The word « пожалуйста » (please) is used in everyday conversations and it has a few more applications in Russian than in English. So, we will now discuss how to say “please” in Russian and when to use this word.
Though this word seems difficult, in practice it is much easier to pronounce than it might appear. Just write it out phonetically as shown below:
Пожалуйста – [pa-ZHAL-sta]
You can see that the stress falls on the second syllable, but some of the sounds simply disappear when spoken.
As we said before the word « пожалуйста » has a few more applications in Russian than in English. Let’s have a look at this short dialogue:
– Передай мне , пожалуйста , хлеб . (1)
Give me the bread, please !
– Вот , пожалуйста . (2)
Here you are.
– Спасибо!
Thank you!
– Пожалуйста , кушай на здоровье! (3)
You are welcome , bon appetite!
As we see in Russian the word « пожалуйста » is used not only when we ask politely for something (1), but also in two other situations:
It is not difficult to remember these rules. In this case Russian is easier than English because there are three applications for the same word. We hope this information is useful and helps you learn to speak Russian correct and politely!
Author: Samantha, Florida, USA Almost two months into my time in Daugavpils, and I’m having more fun than ever. But first: in my last blog post, I know I promised a super-secret, exciting trick for language learning, and here it is: DANCE!
Author: Samantha, Florida, USA As I approached my last semester of college, I was desperate to study abroad. Many plans were changed and canceled with the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic, yet my craving for out-of-classroom learning never lessened.