The weekend forecast in Russian
Two neighbors by the entrance decide where to go on Saturday in Russian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Ты видел прогноз погоды на субботу?» — Have you seen the weather forecast for Saturday?; «Обещают грозу и ливень.» — They promise a thunderstorm and heavy rain.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: two neighbors by the entrance decide where to go on Saturday. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Ты видел прогноз погоды на субботу?Ty videl prognoz pogody na subbotu?Have you seen the weather forecast for Saturday?
- Обещают грозу и ливень.Obeshchayut grozu i liven.They promise a thunderstorm and heavy rain.
- Весь месяц пасмурно.Ves mesyats pasmurno.It has been overcast all month.
- Говорят, в воскресенье будет солнечно.Govoryat, v voskresene budet solnechno.They say it will be sunny on Sunday.
- В воскресенье идём в парк.V voskresene idyom v park.On Sunday we're going to the park.
- Идёт. После грозы в небе радуга.Idyot. Posle grozy v nebe raduga.Count me in. After a thunderstorm there is a rainbow in the sky.
- А если и в воскресенье ливень?A esli i v voskresene liven?And what if it pours on Sunday too?
- И куртку: после ливня все улицы в лужах.I kurtku: posle livnya vse ulitsy v luzhakh.And a jacket: after the downpour all the streets are in puddles.
Lines one by one
| Russian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Ты видел прогноз погоды на субботу? | Ty videl prognoz pogody na subbotu? | Have you seen the weather forecast for Saturday? |
| Обещают грозу и ливень. | Obeshchayut grozu i liven. | They promise a thunderstorm and heavy rain. |
| Весь месяц пасмурно. | Ves mesyats pasmurno. | It has been overcast all month. |
| Говорят, в воскресенье будет солнечно. | Govoryat, v voskresene budet solnechno. | They say it will be sunny on Sunday. |
| В воскресенье идём в парк. | V voskresene idyom v park. | On Sunday we're going to the park. |
| Идёт. После грозы в небе радуга. | Idyot. Posle grozy v nebe raduga. | Count me in. After a thunderstorm there is a rainbow in the sky. |
| А если и в воскресенье ливень? | A esli i v voskresene liven? | And what if it pours on Sunday too? |
| И куртку: после ливня все улицы в лужах. | I kurtku: posle livnya vse ulitsy v luzhakh. | And a jacket: after the downpour all the streets are in puddles. |
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?
“Ты видел прогноз погоды на субботу?” (Ty videl prognoz pogody na subbotu?) — Have you seen the weather forecast for Saturday? 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.