Greetings and goodbyes in Russian
9 words in Russian on the topic “greetings and goodbyes”: привет — hi, добрый день — good afternoon, доброе утро — good morning, как дела? — how are you?
9 words on the topic
- приветprivethiThe short, friendly hello for people you know — exactly the slot "hi" fills. You greet a stranger or an elder differently, and it only opens a talk: there is no matching casual bye built on it.
- добрый деньdobryy dengood afternoonThe neutral daytime hello, from about noon to six — fine in a shop, on the phone and in email. Literally "kind day".
- доброе утроdobroe utrogood morningSaid until noon, then handed over to the afternoon greeting. Literally "kind morning"; the adjective agrees with utro, a neuter word.
- как дела?kak dela?how are you?Literally "how are the things" — the everyday question to someone you know. The expected answer is khorosho: you ask to be polite, not for a report.
- до свиданияdo svidaniyagoodbyeLiterally "until the next meeting" — an of-form built on do, "until". The neutral farewell; among friends it is poka.
- покаpokabyeThe casual bye, said with a rising tone. The same word is also the conjunction "while": poka chay kipit, "while the tea boils".
- добрый вечерdobryy vechergood eveningA greeting, not a farewell: meeting at nine you say this, and the good-night wish is a different phrase kept for parting.
- спокойной ночиspokoynoy nochigood nightLiterally "of a calm night", an of-form. It is only said when parting — you cannot greet anyone with it.
- до встречиdo vstrechisee you"Until we meet" — warmer and softer than the formal goodbye. Add a time: do vstrechi v ponedelnik, "see you Monday".
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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.
- Привет, как дела?Privet, kak dela?Hi, how are you?
- Добрый день! Один кофе, пожалуйстаDobryy den! Odin kofe, pozhaluystaGood afternoon! One coffee, please
- Доброе утро! Как спалось?Dobroe utro! Kak spalos?Good morning! How did you sleep?
- Привет, как дела?Privet, kak dela?Hi, how are you?
- До свидания! Хорошего дня!Do svidaniya! Khoroshego dnya!Goodbye! Have a good day!
- Пока, до завтра!Poka, do zavtra!Bye, see you tomorrow!
What is worth knowing about these words
привет (privet) — hi. The short, friendly hello for people you know — exactly the slot "hi" fills. You greet a stranger or an elder differently, and it only opens a talk: there is no matching casual bye built on it.
добрый день (dobryy den) — good afternoon. The neutral daytime hello, from about noon to six — fine in a shop, on the phone and in email. Literally "kind day".
доброе утро (dobroe utro) — good morning. Said until noon, then handed over to the afternoon greeting. Literally "kind morning"; the adjective agrees with utro, a neuter word.
как дела? (kak dela?) — how are you? Literally "how are the things" — the everyday question to someone you know. The expected answer is khorosho: you ask to be polite, not for a report.
Test yourself
Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than recognizing a familiar word — and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “hi” in Russian?
The short, friendly hello for people you know — exactly the slot "hi" fills. You greet a stranger or an elder differently, and it only opens a talk: there is no matching casual bye built on it.
- How do you say “good night” in Russian?
Literally "of a calm night", an of-form. It is only said when parting — you cannot greet anyone with it.
- How do you say “bye” in Russian?
The casual bye, said with a rising tone. The same word is also the conjunction "while": poka chay kipit, "while the tea boils".
- How do you say “how are you?” in Russian?
Literally "how are the things" — the everyday question to someone you know. The expected answer is khorosho: you ask to be polite, not for a report.
- How do you say “good afternoon” in Russian?
The neutral daytime hello, from about noon to six — fine in a shop, on the phone and in email. Literally "kind day".
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Every conversation starts here, and so does every first impression: say hello in the local language and you stop being a stranger in about a second.
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 “hi” in Russian?
«привет», read “privet”. The short, friendly hello for people you know — exactly the slot "hi" fills. You greet a stranger or an elder differently, and it only opens a talk: there is no matching casual bye built on it. It is one of 9 words in the set “greetings and goodbyes” — the rest are in the table above.
How many greetings do you need to start?
The whole set on this page is 9 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.