Russian For Dummies

194 Part II: Russian in Action

Fun & Games

Which of the following words and expressions indicate types of phones? Find the answers in Appendix C.

1.mobil’nik

2.knopochnyj tyelyefon

3.prikryeplyeniye

4.pis’mo

5.trubka

Put the following telephone dialogue in the right order (the right answers are in

Appendix C):

a.Mariny nyet doma. A kto yeyo sprashivayet?

b.Khorosho.

c.Eto Pyetya. Pyeryedajtye pozhalujsta chto zvonil Pyetya.

d.Mozhno Marinu?

Match the Russian equivalents on the left for the English phrases on the right. See Appendix C for the correct answers.

1.Mozhno Lyenu?

2.Yeyo nyet doma.

3.Vy nye tuda popali.

4.A chto yej pyeryedat’?

a.Can I take a message?

b.Can I talk to Lena?

c.She’s not at home.

d.Wrong number!

Chapter 10

Around the House

and at the Office

In This Chapter

Finding a home

Getting settled in your new place

Applying for a job

Functioning effectively in the workplace

As a Russian proverb says, v gostyakh khorosho, a doma luchshye (v gahs-tyakh khuh-rah-shoh, ah doh-muh looch-shih; East or West, home is

best. Literally: It’s good to be a guest, but it’s better to be home). In this chapter, we show you how to set up a home in Russian, from getting exactly what you want from your real estate agent to decorating your new place. And so you can afford to set up your Russian home just the way you want it, we also tell you how to find and hold a job, all in Russian.

Hunting for an Apartment or a House

Finding an apartment or a house is stressful enough in English. Are you looking for a good view or a central location? What’s more important: a big kitchen or hardwood floors? And how squeaky are those hardwood floors? Equip yourself with phrases introduced in the following sections, and good luck in your hunt for a home!

Talking about an apartment

A Russian kvartira (kvuhr-tee-ruh; apartment) is generally smaller than the apartments you may be used to. For example, odnokomnatnaya (uhd-nah- kohm-nuht-nuh-ye) kvartira literally means one-room apartment. You may be tempted to think of it as a one-bedroom apartment, but watch out! While the

196 Part II: Russian in Action

one-bedroom apartment that you’re thinking of has a living room and, possibly, a dining room, odnokomnatnaya kvartira doesn’t. It has, literally, one room, and a kitchen (which is usually used as a dining room, no matter how tiny it is). So, a more accurate equivalent for a Russian odnokomnatnaya kvartira is “a studio apartment.”

The most common type of an apartment for rent is the odnokomnatnaya kvartira. If you like to live large, you may want to look at a dvukhkomnatnaya kvartira (dvookh-kohm-nuht-nuh-ye kvuhr-tee-ruh; two-room apartment) or even a tryokhkomnatnaya kvartira (tryokh-kohm-nuht-nuh-ye kvuhr-tee-ruh; three-room apartment). Some other phrases you use and hear when talking about an apartment are:

snyat’ kvartiru (snyat’ kvuhr-tee-roo; to rent an apartment)

sdat’ kvartiru (zdaht’ kvuhr-tee-roo; to rent out an apartment)

kvartira s myebyel’yu (kvuhr-tee-ruh s mye-bee-l’yu; furnished apartment)

kvartira na pyervom etazhye (kvuhr-tee-ruh nuh pyer-vuhm eh-tuh- zheh; a first-floor apartment)

kvartira na vtorom etazhye (kvuhr-tee-ruh nuh ftah-rohm eh-tuh-zheh; a second-floor apartment)

Although Russians do use the word ryenta (ryen-tuh; rent), it isn’t usually used to talk about private apartments. To inquire about the price of an apartment, ask about oplata za kvartiru (ahp-lah-tuh zuh kvuhr-tee-roo; payment for the apartment) or stoimost’ prozhivaniya v myesyats (stoh-ee-muhst’ pruh-zhih-vah-nee-ye v mye-seets; cost of living per month). When you make your payments, use the expression platit’ za kvartiru (pluh-teet’ zuh kvuhr- tee-roo; pay for the apartment).

In big cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg, you can probably find an apartment on the Internet. In other places, you may have to resort to good old newspaper ads. Look for the section Ob’yavleniya (ahb’-eev-lye-nee-ye; classified). You have several ways to say “apartments for rent” in Russian. Any of the following is likely to pop up in the newspaper you’re looking at:

kvartiry v nayom (kvuhr-tee-rih v nuh-yom; apartments to rent)

aryenda kvartir (uh-ryen-duh kvuhr-teer; rent of apartments)

sdayu (sduh-yu; Literally: I am renting out)

snyat’ zhil’yo (snyat’ zhihl’-yo; Literally: to rent a place)

The ads you find are probably saturated with abbreviations such as kmn for komnata (kohm-nuh-tuh; room) and m. for metro, or stantsiya myetro (stahn- tsih-ye meet-roh; subway station). Because the metro is such a prominent means of getting around, Russians use names of metro stations to describe location. Thus, if the ad says m. “Tverskaya,” the apartment is located next to metro station “Tverskaya” — downtown Moscow!

