How much to take for the week in Russian
A small café: the owner and a worker count how much food to order in Russian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Кофе почти на исходе. Сколько закажем на неделю?» — The coffee is almost out. How much do we order for the week?; «На прошлой неделе ушло на треть больше обычного.» — Last week a third more than usual was used.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a small café: the owner and a worker count how much food to order. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Кофе почти на исходе. Сколько закажем на неделю?Kofe pochti na iskhode. Skolko zakazhem na nedelyu?The coffee is almost out. How much do we order for the week?
- На прошлой неделе ушло на треть больше обычного.Na proshloy nedele ushlo na tret bolshe obychnogo.Last week a third more than usual was used.
- Тогда возьмём вдвое больше, с запасом.Togda vozmyom vdvoe bolshe, s zapasom.Then we'll take twice as much, with a margin.
- Молоко продают поштучно, а сахар — только оптом.Moloko prodayut poshtuchno, a sakhar — tolko optom.Milk is sold by the piece, and sugar only in bulk.
- Подсчитай, сколько литров молока уходит в день.Podschitay, skolko litrov moloka ukhodit v den.Count how many liters of milk are used in a day.
- Навскидку двенадцать, с точностью до литра не скажу.Navskidku dvenadtsat, s tochnostyu do litra ne skazhu.Offhand twelve; to the exact liter I cannot say.
- Общее число пусть будет на треть выше, чем в прошлом месяце.Obshchee chislo pust budet na tret vyshe, chem v proshlom mesyatse.Let the total be a third higher than last month.
- Договорились. До пятницы деньги в обрез, но хватит.Dogovorilis. Do pyatnitsy dengi v obrez, no khvatit.Agreed. Until Friday the money is tight, but it will be enough.
Lines one by one
| Russian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Кофе почти на исходе. Сколько закажем на неделю? | Kofe pochti na iskhode. Skolko zakazhem na nedelyu? | The coffee is almost out. How much do we order for the week? |
| На прошлой неделе ушло на треть больше обычного. | Na proshloy nedele ushlo na tret bolshe obychnogo. | Last week a third more than usual was used. |
| Тогда возьмём вдвое больше, с запасом. | Togda vozmyom vdvoe bolshe, s zapasom. | Then we'll take twice as much, with a margin. |
| Молоко продают поштучно, а сахар — только оптом. | Moloko prodayut poshtuchno, a sakhar — tolko optom. | Milk is sold by the piece, and sugar only in bulk. |
| Подсчитай, сколько литров молока уходит в день. | Podschitay, skolko litrov moloka ukhodit v den. | Count how many liters of milk are used in a day. |
| Навскидку двенадцать, с точностью до литра не скажу. | Navskidku dvenadtsat, s tochnostyu do litra ne skazhu. | Offhand twelve; to the exact liter I cannot say. |
| Общее число пусть будет на треть выше, чем в прошлом месяце. | Obshchee chislo pust budet na tret vyshe, chem v proshlom mesyatse. | Let the total be a third higher than last month. |
| Договорились. До пятницы деньги в обрез, но хватит. | Dogovorilis. Do pyatnitsy dengi v obrez, no khvatit. | Agreed. Until Friday the money is tight, but it will be enough. |
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?
“Кофе почти на исходе. Сколько закажем на неделю?” (Kofe pochti na iskhode. Skolko zakazhem na nedelyu?) — The coffee is almost out. How much do we order for the week? 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.