Don't try to buy a магазин, "magazin," in Russian - you end up with a shop. Better ask for a журнал, "zhurnal."
Don't be surprised if someone invites you into his kабинет, "kabinet." You're not meant to sit in his cupboard or join his cabinet, you're simply invited into his office.
Я плачу, ja plachU, means "I'm paying" while я плáчу, ja plAchu, means "I'm crying," which you might well be considering the prices in Russia today.
If your name is Luke or Luka, don't be offended if people start giggling when you're introducing yourself. Люк means "hatch" and лук, luk, means "onion."
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| The Novgorod Codex |
Unearthed in 2000, the Novgorod Codex is considered to be the most ancient Russian book which dates back to the beginning of the 11th century. The wooden book with four wax pages was used for a few decades to record psalms and other religious texts.
How to be polite and show respect
Russian is one of those languages that differentiates between a formal and an informal you. So please use the polite Вы for people you've just been introduced to and switch to the informal ты after you've been invited to do so.
Then there is the patronymic: a Russian name consists of the first name, patronymic and family name, eg. Fyodor Mikhaylovich Dostoyevsky or Marina Ivanovna Tsvetaeva. The patronymic does what it says - it's based on the name of one's father with -ovich behind it for a son and -ovna for a daughter. It is considered polite to address someone by his first name and patronymic so if you're learning Russian there's no better way to impress than knowing someone's formal name. Learning to use it correctly in accordance with six cases is a completely different matter ...
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