Have you ever thought about what Russians have for breakfast? For example, some people prefer to have a cup of coffee for breakfast, other people like to eat bread with butter or jam and have a cup of tea with honey in the morning. Russians also like to have eggs, cornflakes, oatmeal porridge, pancakes, or a sandwich for breakfast.

Today in this article you’ll learn some interesting words which will encourage you to talk about breakfast in Russian.

Eggs for breakfast

Everybody likes a traditional breakfast on a lazy Sunday morning, do they?  For example, many people prefer an omelet. Here are the words that you can use when you would like to talk about breakfast in Russian:

Яйцо [yay-TSO] egg
Варёное яйцо [va-RYO-na-ye yay-TSO] boiled egg
Яйцо вкрутую [yay-TSO v kroo-TOO-yoo] hard-boiled egg
Яйцо всмятку [yay-TSO v SMYAT-koo] soft-boiled egg
Омлет [am-LYET] omelet
Яйца-пашот [YAY-tsa PA-shot] poached eggs
Яичница [ya-YESH-nee-tsa] fried eggs
Яичница-болтунья [ya-EESH-nee-tsa bal-TOON’-ya] scrambled eggs
Яичница-глазунья [ya-EESH-nee-tsa gla-ZOON’-ya] sunny side up, you can also call it “глазунья”
Ветчина [vet-chee-NA] ham
Бекон [bee-KON] bacon
Сосиска [sa-SEES-ka] sausage, for example, frankfurters or hot dogs.
Колбаса [kal-ba-SA] sausage, for example, Polish sausage
Сыр [SIR] cheese

Cereals

Cereals are getting increasingly popular in Russia, for example, oat flakes for breakfast, which you can cook with milk or just eat with milk.

Now oatmeal porridge [af-SYA-na-ya KA-sha] (porridge, oatmeal) is a very popular dish for breakfast in a lot of Russian-speaking countries. If you are looking for a more colloquial way to refer to it, you can use the word: овсянка [af-SYAN-ka]. Cornflakes (кукурузные хлопья [koo-koo-ROOZ-ni-ye HLOP’-ya]) as well as muesli (мюсли [MYOOS-lee]) are also becoming very popular.

If you like a freshly cooked oatmeal porridge or cereals in the morning, you can have them with:

Молоко [ma-la-KO] milk
Йогурт [YO-goort] yogurt
Фрукт [FROOKT] fruit
Ягода [YA-ga-da] berry
Изюм [ee-ZYOOM] raisin
Орехи [a-RYE-hi] nuts

Pancakes

Pancakes are also very popular with Russians. They are often served with jam, honey, or sour cream.

Хлеб [HLYEP] bread
Тост [TOST] toast
Блины [blee-NY] thick pancakes
Thin pancakes can be referred to as: блинчики [BLEEN-chee-kee].
Оладьи [a-LAD’-yee] small round pancakes or very often they are called  – оладушки [o-LA-doosh-ki].
Масло [MAS-lo] butter
Сметана [smye-TA-na] sour cream
Мёд [MYOT] honey
Варенье [va-RYEN’-ye] jam

Beverages

Сок [SOK] juice
Фруктовый сок [frook-TO-viy SOK] fruit juice
Апельсиновый сок [a-pyel’-SEE-na-viy SOK] orange juice
Вода [va-DA] water
Чай [CHAI] tea
Чёрный чай [CHOR-niy CHAI] black tea
Зелёный чай [zyee-LYO-niy CHAI] green tea
Кофе [KO-fye] coffee
Сливки [SLEEF-kee] cream
Сгущённое молоко [sgoo-SHO-na-ye ma-la-KO], or сгущёнка [sgoo-SHON-ka] – condenced milk
Сахар [SA-har] sugar

Verbs to talk about breakfast:

Готовить завтрак [ga-TO-veet’ ZAV-trak] cook, make breakfast
Делать завтрак [DYE-lat’ ZAV-trak] cook, make breakfast
Делать [DYE-lat’ KO-fye, CHAI] кофе, чай make coffee, tea
Намазывать хлеб маслом [na-MA-zi-vat’ HLYEP MAS-lam] spread butter on bread
Кипятить воду [kee-pya-TEET’ VO-doo] boil water
Заваривать чай [za-VA-ree-vat’ CHAI] make tea
Добавлять молоко, сахар [da-bav-LYAT’ ma-la-KO, Sa-har] add milk, sugar
Размешивать [raz-MYE-shee-vat’] mix
Кушать [KOO-shat’] eat
Есть [YEST’] eat
Пить [PEET’] drink

We hope you’ll like the article. Is breakfast in Russia similar to breakfast in your country? You can leave your comments below.