50 Common Russian Words Every Beginner Should Know

Russian is the most widely spoken Slavic language, with around 150 million native speakers, and serves as a lingua franca across much of the former Soviet Union. Building a working vocabulary starts with small, everyday word groups.

Greetings and courtesy

Привет privet (hi, informal), спасибо spasibo (thank you), пожалуйста pozhaluysta (please/you're welcome), до свидания do svidaniya (goodbye, formal), извините izvinite (excuse me/sorry) — the essential opening phrases.

Numbers

Один odin (one), два dva (two), три tri (three) through десять desyat (ten) — worth noting Russian numbers interact with noun case in ways that add real complexity beyond simple counting.

Family

Мама mama (mum), папа papa (dad), брат brat (brother), сестра sestra (sister), друг/подруга drug/podruga (friend, gendered).

Everyday life

Вода voda (water), хлеб khleb (bread), дом dom (house), работа rabota (work), школа shkola (school).

Why Cyrillic script deserves early, direct attention

Russian uses Cyrillic script, not the Latin alphabet — some letters look visually similar to Latin letters but represent entirely different sounds (Cyrillic В sounds like an English V, not B; Cyrillic Р is an R, not the Latin-looking P it resembles). Learning genuine Cyrillic recognition early, rather than relying on transliteration, avoids exactly this kind of confusing false familiarity.

A simple way to build from this list

1. Learn the Cyrillic alphabet's basic letters before or alongside your first vocabulary.
2. Pick five to eight words a day, reading them in Cyrillic script.
3. Use each word in a short sentence of your own.
4. Review yesterday's words before adding today's.

Look up any Russian word instantly, in proper Cyrillic script, offline, with English Russian Dictionary →