First time at the gym in Russian
The desk of a sports center, a man returns to working out after a long break in Russian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Хочу снова начать заниматься спортом.» — I want to start playing sports again; «У нас зал, бассейн и курс йоги.» — We have a gym, a pool and a yoga course.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: the desk of a sports center, a man returns to working out after a long break. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Хочу снова начать заниматься спортом.Khochu snova nachat zanimatsya sportom.I want to start playing sports again.
- У нас зал, бассейн и курс йоги.U nas zal, basseyn i kurs yogi.We have a gym, a pool and a yoga course.
- Раньше играл в волейбол, потом было растяжение.Ranshe igral v voleybol, potom bylo rastyazhenie.I used to play volleyball, then came a sprain.
- Тогда начнём с разминки и плавания.Togda nachnyom s razminki i plavaniya.Then we'll start with a warm-up and swimming.
- Сколько стоит абонемент на месяц?Skolko stoit abonement na mesyats?How much is a monthly membership?
- Триста рублей, шкафчик в раздевалке в придачу.Trista rubley, shkafchik v razdevalke v pridachu.Three hundred rubles, with a locker in the changing room thrown in.
- А тренер покажет тренажёры?A trener pokazhet trenazhyory?And will the trainer show me the machines?
- Первое занятие бесплатное. Когда начнёте?Pervoe zanyatie besplatnoe. Kogda nachnyote?The first session is free. When will you start?
Lines one by one
| Russian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Хочу снова начать заниматься спортом. | Khochu snova nachat zanimatsya sportom. | I want to start playing sports again. |
| У нас зал, бассейн и курс йоги. | U nas zal, basseyn i kurs yogi. | We have a gym, a pool and a yoga course. |
| Раньше играл в волейбол, потом было растяжение. | Ranshe igral v voleybol, potom bylo rastyazhenie. | I used to play volleyball, then came a sprain. |
| Тогда начнём с разминки и плавания. | Togda nachnyom s razminki i plavaniya. | Then we'll start with a warm-up and swimming. |
| Сколько стоит абонемент на месяц? | Skolko stoit abonement na mesyats? | How much is a monthly membership? |
| Триста рублей, шкафчик в раздевалке в придачу. | Trista rubley, shkafchik v razdevalke v pridachu. | Three hundred rubles, with a locker in the changing room thrown in. |
| А тренер покажет тренажёры? | A trener pokazhet trenazhyory? | And will the trainer show me the machines? |
| Первое занятие бесплатное. Когда начнёте? | Pervoe zanyatie besplatnoe. Kogda nachnyote? | The first session is free. When will you start? |
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?
“Хочу снова начать заниматься спортом.” (Khochu snova nachat zanimatsya sportom.) — I want to start playing sports again. 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.