In the bar or cafe. (Buying things)
Russian Language Lesson 4
Main Lesson

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As you learn Russian, one of the most important things you will learn is how to ask for something you want. The aim of lesson 4 is to enable you to buy things when you are in Russia. With just a few phrases you should be able to manage in Russian bars or cafes. In this lesson we will not introduce any grammar concepts. The lesson will focus on helping you to learn some new basic Russian phrases.

Finding a cafe

After a busy day in Russia, you might be looking for somewhere to have a drink. You could ask people with the following phrases.

  Скажите, пожалуйста.... - Tell me please....

  Скажите, пожалуйста, где кафе? - Tell me please, where is a cafe?

  Скажите, пожалуйста, где бар? - Tell me please, where is a bar?

Russian does not use the articles “a” or “the”, so the phrase “Где кафе?” means both “where is a cafe?” and “where is the cafe?”.

On the Menu

If you were in a Russian bar or café, here are some words you might see on the menu:

  Меню - Menu

  Кофе - Coffee

  Чай - Tea

  Молоко - Milk

  Кока-Кола - Coca-Cola

  Лимонад - Lemonade

  Сок - Juice

  Борщ - Russian beetroot soup

  Суп - Soup

  Торт - Cake

  Водка - Vodka

  Пиво - Beer

  Вино - Wine

  Вода - Water

Be careful, when you order vodka in russia, you will generally get straight vodka.

Do you have...?

If you want to ask someone if they have something, you can use the following phrase. (Just learn the whole phrase, it is gramatically unusual).

  У вас есть ....? - Do you have ....? (formal)

For example:

  У вас есть Кофе? - Do you have coffee?

  У вас есть Чай? - Do you have tea?

  У вас есть Водка? - Do you have vodka?

Please give me

When you decide what you will have you will need to order. Here are some Russian phrases you might need, or be asked:

  Что? ("shto?") - What?

  Что вы хотите? - What do you want?

  Я хочу ... - I want...

  Дайте, пожалуйста .... - Give me please...

  Сколько стоить? - How much is it?.

Examples:

  Дайте, пожалуйста, чай. - Please give me tea.

  Дайте, пожалуйста, кофе - Please give me coffee.

  Дайте, пожалуйста, кофе с молоком - Please give me coffee with milk.

  Дайте, пожалуйста, кофе с молоком и с сахаром - Please give me coffee with milk and sugar.

What is it?

Some short but useful Russian phrases to ask what things are...

Что это? - What is it?

Это кофе. - It is coffee.

Простите, это кофе. - Excuse me, is it coffee?

Нет, это чай. - No, it is tea.

How Much?

The word "Сколько?" means "how much?" or "how many" in Russian. You can use it to ask the price of something.

Сколько? - How much? / How many?

Сколько стоить? - How much does it cost?

двадцать один рубль - 21 rubles.

Where is the toilet...?

To finish up this lesson here is a Russian phrase to help you find out where a toilet is.

  Скажите, Пожалуйста , Где Туалет - Tell me please, where is the toilet?

The mens toilets are normally labeled with an "M".
The ladies toilets are normally labeled with a "Ж".

Conclusion

This has been a shorter Russian lesson. However these Russian phrases should be helpful next time you are in a Russian café or bar. You may wish to try some of the exercises. In the next lesson we will introduce verbs and pronouns, and you will be able to start constructing your own sentences.

If you would like to expand your Russian vocabulary now, try learning some of the words from our food vocabulary section.

Vocabulary
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