Here, you will find numerous phrases and specific vocabulary that you are definitely going to need when communicating with your Russian girlfriend.
I didn’t imagine this book. I was not looking up at the ceiling thinking about what to write. The content of this book is 100% real-life language examples between my Russian girlfriend (now my wife!) and myself while living in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
I’ve been growing a list of vocabulary and phrases since the very first moment I met my girlfriend here in Saint Petersburg. Whenever she would say something that I found interesting or something that I didn’t know, I would jot it down. I included tender or beautiful words, romantic phrases, slang, colloquial expressions … everything! To compile this book, I also went through all our written communications—text messages, Whatsapp, Viber, VKontakte, and Facebook.
Please note that I was growing these vocabulary lists for myself. The idea of writing the book came afterwards. So, the communication was not influenced by the fact that I would be writing a book about it later.
Besides a huge list of phrases, this is what you’ll get in this book:
- Additional grammar notes and word associations (imperfective and perfective verbs, grammar cases, similar grammar structures, associated vocabulary)
- Important elements of the Russian culture
How I met my Russian Girlfriend
На улице. – on the street
We passed each other near the famous Anichkov bridge (Аничков мост) in the center of St. Petersburg. We stared into each other’s eyes for a couple of seconds and carried on walking. I stopped, and I turned my head back to her.
It was late evening, already dark, and it was snowing. I knew I had to talk to her—or at least try.
I took a few deep breaths, and I rushed back towards her.
It’s not very comfortable to approach a girl from behind, especially when it’s dark and late. The approach must be smooth. In this case, it’s better to shout lightly four or five meters before you reach her, saying something like Извините! – Excuse me! as if you were looking for directions. In this way, you give her more space and time to get prepared. (If you wait until the last moment, when you’re just behind her back, she may be frightened.)
That’s what I did. She stopped and turned towards me.
I caught up with her, smiled, and said, “Здравствуйте! Можно с вами познакомиться? – Hello, may I get acquainted with you?”
“Еееемммм … можно! – Ummm … Sure!”
“Меня зовут Ангелос. А вас? – My name is Angelos, and yours?”
“Катя. – Katya.”
“Очень приятно, Катя. – Nice to meet you, Katya.”
“Взаимно. – Likewise.”
Then, I said something like this. “Вы наверно идете домой, уже поздно, но было бы приятно с вами прогуляться немного. – You are probably going home, it’s already late, but it would be nice to walk with you for a little while.”
She explained to me that she had stayed late at work on that day, and she wanted to go for a walk herself before going home.
I kept talking in вы (courtesy form) for a while. From my experience, Russian women always appreciate that. It shows respect and good manners.
A few minutes later, I asked, “Можно и на ты? – Can I speak to you in the first person (ты)?”
“Можно, конечно. – Of course, you can.”
I remember it was a really cold night; we were walking either on snow or on ice. But Russian people can enjoy a walk no matter what the weather is like. They are used to adverse weather. They are patient, and they don’t complain.
We ended up walking around the city for a couple of hours. We got to know each other. She asked me what the reason was for my trip to Saint Petersburg. I explained that I wanted to make videos for my YouTube channel, communicate with Russian people, and make resources for those who want to learn Russian.
Katya walked me around some nice spots in the city and showed me things that only local people knew like the tiny bird statue Чижик-пыжик by the river Фонтанка or the cats of Малая Садовая, Елисей, and Василиса.
After our nice walk, I offered to walk her home. “Я провожу тебя домой. – I will walk you home.”
In Russia, it is a good practice to walk a woman home, especially if it is late in the evening. In this case, she kindly tried to refuse.
“Ты что? – Come on! Ничего, мне очень приятно проводить тебя домой. – Don’t think about it; for me, it’s a pleasure to walk you home.”
She does want you to walk her home. It’s something that every woman in Russia would appreciate. It shows that you are really taking care of her. 🙂
What will I get inside?
I’m saying it again. The content is 100% real conversations between me and my girlfriend. I didn’t come up with all this stuff myself. I spent hours going through all our written communication to compile this book.
Here is a complete list of the chapters:
- Introduction
- How I met my Russian girlfriend
- Approaching a Russian woman on the street
- Coaching you on how to meet a Russian girl
- What are we going to do tonight?
- Proposals
- Where are we going to meet?
- Getting to the place of the meeting
- After the meeting
- What a gentleman!
- Hey, how are you?
- Work
- How are things at work?
- When you find it hard to keep yourself awake at work
- What time are you finishing work?
- Send me your address/photo/song
- How are you, my lady?
- Example #1 – She plays along with you
- Example #2 – She is surprised
- Example #3 – WTF?
- At home
- Weather stuff
- Teasing/Joking
- I lost you! Where are you?
- Who’s texting you in the middle of the night?
- I will miss you while you’re away!
- Breakfast is on you!
- Ласковые слова – Tender words
- My bunny, my teddy bear, my panda
- Correct my mistakes!
- You look great honey! – Compliments
- Don’t try to impress your girlfriend with caviar
- Relax, everything will be fine
- Well, what can you do?
- Come on! You have to be kidding me!
- Let’s cook at home
- Get better soon my darling
- Before going to bed to sleep
- In the restaurant
- It’s not just Спокойно – it’s Спокойненько!
- Hey, behave!
What People Say
In the below video Michael Good reviews my book: