A dead phone in Russian
A coffeehouse, a guest whose phone has died in Russian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Извините, у вас есть вай-фай?» — Excuse me, do you have Wi-Fi?; «Есть. Пароль на чеке, внизу.» — We do. The password is on the receipt, at the bottom.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a coffeehouse, a guest whose phone has died. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Извините, у вас есть вай-фай?Izvinite, u vas est vay-fay?Excuse me, do you have Wi-Fi?
- Есть. Пароль на чеке, внизу.Est. Parol na cheke, vnizu.We do. The password is on the receipt, at the bottom.
- Спасибо. Батарея разряжена, у вас есть зарядка?Spasibo. Batareya razryazhena, u vas est zaryadka?Thanks. My battery is dead, do you have a charger?
- Зарядки нет, но розетка есть — у окна.Zaryadki net, no rozetka est — u okna.No charger, but there is an outlet — by the window.
- Скажите, какой тут пароль от вай-фая?Skazhite, kakoy tut parol ot vay-faya?Tell me, what is the Wi-Fi password here?
- Пароль — номер телефона кафе.Parol — nomer telefona kafe.The password is the café's phone number.
- Работает! Мне нужно отправить сообщение.Rabotaet! Mne nuzhno otpravit soobshchenie.It works! I need to send a message.
- Отправляйте. Логин и пароль я написал вам на чеке.Otpravlyayte. Login i parol ya napisal vam na cheke.Go ahead. I wrote the login and password on your receipt.
Lines one by one
| Russian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Извините, у вас есть вай-фай? | Izvinite, u vas est vay-fay? | Excuse me, do you have Wi-Fi? |
| Есть. Пароль на чеке, внизу. | Est. Parol na cheke, vnizu. | We do. The password is on the receipt, at the bottom. |
| Спасибо. Батарея разряжена, у вас есть зарядка? | Spasibo. Batareya razryazhena, u vas est zaryadka? | Thanks. My battery is dead, do you have a charger? |
| Зарядки нет, но розетка есть — у окна. | Zaryadki net, no rozetka est — u okna. | No charger, but there is an outlet — by the window. |
| Скажите, какой тут пароль от вай-фая? | Skazhite, kakoy tut parol ot vay-faya? | Tell me, what is the Wi-Fi password here? |
| Пароль — номер телефона кафе. | Parol — nomer telefona kafe. | The password is the café's phone number. |
| Работает! Мне нужно отправить сообщение. | Rabotaet! Mne nuzhno otpravit soobshchenie. | It works! I need to send a message. |
| Отправляйте. Логин и пароль я написал вам на чеке. | Otpravlyayte. Login i parol ya napisal vam na cheke. | Go ahead. I wrote the login and password on your receipt. |
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?
“Извините, у вас есть вай-фай?” (Izvinite, u vas est vay-fay?) — Excuse me, do you have Wi-Fi? 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.