How to get to the stop in Russian
A visitor asks a passerby for directions in the city center in Russian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Извините, где здесь остановка автобуса?» — Excuse me, where is the bus stop here?; «Пешком минут десять, прямо.» — On foot about ten minutes, straight ahead.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a visitor asks a passerby for directions in the city center. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Извините, где здесь остановка автобуса?Izvinite, gde zdes ostanovka avtobusa?Excuse me, where is the bus stop here?
- Пешком минут десять, прямо.Peshkom minut desyat, pryamo.On foot about ten minutes, straight ahead.
- А потом?A potom?And then?
- Вдоль улицы до конца — аптека на углу.Vdol ulitsy do kontsa — apteka na uglu.Along the street to the end — the pharmacy is on the corner.
- Остановка рядом со светофором?Ostanovka ryadom so svetoforom?Is the stop near the traffic light?
- Да, а напротив банка — конечная остановка.Da, a naprotiv banka — konechnaya ostanovka.Yes, and opposite the bank is the last stop.
- Покажите на карте, пожалуйста, где мы.Pokazhite na karte, pozhaluysta, gde my.Show me on the map, please, where we are.
- Вот карта: мы здесь, а ваш автобус — через дорогу.Vot karta: my zdes, a vash avtobus — cherez dorogu.Here is the map: we are here, and your bus is across the road.
Lines one by one
| Russian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Извините, где здесь остановка автобуса? | Izvinite, gde zdes ostanovka avtobusa? | Excuse me, where is the bus stop here? |
| Пешком минут десять, прямо. | Peshkom minut desyat, pryamo. | On foot about ten minutes, straight ahead. |
| А потом? | A potom? | And then? |
| Вдоль улицы до конца — аптека на углу. | Vdol ulitsy do kontsa — apteka na uglu. | Along the street to the end — the pharmacy is on the corner. |
| Остановка рядом со светофором? | Ostanovka ryadom so svetoforom? | Is the stop near the traffic light? |
| Да, а напротив банка — конечная остановка. | Da, a naprotiv banka — konechnaya ostanovka. | Yes, and opposite the bank is the last stop. |
| Покажите на карте, пожалуйста, где мы. | Pokazhite na karte, pozhaluysta, gde my. | Show me on the map, please, where we are. |
| Вот карта: мы здесь, а ваш автобус — через дорогу. | Vot karta: my zdes, a vash avtobus — cherez dorogu. | Here is the map: we are here, and your bus is across the road. |
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?
“Извините, где здесь остановка автобуса?” (Izvinite, gde zdes ostanovka avtobusa?) — Excuse me, where is the bus stop here? 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.