Sorry, I am late in Russian
The train station, two friends after a missed meeting in Russian. 7 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Прости за опоздание, я не хотел.» — Sorry for being late, I didn't mean to; «Ничего страшного. Что было?» — It's nothing. What happened?
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: the train station, two friends after a missed meeting. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Прости за опоздание, я не хотел.Prosti za opozdanie, ya ne khotel.Sorry for being late, I didn't mean to.
- Ничего страшного. Что было?Nichego strashnogo. Chto bylo?It's nothing. What happened?
- Я опоздал на поезд и очень устал.Ya opozdal na poezd i ochen ustal.I missed the train and am very tired.
- Не переживай, поезда тоже опаздывают.Ne perezhivay, poezda tozhe opazdyvayut.Don't worry, trains run late too.
- Извини, я волнуюсь: ты сердитый?Izvini, ya volnuyus: ty serdityy?Sorry, I'm nervous: are you angry?
- Нет, конечно. Я был спокойный.Net, konechno. Ya byl spokoynyy.No, of course not. I was calm.
- Спасибо. Обещаю: завтра я буду здесь.Spasibo. Obeshchayu: zavtra ya budu zdes.Thanks. I promise: tomorrow I will be here.
Lines one by one
| Russian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Прости за опоздание, я не хотел. | Prosti za opozdanie, ya ne khotel. | Sorry for being late, I didn't mean to. |
| Ничего страшного. Что было? | Nichego strashnogo. Chto bylo? | It's nothing. What happened? |
| Я опоздал на поезд и очень устал. | Ya opozdal na poezd i ochen ustal. | I missed the train and am very tired. |
| Не переживай, поезда тоже опаздывают. | Ne perezhivay, poezda tozhe opazdyvayut. | Don't worry, trains run late too. |
| Извини, я волнуюсь: ты сердитый? | Izvini, ya volnuyus: ty serdityy? | Sorry, I'm nervous: are you angry? |
| Нет, конечно. Я был спокойный. | Net, konechno. Ya byl spokoynyy. | No, of course not. I was calm. |
| Спасибо. Обещаю: завтра я буду здесь. | Spasibo. Obeshchayu: zavtra ya budu zdes. | Thanks. I promise: tomorrow I will be here. |
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?
“Прости за опоздание, я не хотел.” (Prosti za opozdanie, ya ne khotel.) — Sorry for being late, I didn't mean to. 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.