Buildings and premises in Russian
19 words in Russian on the topic “buildings and premises”: вокзал — train station, магазин — shop, аптека — pharmacy, продуктовый магазин — grocery store.
19 words on the topic
- вокзалvokzaltrain stationThe word came from London: the Vauxhall pavilion outside Petersburg became the name for every station. English never found out — it says station.
- магазинmagazinshopThe false friend of the first order: English "magazine" is zhurnal, and magazin is a shop. The word rode in from Arabic for "warehouse".
- аптекаaptekapharmacyA cousin of "apothecary": Greek for "a storeroom". The green cross on the sign is the same as in the rest of Europe.
- продуктовый магазинproduktovyy magazingrocery storeProdukty are groceries; the adjective pins the shop to them. Produktovyy magazin zdes, a apteka tam.
- больницаbolnitsahospitalFrom bolnoy, "a sick person": the house of the sick. Bolnitsa tam, u vokzala.
- офисofisofficeOfis tam, u metro — "the office is there, by the metro". The international word with a short o.
- университетuniversitetuniversityPosle shkoly — universitet — "after school, university": no article, no preposition. Stress on the end.
- школаshkolaschoolShkola — eto uroki i druzya: "school is lessons and friends" — the course's own definition.
- почтаpochtapost office, mailBoth the service and the building. Pochta segodnya zakryta — "the post office is closed today".
- автовокзалavtovokzalbus stationVokzal with an auto- prefix: the station for buses, built on the same London word.
- пристаньpristanpier, landing stageFrom prichalit, "to moor". Rybaki stoyat u pristani — the of-form after u.
- обменный пунктobmennyy punktexchange officeObmenny — "of exchange"; punkt is a point, a booth. Obmennyy punkt zakryt v voskresenye.
- зоопаркzooparkzooZoologicheskiy park worn down to two syllables. Deti lyubyat zoopark.
- циркtsirkcircusThe international word, one syllable here: tsirk na ploshchadi.
- пожарная частьpozharnaya chastfire stationPozharnaya — "of fire"; chast here is the unit, the station. Pozharnaya chast ryadom so shkoloy.
- автомойкаavtomoykacar washAuto plus moyka, from myt, "to wash". Avtomoyka stoit u dorogi.
- туристическое агентствоturisticheskoe agentstvotravel agencyTuristicheskoye — "of tourism"; agentstvo the agency. Turisticheskoye agentstvo v tsentre.
- главная улицаglavnaya ulitsamain streetGlavnyy — "chief", from golova, "a head". Eta glavnaya ulitsa goroda.
- билетная кассаbiletnaya kassaticket officeBiletnaya — "of tickets"; kassa the window. Biletnaya kassa u vkhoda.
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How it sounds in a sentence
A word list is a blank. Conversation is made of sentences, and these are the ones the words fit into most often.
- Где ближайший вокзал?Gde blizhayshiy vokzal?Where is the nearest train station?
- Магазин закрывается в восемьMagazin zakryvaetsya v vosemThe shop closes at eight
- Где ближайшая аптека?Gde blizhayshaya apteka?Where is the nearest pharmacy?
- Продуктовый магазин здесь, а аптека тамProduktovyy magazin zdes, a apteka tamThe grocery store is here, the pharmacy is there
- Больница там, у вокзалаBolnitsa tam, u vokzalaThe hospital is there, by the station
- Офис там, у метроOfis tam, u metroThe office is there, by the metro
What is worth knowing about these words
вокзал (vokzal) — train station. The word came from London: the Vauxhall pavilion outside Petersburg became the name for every station. English never found out — it says station.
магазин (magazin) — shop. The false friend of the first order: English "magazine" is zhurnal, and magazin is a shop. The word rode in from Arabic for "warehouse".
аптека (apteka) — pharmacy. A cousin of "apothecary": Greek for "a storeroom". The green cross on the sign is the same as in the rest of Europe.
продуктовый магазин (produktovyy magazin) — grocery store. Produkty are groceries; the adjective pins the shop to them. Produktovyy magazin zdes, a apteka tam.
Test yourself
Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than recognizing a familiar word — and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “train station” in Russian?
The word came from London: the Vauxhall pavilion outside Petersburg became the name for every station. English never found out — it says station.
- How do you say “school” in Russian?
Shkola — eto uroki i druzya: "school is lessons and friends" — the course's own definition.
- How do you say “fire station” in Russian?
Pozharnaya — "of fire"; chast here is the unit, the station. Pozharnaya chast ryadom so shkoloy.
- How do you say “pharmacy” in Russian?
A cousin of "apothecary": Greek for "a storeroom". The green cross on the sign is the same as in the rest of Europe.
- How do you say “bus station” in Russian?
Vokzal with an auto- prefix: the station for buses, built on the same London word.
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Where to go and what is done there. These words are read off a sign more often than they are spoken.
A list is read in a minute and forgotten in a day. What works: hide the translation, try to recall, get it wrong — and come back to the same words tomorrow.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- Study spread over days wins not only in experiments but in ordinary classrooms, with real students.checked many timesMawson & Kang, 2025, Behavioral Sciences 15(6):771 · 22 studies, d = 0.54 (confidence interval 0.31–0.77). The authors warn that individual studies disagree widely.
Frequently asked
How do you say “train station” in Russian?
«вокзал», read “vokzal”. The word came from London: the Vauxhall pavilion outside Petersburg became the name for every station. English never found out — it says station. It is one of 19 words in the set “buildings and premises” — the rest are in the table above.
How many words for buildings and places do you need to start?
The whole set on this page is 19 words, but there is no need to start with all of it: the words you will need in the next few days are enough. Take them a few at a time — five to seven new ones per session.