At the playground in Russian
A playground in the courtyard, two parents on a bench in Russian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Это ваши дети играют в песке?» — Are those your children playing in the sand?; «Наши. Мальчик и девочка. Играют уже час.» — Ours. A boy and a girl. They've been playing for an hour.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a playground in the courtyard, two parents on a bench. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Это ваши дети играют в песке?Eto vashi deti igrayut v peske?Are those your children playing in the sand?
- Наши. Мальчик и девочка. Играют уже час.Nashi. Malchik i devochka. Igrayut uzhe chas.Ours. A boy and a girl. They've been playing for an hour.
- Они похожи — сколько им лет?Oni pokhozhi — skolko im let?They look alike — how old are they?
- Мальчику семь, а девочке четыре.Malchiku sem, a devochke chetyre.The boy is seven and the girl is four.
- Мой уже подросток — ему здесь скучно.Moy uzhe podrostok — emu zdes skuchno.Mine is already a teenager — he's bored here.
- Понимаю. Мой тоже был такой — теперь он всё время в телефоне.Ponimayu. Moy tozhe byl takoy — teper on vsyo vremya v telefone.I understand. Mine was like that too — now he is on his phone all the time.
- Приходите на пикник в воскресенье — вся семья идёт.Prikhodite na piknik v voskresene — vsya semya idyot.Come to the picnic on Sunday — the whole family is going.
- Спасибо, мы придём! Дети будут рады.Spasibo, my pridyom! Deti budut rady.Thanks, we'll come! The children will be happy.
Lines one by one
| Russian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Это ваши дети играют в песке? | Eto vashi deti igrayut v peske? | Are those your children playing in the sand? |
| Наши. Мальчик и девочка. Играют уже час. | Nashi. Malchik i devochka. Igrayut uzhe chas. | Ours. A boy and a girl. They've been playing for an hour. |
| Они похожи — сколько им лет? | Oni pokhozhi — skolko im let? | They look alike — how old are they? |
| Мальчику семь, а девочке четыре. | Malchiku sem, a devochke chetyre. | The boy is seven and the girl is four. |
| Мой уже подросток — ему здесь скучно. | Moy uzhe podrostok — emu zdes skuchno. | Mine is already a teenager — he's bored here. |
| Понимаю. Мой тоже был такой — теперь он всё время в телефоне. | Ponimayu. Moy tozhe byl takoy — teper on vsyo vremya v telefone. | I understand. Mine was like that too — now he is on his phone all the time. |
| Приходите на пикник в воскресенье — вся семья идёт. | Prikhodite na piknik v voskresene — vsya semya idyot. | Come to the picnic on Sunday — the whole family is going. |
| Спасибо, мы придём! Дети будут рады. | Spasibo, my pridyom! Deti budut rady. | Thanks, we'll come! The children will be happy. |
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?
“Это ваши дети играют в песке?” (Eto vashi deti igrayut v peske?) — Are those your children playing in the sand? 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.