Chapter 10: Around the House and at the Office 197

In close quarters: Communal living

Although scarce in number, kommunalki (kuh- moo-nahl-kee; communal apartments) still exist in some Russian cities. Kommunalki came into being during the Soviet revolution, when huge and luxurious aristocratic apartments were expropriated by the Soviet government and divided among three to ten poor families. The new aristocracy purchased some of those

apartments, which regained their luxurious status, but others are still populated by way too many unrelated people. So, unless you’re ready to live in an improvised commune, make sure to ask your real estate agent: A eto ne kommunalka? (uh eh-tuh nee kuh-moo-nahl-kuh; Is this a communal apartment?)

Your ad may also say nye agenstvo (nee uh-gyehn-stvuh; not an agency). What it means is that the ad was posted by the landlord himself, which allows him to cut the cost of a rental agency fee.

Discussing a house

The rules for finding a house are pretty much the same as those for finding an apartment. You can check out newspaper ads about selling nyedvizhimost’ (need-vee-zhih-muhst’; real estate) or talk to an agyent po prodazhye nyedvizhimosti (uh-gyent puh prah-dah-zhih need-vee-zhih-muhs-tee; real estate agent).

If you want to rent a dom (dohm; house) in a big city, you’re likely to find dom v prigorodye (dohm f pree-guh-ruh-dee; house in the suburbs). Even if you don’t have a car, it’s not usually a problem: Russia has a good system of elyektrichki (eh-leek-treech-kee; suburban trains), which take you virtually anywhere. Find out about transportation options, though, before making your decision.

Asking the right questions

Some questions you definitely want to ask your agyent po s’yomu zhil’ya (uh-gyent pah s’yo-moo zhih-l’ya; real estate agent) or khozyain/khozyajka (khah-zya-een/khah-zyay-kuh; landlord/landlady):

Mnye nuzhno platit’ dyeposit? (mnye noozh-nuh plah-teet’ dee-pah-zeet; Do I need to pay the deposit?)

Kto platit za uslugi (elyektrichyestvo, gaz, voda)? [ktoh plah-teet zuh oos-loo-gee (eh-leek-tree-chees-tvuh, gahs, vah-dah); Who pays for utilities (electricity, gas, water)?]

198 Part II: Russian in Action

Kakaya oplata v myesyats? (kuh-kah-ye ahp-lah-tuh v mye-seets; What are the monthly payments?)

Vy khotitye, chtoby ya platil rublyami ili dollarami? (vih khah-tee-tee shtoh-bih ya pluh-teel roob-lya-mee ee-lee doh-luh-ruh-mee; Do you want me to pay in rubles or in dollars?)

Eto spokojnyj rayon? (eh-tuh spah-kohy-nihy ruh-yon; Is it a safe neighborhood?)

Kto zanimayetsya pochinkoj nyeispravnostyej? (ktoh zuh-nee-mah-ee- tsye pah-cheen-kuhy nee-ees-prahv-nuhs-teey; Who performs the maintenance? Literally: Who performs the repairs of things that are out of order?)

Don’t rush to exchange your money to pay the rent! Some landlords may prefer that you pay in dollars.

The main things to find out about a house specifically are the following:

Eto dom v gorodye ili v prigorodye? (eh-tuh dohm v goh-ruh-dee ee-lee f pree-guh-ruh-dee; Is the house in the city or in the suburbs?)

Kakoj vid transporta tuda khodit? (kuh-kohy veet trahn-spuhr-tuh too- dah khoh-deet; Which public transportation runs there?)

Skol’ko v domye etazhyej? (skohl’-kuh v doh-mee eh-tuh-zhehy; How many floors does the house have?)

Kakoye v domye otoplyeniye? (kuh-koh-ee v doh-mee uh-tah-plye-nee-ee; How is the house heated?)

V domye yest’ garazh? (v doh-mee yest’ guh-rahsh; Is there a garage in the house?)

