Rearranging the room in Russian
Two people move furniture in a room and decide what goes where in Russian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Двинем шкаф к другой стене? Так комната станет просторнее.» — Shall we move the wardrobe to another wall? That way the room will be roomier; «Сначала поставь коробки на пол и подвинься немного.» — First put the boxes on the floor and move over a little.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: two people move furniture in a room and decide what goes where. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Двинем шкаф к другой стене? Так комната станет просторнее.Dvinem shkaf k drugoy stene? Tak komnata stanet prostornee.Shall we move the wardrobe to another wall? That way the room will be roomier.
- Сначала поставь коробки на пол и подвинься немного.Snachala postav korobki na pol i podvinsya nemnogo.First put the boxes on the floor and move over a little.
- Теперь сдвинь стол чуть влево, вплотную к стене.Teper sdvin stol chut vlevo, vplotnuyu k stene.Now shift the table a little to the left, right up against the wall.
- Осторожно, не урони чашку с полки — она хрупкая.Ostorozhno, ne uroni chashku s polki — ona khrupkaya.Careful, don't drop the cup from the shelf — it is fragile.
- Картину повесим наверху, над диваном?Kartinu povesim naverkhu, nad divanom?Shall we hang the picture up high, above the couch?
- Лучше сбоку от окна, чтобы она не выцвела.Luchshe sboku ot okna, chtoby ona ne vytsvela.Better to the side of the window, so it does not fade.
- Остальные вещи разложи по ящикам, каждую по отдельности.Ostalnye veshchi razlozhi po yashchikam, kazhduyu po otdelnosti.Put the rest of the things into the drawers, each one separately.
- Хорошо. В конце перевернём ковёр и отдохнём.Khorosho. V kontse perevernyom kovyor i otdokhnyom.Good. In the end we'll turn the carpet over and rest.
Lines one by one
| Russian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Двинем шкаф к другой стене? Так комната станет просторнее. | Dvinem shkaf k drugoy stene? Tak komnata stanet prostornee. | Shall we move the wardrobe to another wall? That way the room will be roomier. |
| Сначала поставь коробки на пол и подвинься немного. | Snachala postav korobki na pol i podvinsya nemnogo. | First put the boxes on the floor and move over a little. |
| Теперь сдвинь стол чуть влево, вплотную к стене. | Teper sdvin stol chut vlevo, vplotnuyu k stene. | Now shift the table a little to the left, right up against the wall. |
| Осторожно, не урони чашку с полки — она хрупкая. | Ostorozhno, ne uroni chashku s polki — ona khrupkaya. | Careful, don't drop the cup from the shelf — it is fragile. |
| Картину повесим наверху, над диваном? | Kartinu povesim naverkhu, nad divanom? | Shall we hang the picture up high, above the couch? |
| Лучше сбоку от окна, чтобы она не выцвела. | Luchshe sboku ot okna, chtoby ona ne vytsvela. | Better to the side of the window, so it does not fade. |
| Остальные вещи разложи по ящикам, каждую по отдельности. | Ostalnye veshchi razlozhi po yashchikam, kazhduyu po otdelnosti. | Put the rest of the things into the drawers, each one separately. |
| Хорошо. В конце перевернём ковёр и отдохнём. | Khorosho. V kontse perevernyom kovyor i otdokhnyom. | Good. In the end we'll turn the carpet over and rest. |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and noticeably so. The link turns up study after study, and together those studies cover almost twenty thousand people.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Russian in this situation?
“Двинем шкаф к другой стене? Так комната станет просторнее.” (Dvinem shkaf k drugoy stene? Tak komnata stanet prostornee.) — Shall we move the wardrobe to another wall? That way the room will be roomier. The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.