What the parents do for work in Russian
An introduction lesson at school: the children tell what work their parents do in Russian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Расскажи, кем работает твоя мама.» — Tell me, what work does your mom do?; «Мама — аптекарь, она работает за прилавком.» — Mom is a pharmacist, she works behind the counter.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: an introduction lesson at school: the children tell what work their parents do. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Расскажи, кем работает твоя мама.Rasskazhi, kem rabotaet tvoya mama.Tell me, what work does your mom do?
- Мама — аптекарь, она работает за прилавком.Mama — aptekar, ona rabotaet za prilavkom.Mom is a pharmacist, she works behind the counter.
- А папа кем?A papa kem?And dad?
- Папа моряк. Полгода дома, полгода в море.Papa moryak. Polgoda doma, polgoda v more.Dad is a sailor. Half a year at home, half a year at sea.
- А твоя старшая сестра?A tvoya starshaya sestra?And your older sister?
- Она студентка, а по субботам работает парикмахером.Ona studentka, a po subbotam rabotaet parikmakherom.She is a student, and on Saturdays she works as a hairdresser.
- Какая интересная семья! А кем хочешь стать ты?Kakaya interesnaya semya! A kem khochesh stat ty?What an interesting family! And what do you want to become?
- Я хочу стать учителем, как бабушка.Ya khochu stat uchitelem, kak babushka.I want to become a teacher, like grandma.
Lines one by one
| Russian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Расскажи, кем работает твоя мама. | Rasskazhi, kem rabotaet tvoya mama. | Tell me, what work does your mom do? |
| Мама — аптекарь, она работает за прилавком. | Mama — aptekar, ona rabotaet za prilavkom. | Mom is a pharmacist, she works behind the counter. |
| А папа кем? | A papa kem? | And dad? |
| Папа моряк. Полгода дома, полгода в море. | Papa moryak. Polgoda doma, polgoda v more. | Dad is a sailor. Half a year at home, half a year at sea. |
| А твоя старшая сестра? | A tvoya starshaya sestra? | And your older sister? |
| Она студентка, а по субботам работает парикмахером. | Ona studentka, a po subbotam rabotaet parikmakherom. | She is a student, and on Saturdays she works as a hairdresser. |
| Какая интересная семья! А кем хочешь стать ты? | Kakaya interesnaya semya! A kem khochesh stat ty? | What an interesting family! And what do you want to become? |
| Я хочу стать учителем, как бабушка. | Ya khochu stat uchitelem, kak babushka. | I want to become a teacher, like grandma. |
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?
“Расскажи, кем работает твоя мама.” (Rasskazhi, kem rabotaet tvoya mama.) — Tell me, what work does your mom do? 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.