Thread: What to say when you call someone in Russia

My boyfriend is currently in Russia and I called him a few times on his mobile, yet that's too expensive so I have to call the house phone there but his grandmother already picked up once and I didn't know what to say... luckily I had looked online the day before so I said this (sorry about spellingmistakes...)

"Privet, menya zavoot Iris. Gavareetye Kristjan pozhaluista."

XD I have no clue if it's understandable. I don't speak Russian at all so his grandmother must've been " " on the phone lol. I just want to say "Hi this is iris, can I talk to kristjan please?" XD I wanted to say "good evening" since I call in the evening, but... that word was much too hard to pronounce for me @_@

someone please help me out ._.

A very simple way to ask to speak to somebody is just say

"<boyfriends name> doma?"

so, if your b/f's name is Kristjan, just "Kristjan doma?" sould do the trick. Or you could just speak english, and his parents/housemates will know its you

tdk

You can say:
Zdravstvuyte, mogu ya pogovorit' s Kristjanom, pojaluysta?
Здравствуйте, могу я поговорить с Кристьяном, пожалуйста?

Here's an audio record so you can hear how to pronounce it approx. They will understand you no doubt. And this is the most polite and well-mannered asking.

so what does "doma" mean actually? Isn't it rude to pick up the phone without saying hello first and introducing yourself? Here it'd be rude if someone called without saying hi and saying who they are

@ vincent: O___O I can NEVER pronounce that @_@ omg. I have to learn russian quick.

Doma simply is a declined version of the noun Dom, which means "house". So essentially your just saying "Is Kristjan home?" I guess if you were worried about being polite you could say what you said before, like "Priviyet, eta Iris. Kristjan doma?" which is just "Hello, this is Iris. Is kristin home?"

tdk

"<boyfriends name> doma?"

It's unpolite.

At least: Здравствуйте/добрый день, <boyfriend's name> дома? -- да --, позовите его, пожалуйста".

That will work.

Originally Posted by Vincent Tailors

"<boyfriends name> doma?"

It's unpolite.

At least: Здравствуйте/добрый день, <boyfriend's name> дома? -- да --, позовите его, пожалуйста".

That will work.

what about this ""Priviyet, eta Iris. Kristjan doma?"" what tdk said? Or isn't that polite either? I can pronounce that ^^; ... but as for what you suggested, I cannot read Russian characters and about the soundfile, thank you but I cannot get the pronunciation right since it's spoken very fast. Well I suppose for Russian people it's normal talking speed XD Sorry

Originally Posted by Vincent Tailors

"<boyfriends name> doma?"

It's unpolite.

At least: Здравствуйте/добрый день, <boyfriend's name> дома? -- да --, позовите его, пожалуйста".

That will work.

I don't think she can read cyrillic

"Dobrey den. Kristjan doma? Da? pozovit yevo, pozhalista."

tdk

Originally Posted by Stars

My boyfriend is currently in Russia and I called him a few times on his mobile, yet that's too expensive so I have to call the house phone there but his grandmother already picked up once and I didn't know what to say... luckily I had looked online the day before so I said this (sorry about spellingmistakes...)

"Privet, menya zavoot Iris. Gavareetye Kristjan pozhaluista."

XD I have no clue if it's understandable. I don't speak Russian at all so his grandmother must've been " " on the phone lol. I just want to say "Hi this is iris, can I talk to kristjan please?" XD I wanted to say "good evening" since I call in the evening, but... that word was much too hard to pronounce for me @_@

someone please help me out ._.

It's not very polite in Russia to say "privet" (hi) to someone who is much older than you and is not your close relative (or at least a close friend). It's better to say "zrdAstvuytye" which is always polite.
And "pazaveetye" (call), not "gavareetye" (speak).

what about this ""Priviyet, eta Iris. Kristjan doma?"" what tdk said?

Not at all. Privet can be addressed to a person you're familiar with enough to name him your buddy/friend. You should use "Dobry den'" (is the easiest to pronounce), Kristjan doma?

They will likely answer: "yeah" and go for him, but there're dumb people who answer "yeah" and wait for you to speak further. So you must know how to say "pozovite ego k telefonu" ("please" you may skip because it's hard to pronounce in Russian). They will absolutely understand you're a foreigner and won't pick at your manners.

hank you but I cannot get the pronunciation right since it's spoken very fast.

I'm sorry , I didn't think that was fast.
I'll record the phrases above slow and clear in a minute

I've not been very polite to his grandmother then .... this sucks >_>;

Here it is

"Dobry Den', Kristjan doma? (da) Pozovite ego k telefonu"

Is it slow enough now?

Originally Posted by Stars

I've not been very polite to his grandmother then .... this sucks >_>;

Don't worry. She didn't expect you to know what is polite in Russia and what is not and I bet she hardly understood anything except your boyfriend's name.
By the way, what country does you boyfriend come from? Kristjan is not a Russian name.

Vincent, thank you for all your help I really appreciate it, I only have one last question. How to pronounce "ego k" ? I can't understand when you said it, the g didn't sound like a g.... or maybe it's some russian tone ~_~ last question I swear, this must be annoying

That's my point. 'Privet' isn't exactly a polite thing to say to somebody who is older. However, it's easy to pronounce, and like Pisces and VT said before, his grandmother probably won't care that you aren't using the correct form of address. In fact, if you've called before, she probably immediately recognizes your voice and just calls Kristjan to the phone without even listening to what you are saying


Edit: "ego k" is pronounced "yevo k"

tdk

Originally Posted by Stars

Vincent, thank you for all your help I really appreciate it, I only have one last question. How to pronounce "ego k" ? I can't understand when you said it, the g didn't sound like a g.... or maybe it's some russian tone ~_~ last question I swear, this must be annoying

It's pronounced "v", not "g". The ending "go" is always pronounced as "vo" (when it's really an ending and not the part of the root).

You're not annoying
What are we here for if not for helping and sharing experience?

Yes, right, "ego" sounded as "evo". That's correct. "Ego" is spoken "evo", "Kogo" is spoken "kovo", "kakogo" is spoken "kakovo".

Whee thanks I get it now! *grouphug*

Originally Posted by pisces

By the way, what country does you boyfriend come from? Kristjan is not a Russian name.

My boyfriend Kristjan is half Russian, half Estonian.

I just called and said what you told me to say Vincent XD it worked I think hehe I got to talk to Kris anyway

Originally Posted by Stars

My boyfriend is currently in Russia and I called him a few times on his mobile, yet that's too expensive

How much is it to call him on his mobile? I think you can Skype him at his mobile for about 20 cents per minute. I know that is not real cheap either but OK for short calls.