Sealing the deal

When you find a place to rent that strikes your fancy, you’re ready to podpisat’ kontrakt (puhd-pee-saht’ kahn-trahkt; sign the lease). In your kontrakt na aryendu zhil’ya (kahn-trahkt nuh uh-ryen-doo zhihl’-ya; lease), look for the following key points:

srok (srohk; duration of the lease)

oplata/plata (ah-plah-tuh/plah-tuh; rent)

podpis’ (poht-pees’; signature)

Chapter 10: Around the House and at the Office 199

Talkin’ the Talk

Josh is looking for an apartment in Moscow. He’s at a rental agency, talking to an agyent (uh-gyent; a real estate agent).

Josh:	Ya khochu snyat’ kvartiru. Odnokomnatnuyu, nye
	ochyen’ doroguyu, v tsyentrye.
	ya khah-choo snyat’ kvuhr-tee-roo. uhd-nah-kohm-
	nuht-noo-yu, nee oh-cheen’ duh-rah-goo-yu, f tsehn-
	tree.
	I want to rent an apartment. A studio, not too expen-
	sive, in the downtown area.
Agyent:	My mozhyem vam pryedlozhit’ elitnuyu kvartiru v
	domye okolo Moskvy-ryeki. Pyatyj etazh, balkon. Vid
	na Kryeml’.
	mih moh-zhihm vahm preed-lah-zhiht’ eh-leet-noo-yu
	kvuhr-tee-roo v doh-mee oh-kuh-luh mahsk-vih ree-
	kee. pya-tihy eh-tahsh, buhl-kohn. veet nuh kryeml’.
	We can offer you an elite apartment next to Moscow
	River. The fifth floor, a balcony. A view of the Kremlin.
Josh:	A kakaya aryendnaya plata?
	ah kuh-kah-ye uh-ryend-nuh-ye plah-tuh?
	And what is the rent?
Agyent:	2,000 dollarov v myesyats.
	dvye tih-see-chee doh-luh-ruhf v mye-seets.
	$2,000 a month.
Josh:	Nyet, eto slishkom dorogo.
	nyet, eh-tuh sleesh-kuhm doh-ruh-guh.
	No, that’s too expensive.

200 Part II: Russian in Action

Words to Know

v tsyentrye	f tsehn-tree	in the downtown
		area
My mozhyem	mih moh-zhihm vahm	We can offer you
vam pryedlozhit’	preed-lah-zhiht’
balkon	buhl-kohn	balcony
vid na	veet nuh	a view of
aryendnaya plata	uh-ryend-nuh-ye	rent
	plah-tuh
slishkom dorogo	sleesh-kuhm doh-	too expensive
	ruh-guh

Settling into Your New Digs

Congratulations on moving into your new home! In the following sections, you discover how to talk about your home and the things you have there.

Knowing the names of different rooms

Russians don’t usually have as many rooms as Americans do. And the rooms they have are often reversible: a divan-krovat’ (dee-vahn krah-vaht’; sofa bed) can turn a cozy gostinnaya (gahs-tee-nuh-ye; living room) into a spal’nya (spahl’-nye; bedroom). In the morning, the same room can magically turn into a stolovaya (stah-loh-vuh-ye; dining room) when the hosts bring in their skladnoj stol (skluhd-nohy stohl; folding table)!

Here are some names for rooms to navigate you through a Russian apartment:

kukhnya (kookh-nye; kitchen)

prikhozhaya (pree-khoh-zhuh-ye; hall)

koridor (kuh-ree-dohr; corridor)

dyetskaya (dyet-skuh-ye; children’s room)

kabinyet (kuh-bee-nyet; study)

Chapter 10: Around the House and at the Office 201

The English word “bathroom” corresponds to two different notions in Russian: vannaya (vahn-nuh-ye) and tualyet (too-uh-lyet). Vannaya is the place where vanna (vahn-nuh; bathtub), dush (doosh; shower), and rakovina (rah-kuh-vee- nuh; sink) are. The tualyet is usually a separate room next to the vannaya.

One of the most important phrases in any language is this one: Gdye tualyet? (gdye too-uh-lyet; Where is the bathroom?)

Most Russian room names, such as gostinnaya and stolovaya, don’t decline like nouns. Instead, they decline like feminine adjectives. The explanation to this mystery is easy: stolovaya is what remained in modern Russian of stolovaya komnata (dining room), where the word stolovaya was, in fact, an adjective, describing the feminine noun komnata (room). For more info on adjective declension, see Chapter 2.

