Asking the way in Russian
21 words in Russian on the topic “asking the way”: где? — where?, здесь — here, там — there, на — on, at.
21 words on the topic
- где?gde?where?The question about place. Kuda asks where to — the direction keeps its own question, the way English splits where and where to.
- здесьzdeshereThe place word; for direction there is a separate syuda, "to here". Zdes ochen tiho — "it is very quiet here".
- тамtamthereThe opposite of zdes, and it answers gde too: Gde apteka? — Tam.
- наnaon, atA chameleon of a preposition: na ulitse, na pochte, na dve nedeli. English splits it into on, at and for; this one does all three.
- вvin, intoOne letter, two cases: v gorode says where, v gorod says where to. Place and direction ride on the case, not on two prepositions.
- направоnapravoto the rightFor the turn: povernite napravo. The position is a different word — sprava: "the pharmacy is on the right".
- налевоnalevoto the leftThe twin of napravo with the same split: povernite nalevo for the turn, sleva for the position.
- прямоpryamostraight, straight aheadA cousin of Latin rectus — the same root as "right". Idite pryamo do ploshchadi — "go straight to the square"; also "right now".
- близкоblizkoclose, nearbyEto blizko? is the everyday question at the map, and "no, blizko" is the best possible answer.
- далекоdalekofarThe twin of blizko. Queda lejos and "it is far" do the same job — the thing stays far.
- идтиidtito go (on foot)On foot; riding is another verb, ekhat. The pair is stricter than English "go": walking one way, transport the other. The present comes from a different root: idu, idyosh.
- как пройтиkak proytihow do I get to...?Literally "how to walk (there)" — the result verb of idti in the infinitive, no subject needed.
- добратьсяdobratsyato get to, to reachDo- plus bratsya: to make it as far as. Kak dobratsya do aeroporta? — the destination takes do plus the of-form.
- на другой сторонеna drugoy storoneon the other sideDrugoy — "the other"; storona the side. Apteka na drugoy storone ulitsy.
- в двух шагахv dvukh shagakhtwo steps awayLiterally "at two steps": the distance of a stroll. Magazin v dvukh shagakh ot doma.
- за поворотомza povorotomaround the turnZa plus the with-form: beyond the turn. Shkola za povorotom.
- слева отsleva otto the left ofThe position: sleva ot banka — "to the left of the bank". The turn, remember, is nalevo.
- справа отsprava otto the right ofThe position: sprava ot apteki. The turn is napravo — the pair keeps its distance.
- посерединеposeredinein the middlePo plus seredina: the position word. Stol stoit posereditse komnaty.
- следующий поворотsleduyushchiy povorotthe next turnZa sleduyushchim povorotom most — "around the next turn there is a bridge".
- по путиpo pution the wayPo plus put: along the route. My vstretemsya po puti — "we will meet on the way".
Download the word set (CSV) · Open the printable sheet
The CSV contains spelling, reading guides, translations and links to word pages. Use the browser menu to save the printable sheet as a PDF.
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 вокзал?Gde vokzal?Where is the train station?
- Здесь очень тихоZdes ochen tikhoIt is very quiet here
- Там на углу аптекаTam na uglu aptekaThere is a pharmacy on the corner
- Метро на улице, аптека в городеMetro na ulitse, apteka v gorodeThe metro is on the street, the pharmacy is in the city
- Я иду в магазинYa idu v magazinI am walking to the shop
- Поверните направо, потом прямоPovernite napravo, potom pryamoTurn right, then straight
What is worth knowing about these words
где? (gde?) — where? The question about place. Kuda asks where to — the direction keeps its own question, the way English splits where and where to.
здесь (zdes) — here. The place word; for direction there is a separate syuda, "to here". Zdes ochen tiho — "it is very quiet here".
там (tam) — there. The opposite of zdes, and it answers gde too: Gde apteka? — Tam.
на (na) — on, at. A chameleon of a preposition: na ulitse, na pochte, na dve nedeli. English splits it into on, at and for; this one does all three.
Test yourself
Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than recognizing a familiar word — and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “where?” in Russian?
The question about place. Kuda asks where to — the direction keeps its own question, the way English splits where and where to.
- How do you say “to the right” in Russian?
For the turn: povernite napravo. The position is a different word — sprava: "the pharmacy is on the right".
- How do you say “to go (on foot)” in Russian?
On foot; riding is another verb, ekhat. The pair is stricter than English "go": walking one way, transport the other. The present comes from a different root: idu, idyosh.
- How do you say “around the turn” in Russian?
Za plus the with-form: beyond the turn. Shkola za povorotom.
- How do you say “on the way” in Russian?
Po plus put: along the route. My vstretemsya po puti — "we will meet on the way".
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Right, left, straight on, how far. You ask the way rarely — and always at the moment when there is no time to work it out.
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 “where?” in Russian?
«где?», read “gde?” The question about place. Kuda asks where to — the direction keeps its own question, the way English splits where and where to. It is one of 21 words in the set “asking the way” — the rest are in the table above.
How many direction words do you need to start?
The whole set on this page is 21 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.