It is fine to use it in any formal or informal situation. Use this word when addressing your friends, family members (unless they are your in-laws), and children. This greeting sounds an awful like privyet, and it would be easy to confuse the two Russian words.
Generally, the younger someone is, the quicker they are to switch to ты. People of the same sex may also switch quicker. Good pronunciation shows respect and really impresses Russians. But just knowing the greetings isn’t enough; you also need to know when and with whom they’re appropriate, and to that end I’ve included usage notes and tips.
Доброе утро literally means ‘Good morning’, so you can use it to say ‘hello’ in the mornings. Just like in English, the mornings go from around 6AM to 12PM. Ded Maroz places the gifts under the ёлка , the Christmas tree which is actually set up weeks before for New Year’s. To achieve fluency in the Russian language, learn it with a teacher. I am an Italian expat who has been living and working in Moscow for over eight years. I created Russia in a Nutshell to give useful advice and insights into the language, culture and society of Russia in a simple and fun way.
As you may have expected, Добрый вечер means ’Good evening’. You can use this phrase anywhere after 6PM. And just how do you say hi how are you in russian like in English, you can also say it at night. A more formal way to ask “How are you?” is Kak vy pozhivayetye?
If you pepper your conversation with polite words and phrases, native speakers will have more patience with you. Learning how to say “hello” and introduce yourself is an important skill if you plan on traveling to an area where the language is spoken. Even if you’re not planning a trip to Russia, you may still want to learn a little Russian.
However, when in doubt about the level of formality, always go with the formal здравствуйте. A word derived from the French greeting “Salut”, it is an informal way to greet someone. When meeting people you know very well in a casual setting, for example, “Салю́т”is perfectly appropriate. This phrase means “Good evening” and you can use it as you would in English – after 6 pm or so. It is not uncommon to find the expression “Дóброй нóчи!
In Russian military traditions, salutes are performed using hand gestures and greeting with “Zdraviya zhelaju”. In this way, soldiers demonstrate respect. But you intend to speak Russian, it’s better to use Russian regular expressions. All in all, cultures differ in the way speakers treat people with perceived power. Russian culture belongs to the group of cultures that view the “power” as a factor that creates a distance between individuals at different power levels.
Clozemaster is a game to rapidly expand your vocabulary in another language. This is where we write about language learning as well as post useful resources. Russians tend to be more effusive than English-speakers; e.g. where we would end “hello” with a period, they’ll often use an exclamation point. Below are example dialogues with formal hello in use. Practice the dialogues with yourself or a friend, imagining the context .
If you’re unsure though, I recommend you only say it to those that you’d otherwise address with the informal “you” (ты). The phrase you use while leave-taking in the evening or just before bed is Spokojnoj Nochi (spah-kohy-nuhy noh-chee; Good night). The phrase works both for formal and informal situations. Say poka (pa-kah) when leaving family and friends.