Buying furniture

The easiest place to find myebyel’ (mye-beel’; furniture) is myebyel’nij magazin (mye-beel’-nihy muh-guh-zeen; furniture store). Here are some Russian words for various pieces of furniture:

divan (dee-vahn; sofa)

dukhovka (doo-khohf-kuh; oven)

kholodil’nik (khuh-lah-deel’-neek; refrigerator)

knizhnaya polka (kneezh-nuh-ye pohl-kuh; bookshelf)

kovyor (kah-vyor; carpet/rug)

krovat’ (krah-vaht; bed)

kryeslo (kryes-luh; armchair)

kukhonnyj stol (koo-khuh-nihy stohl; kitchen table)

lampa (lahm-puh; lamp)

magnitofon (muhg-nee-tah-fohn; stereo)

mikrovolnovka (meek-ruh-vahl-nohf-kuh; microwave)

pis’myennyj stol (pees’-mee-nihy stohl; desk/writing table)

plita (plee-tah; stove)

posudomoyechnaya mashina (pah-soo-dah-moh-eech-nuh-ye muh-shih- nuh; dishwasher)

shkaf (shkahf; cupboard/closet/wardrobe)

stiral’naya mashina (stee-rahl’-nuh-ye muh-shih-nuh; washing machine)

stol (stohl; table)

202 Part II: Russian in Action

stul (stool; chair)

sushilka (soo-shihl-kuh; dryer)

zhurnal’nyj stolik (zhoor-nahl’-nihy stoh-leek; coffee table)

zyerkalo (zyer-kuh-luh; mirror)

Talkin’ the Talk

Matt is at a furniture store in Moscow. The prodavets (pruh-duh- vyets; shop assistant) is helping him choose furniture for his new apartment.

Matt:	Izvinitye, pohzalujsta. Gdye tut u vas krovati?
	eez-vee-nee-tee, pah-zhahl-stuh. gdye toot oo vahs
	krah-vah-tee?
	Excuse me, where are the beds?

Prodavets: Krovati vot zdyes’. Vot otlichnij divan-krovat’, on na rasprodazhye, nyedorogo.

krah-vah-tee voht zdyes’. voht aht-leech-nihy dee- vahn krah-vaht’, ohn nuh ruhs-prah-dah-zhih, nee- doh-ruh-guh.

Beds are over here. Here’s a great sofa bed, it’s on sale, it’s inexpensive.

Matt:	Nyet, spasibo, ya ish’u obyknovyennuyu krovat’.
	nyet, spuh-see-buh, ya ee-sh’oo uh-bihk-nah-vye-noo-
	yu krah-vaht’.
	No, thanks, I am looking for a regular bed.

Prodavets:	Odnospal’nuyu ili dvuspal’nuyu?
	ahd-nahs-pahl’-noo-yu ee-lee dvoo-spahl’-noo-yu?
	Twin or queen size?
Matt:	Ya yesh’yo nye ryeshil. U myenya v kvartirye nye
	ochyen’ mnogo myesta.
	ya ee-sh’oh nee ree-shihl. oo mee-nya f kvahr-tee-ree
	nee oh-cheen’ mnoh-guh myes-tuh.
	I haven’t decided yet. I don’t have that much space in
	my apartment.

Chapter 10: Around the House and at the Office 203

Words to Know

Gdye tut u vas	gdye toot oo vahs	Where are the
krovati?	krah-vah-tee	beds?
na rasprodazhye	nuh ruhs-prah-	on sale
	dah-zhih
Nyedorogo.	nee-doh-ruh-guh	It’s inexpensive.
Ya yesh’yo nye	ya ee-sh’oh nee	I haven’t decided
reshil.	ree-shihl	yet.
U myenya v	oo mee-nya f	I don’t have that
kvartirye nye	kvuhr-tee-ree nee	much space in my
ochyen’ mnogo	oh-cheen’ mnoh-guh	apartment.
myesta.	myes-tuh

Searching for a Job

A great Russian proverb, one may claim, summarizes Russians’ attitude to work: Rabota — nye volk, v lyes nye ubyezhit. (ruh-boh-tuh nee vohlk, v lyes nee oo-bee-zhiht; Work isn’t a wolf, it won’t run away from you into the forest.) This proverb represents the same kind of thinking that inspired Mark Twain to give a new meaning to the famous words of wisdom: “Do not put off until tomorrow what can be put off till day after tomorrow just as well.” But whatever Russians claim in their proverbs, the professional market in some Russian cities is thriving. In the following sections, you discover all you need to know about finding a job in Russian.

Discovering where to look

Looking for a job in Russia isn’t much different than job-searching elsewhere in the world. Your options are:

Going to a kadrovoye agyenstvo (kahd-ruh-vuh-ee uh-gyens-tvuh; recruiting agency)

Posting your ryezyumye (ree-zyu-meh; resume) on a sajt po poisku raboty (sahjt pah poh-ees-koo ruh-boh-tih; job finder Web site)