Money for the playground in Russian
A courtyard, a neighbor goes around the apartments with a list collecting signatures in Russian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Мы собираем деньги на новую детскую площадку.» — We are collecting money for a new playground; «Сколько соседей уже пожертвовало?» — How many neighbors have already donated?
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a courtyard, a neighbor goes around the apartments with a list collecting signatures. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Мы собираем деньги на новую детскую площадку.My sobiraem dengi na novuyu detskuyu ploshchadku.We are collecting money for a new playground.
- Сколько соседей уже пожертвовало?Skolko sosedey uzhe pozhertvovalo?How many neighbors have already donated?
- Большинство дома. Не хватает ещё трёхсот рублей.Bolshinstvo doma. Ne khvataet eshchyo tryokhsot rubley.Most are in. Three hundred rubles are still missing.
- Кто будет руководить работой?Kto budet rukovodit rabotoy?Who will run the work?
- Местная власть оплатит строителя, а остальное — мы.Mestnaya vlast oplatit stroitelya, a ostalnoe — my.The local authority will pay the builder, and the rest is on us.
- Мы с мужем поможем и руками.My s muzhem pomozhem i rukami.My husband and I will help with our hands too.
- Отлично. Будем работать по очереди, по два часа.Otlichno. Budem rabotat po ocheredi, po dva chasa.Great. We will work in turns, two hours each.
- Я напишу остальным жильцам и поддержу связь.Ya napishu ostalnym zhiltsam i podderzhu svyaz.I will write to the other residents and keep in touch.
Lines one by one
| Russian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Мы собираем деньги на новую детскую площадку. | My sobiraem dengi na novuyu detskuyu ploshchadku. | We are collecting money for a new playground. |
| Сколько соседей уже пожертвовало? | Skolko sosedey uzhe pozhertvovalo? | How many neighbors have already donated? |
| Большинство дома. Не хватает ещё трёхсот рублей. | Bolshinstvo doma. Ne khvataet eshchyo tryokhsot rubley. | Most are in. Three hundred rubles are still missing. |
| Кто будет руководить работой? | Kto budet rukovodit rabotoy? | Who will run the work? |
| Местная власть оплатит строителя, а остальное — мы. | Mestnaya vlast oplatit stroitelya, a ostalnoe — my. | The local authority will pay the builder, and the rest is on us. |
| Мы с мужем поможем и руками. | My s muzhem pomozhem i rukami. | My husband and I will help with our hands too. |
| Отлично. Будем работать по очереди, по два часа. | Otlichno. Budem rabotat po ocheredi, po dva chasa. | Great. We will work in turns, two hours each. |
| Я напишу остальным жильцам и поддержу связь. | Ya napishu ostalnym zhiltsam i podderzhu svyaz. | I will write to the other residents and keep in touch. |
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?
“Мы собираем деньги на новую детскую площадку.” (My sobiraem dengi na novuyu detskuyu ploshchadku.) — We are collecting money for a new playground. 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.