for most Americans, sometimes the language barrier can be a little difficult starting off. Russian is similar to Ukrainian (and Belarusian) and can be understood by the majority of Ukrainians.

We’ve compiled a list of some basic phrases to help you starting off. The English phrases below are translated into a phonetic interpretation of how the Russian words sound. The “Russian” in the right column is not how Russian is written. It is only meant to be help you sound out the phrase. For example, “hi” in Russian sounds like “pree-v yet”, but is actually written “Привет”. If you would like to see how any phrase is written, but without the phonetic interpretation, please use Google’s online translator at Translate.Google.Gom

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GREETINGS

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Hi!	Pree-vyet’
Bye!	Paka’
Good night	Spakoy’-nay no’-chee
Nighty night	Spokie nokie
Good morning	Do’-braye oo-trah
How are you?	Kak dyela’

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COMMANDS

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Be still, stay still	stoy, ah-stanavis’
Come here	ee-dee’ syu-dah’
Come to me, please	p-ah-daydee’ paja’lasta
Sit down, please	siat, paja’lasta
Stay there	stoy tam
Stand up	vstahn
Give it to me	dai mnye e’-ta
Calm down, please	oo-spa-koy’-sya, paja’lasta
Don’t run	ne begi’ [“g” as in “goose”]
Be quiet	tee’-hah
Time out	see-dee’ spa-koy’-na
Listen to me	slu’-shai men-ya
Look at me	sma-tree’ na men-ya’
Say “thank you”	ska-zee’ thank you (z like Zsa zsa Gabor)
Don’t talk	nee ra-zga-va’-ree-vay
Show me…..	pa-ka-zee’ mnye…
Say….	Ska-zee’…
Let go	at pu-stee’
Let’s go	pash-lee’
Wash your hands	Pa-moy roo’-kee
Get in the car	Sa-dees’ v ma-shee’-noo
Hold my hand	Day mnye roo’-koo
Try this	Po’prob-oo-y eh-to

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PRAISE

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Good job!	Mala-dyets’
Good helper!	Ha-ro’-shee pa-mosh’-nik (boy)
	Ha-ro’-shai’-a pa-mosh’-neet-sa (girl)
Thank You!	Spasee’ba!

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TIME

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Time to go	para’ ee-tee’
Time to pray	para’ ma-leet’-sya
Time to sleep	para’ spat’
Time to clean up	para’ oo-mi-vat’-sya
Time to get dressed	para’ a-dee-vat’-sya
Time to play	para’ ee-grat’
Time to stop	para’ a-sta-na-veet’-sya
Time to sing	para’ pyet’

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BEHAVIORS

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You may…	Tee mo’-zish…
Don’t touch	Nye tro’-guy
Don’t run	Nye bye’-guy
Don’t hit	Nye bey’
Don’t do that	Nee dyel’-ai et’-a

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QUESTIONS

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Are you hungry?	Tee ho’-chesh yest?
Are you thirsty?	Tee ho’-chesh peet?
Do you need to go to the bathroom?	Tebye’ na’-da v too-ah-let’?
Are you tired?	Tee oo’-stal? (boy)
	Tee oo-sta’-la? (girl)
Are you sleepy?	Tee ho’-chesh spat’?
Are you angry?	Tee syer’-dish-sya?
Are you happy?	Tee davo’-len? (boy)
	Tee davol’-na? (girl)
Do you need help?	Te-beh’ pomoch?
What happened?	Shto sloo-chi’-las?
Why are you crying?	Pa-che-moo’ tee plah’-chesh?
What do you want?	Shto tee ho’-chesh?
Do you like this?	Tye-bye’ nra’-veet-sya e’-ta?
Where?	Gdye?
What?	Shto?
When?	Ka’-gdah?
Who?	Kto?
Would you like this?	Bu’dish eh’-to? Kho’chish eh’-to?

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WORDS

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Breakfast	Zaf’-trak
Lunch	A-byed’
Dinner	Oo’-zeen
Snack	Za-koo’-ska
Toy	Ee-groo’-shka
Doll	Koo’-klah
Ball	Myach
Car	Ma-shee’-na
House	Dom
Cat	Ko’-shka
Dog	Sa-bah’-ka

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BEDTIME

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It’s time to sleep	Parah’ spat
You need to wash your face	Na’dah umi’tsa
You need to brush your teeth	Na’dah chi’stit zu’bi
You need to undress	Na’dah razde’tsa
It’s time to take a shower	Na’dah prinat’ doosh
You need to put on your pajamas	Na’dah odet’ pija’mu
Good night my dear!	Spokoy’noy no’chi, moy kharo’shiy!
Sweet dreams!	Do’brikh snof!
Here is a bathroom	T-ah-m too-alet’

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MORNING TIME

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It’s time to get up	Para’ st-ah-vat’
Wake up, please	St-ah-va’y, pazha’lasta
You need to wash your face	Na’da umi’tsa
You need to brush your teeth	Na’da chi’stit zu’bi
Let’s have breakfast	Davaj’ zaf’trakat

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SEPERATION TIME

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Be good!	Boot um’nitsa!
Bye!	Pok-ah’!
Good luck!	Oo-dah’-chee!
I’ll see you in the afternoon!	Doh vecher-ah!