Russian
Русский
Russian is the most spoken Slavic language and served as the lingua franca across the Soviet sphere. It has no articles but six cases, and above all a system of verbal aspect — every verb exists in two versions depending on whether the action is seen as completed — which remains one of the main obstacles for learners. Its alphabet descends from the Cyrillic devised in the ninth century on a Greek model.
- Family
- East Slavic
- Script
- Cyrillic
- Speakers
- ≈ 150 million
- Where
- Russia, Belarus, the Baltic states
- In the game
- Common language
How to spot it
Cyrillic with ы, э, ъ and ё. Words ending in -ый, -ого and the particle “не” are typically Russian.
A few sentences
-
Я нигде не могу найти ключи от машины.
I cannot find the car keys anywhere.
-
Извините, вы не подскажете, где здесь аптека?
Excuse me, could you tell me where the pharmacy is?
-
Я поставил чайник на плиту.
I put the kettle on.
-
У нас закончился хлеб.
We have run out of bread.
-
Я не помню его имени.
I cannot remember his name.