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Author Topic: Learn Russian from music!  (Read 25001 times)

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Offline mendeleyev

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Learn Russian from music!
« on: October 16, 2008, 10:02:41 PM »
Learn Russian from music!

Thanks for visiting and thanks for listening. This will be a companion to the popular "Let's learn to read Russian signs" thread. They will be designed to compliment each other.

One summer afternoon the lady who would one day be my wife and I were going somewhere and we'd gotten off the bus and were walking along a busy street. She stopped, pointed to one of the many advertising signs and said, "read it to me.  In Russian."

I did, but it was a halting struggle.  

She turned meet me face to face and asked, "are you serious about learning to speak Russian, and to speak without accent?"  I said yes.

Then I'll teach you, was her reply. But you must do what I ask, including singing in public.

Singing, I asked?

You have beautiful voice.  You are very good "zinger" and you must learn Russian with music.

My Russian today isnt' perfect, but very often compliments come my way from amazed native Russians who are surprised that what I speak is with only the barest trace of an accent, sometimes none at all.

Those days of singing the alphabet at the bus stops, following her prompting and feeling like a fool in the process, have apparently paid off.  

Most Sundays you'll find me in the bass section at our Russian Orthodox Church and those impromptu lessons from my darling have helped me learn the complicated but beautiful Russian (Old Slavonic) lyrics and melodies.

I'll try to keep it simple and guarantee that the music will be fun and while you won't become fluent by listening to music, you will learn exactly, precisely, perfectly, how many Russian words should sound when coming from your voice.

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Learn Russian from music!
« Reply #1 on: October 16, 2008, 10:14:03 PM »
Angel:


Since my wife is an angel, this will be the first word of this thread.


Angel is ангел (AN gehl).


Listen to:

Pretty girls from Estonia band "Lotos" singing (Я люблю тебя мой ангел) "I love you my angel" make this one easy to watch. Я люблю тебя мой ангел is the main phrase of the song so it's easy to catch:


Где Ты Мой Ангел? (Where are you my angel?)


A montage of beautiful Russian women makes it difficult to listen to the lyrics of this song.  But you can try.  The song "Angel Keeper" (Ангел хранитель) presents the word Ангел at :56 seconds in the first chorus.


And what is you come in contact with more than just one angel?  The plural would be ангелы.



Lesson bonus:

What if you run across a lady named "Angela" and need to know how her name is spoken? This song "Kiss of an angel" is not really about a lady's name but will teach how to speak the word angel with the feminine form of "a" attached.  And that is "Angela."
Listen:

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Learn Russian from music!
« Reply #2 on: October 16, 2008, 10:14:50 PM »
The Seasons:


Spring is весна (vis NAH)

Summer is лето (let TAh)

Autumn is осень (Oh seen)

Winter is зима (ZE mah)



Spring is весна (vis NAH)

This rock song allows you to hear the word весна/"vis NAH" at :13 and following very, very clearly!



This popular song Вот и пришла весна (Here the Spring has come) pronounces the word beautifully!  And you can follow the lyrics on the screen as they are sung!  Pay careful attention as they sing " " at 1:33.


This rock and roll song repeats the word a lot!  It's the first spoken word at :26 into the song.


Lesson Bonus:
This is a song about spring, so don't worry if you don't hear the word.  But have you ever heard Russian Reggae?!
Heck, near the end you'll hear the English phrase "stir it up" which must be mandatory in Reggae!


весна (vis NAH)


Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Learn Russian from music!
« Reply #3 on: October 16, 2008, 11:55:06 PM »
The Seasons, continued:


Spring is весна (vis NAH)

Summer is лето (let TAh)

Autumn is осень (Oh seen)

Winter is зима (ZE mah)



Summer is лето (let TAh)

The Rock band "Kino" always does a great job of singing understandable lyrics.  The first of many лето/"let AH" begins at 1:17.  Just follow the lyrics on the screen. 


Byanka, the young Russian and English hip hop singer does this song about summer (лето/"let AH"):


лето "let TAH"

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Learn Russian from music!
« Reply #4 on: October 16, 2008, 11:55:27 PM »
The Seasons, continued:


Spring is весна (vis NAH)

Summer is лето (let TAh)

Autumn is осень (Oh seen)

Winter is зима (ZE mah)



Autumn is осень (Oh seen)

Mendeleyev's favourite Russian song about autumn is by one of the most talented and beautiful Russian singers, Алсу (Alsou).  Here she sings осень (Oh seen):

The group мегаполис (MegaCity) bring us this memory of the autumn of 1986.  It's what Russian rock sounded like then and they do a good job of singing clearly.  Listen for осень (Oh seen):


This modern and very interesting video reminds us of the old days of the Cold War, in autumn of course:



Lesson Bonus:
The Russian HIP HOP/RAP group Basta (Баста) give a sort of "easy listening or jazzy" feel to this song about autumn:

It took :50 seconds to reach the first reference, but one just can't pass up straight ahead Russian HIP HOP/RAP about autumn!

осень (Oh seen)

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Learn Russian from music!
« Reply #5 on: October 16, 2008, 11:55:40 PM »
The Seasons, continued:


Spring is весна (vis NAH)

Summer is лето (let TAh)

Autumn is осень (Oh seen)

Winter is зима (ZE mah)



Winter is зима (ZE mah)

The very beautiful Russian artist Zara (Зара) clearly sings that winter has swept in, "Замела зима"/ZE mah:


Every wondered if ladies from Kazakhstan south of Russia are beautiful and talented?  In this sound of pop blended with haunting ethnic melodies, the female group FM paints a spellbinding picture of winter, зима (ZE mah):
These ladies are sure different from the BORAT movie!


Popular Russian singer Dima Bilan introduces the stewardess on this flight to the "mile high club."  Somehow it's also about зима, winter.  :laugh: 


Lesson bonus:
In Russian popular music one can't forget Alsou's original hit video about winter love, Зимний сон "Winter Dream:"


In early 2008 Alsou added new rhythm tracks and "Winter Dream" sounds very nice!


зима (ZE mah) - Ukraine's Dniper river.

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Learn Russian from music!
« Reply #6 on: October 17, 2008, 01:57:11 AM »
Just in case you wanted the lyrics to Alsou's Зимний сон "Winter Dream"


(updated version)

Звезды поднимаются выше
Свет уже не сводит с ума
Если ты меня не услышишь
Значит, наступила зима

Небо, загрустив, наклонилось,
в сумерки укутав дома
Больше ничего не случилось
Просто наступила зима

в тот день когда ты мне приснился
Я все придумала сама
На землю тихо опустилась зима

Я для тебя не погасила
Свет в одиноком окне
Как жаль что это все приснилось Мне

в сны мои луна окунулась
ветер превратила в туман
Если я к тебе не вернулась
Значит наступила зима

Может помешали метели
Может предрассветный обман
А помнишь мы с тобою хотели
Чтобы наступила зима

Голос тихий таинственный
Где ты милый единственный
Сон мой

вьюгой белою снежною
Стану самою нежною
Сон мой


(original version)

Stars are getting higher
Light doesn't make me crazy any more
If you don't hear me,
That means that winter's come

The sky leaned in sadness
Wrapping houses in twilight.
Nothing more has happened,
Just winter has come

The day I saw you in my dream
I made it up myself.
Winter silently covered the earth

I didn't put out the lights
In the lonely window for you.
It's a pity that it was just a dream.

The moon dipped into my dreams,
Turning the wind into haze.
If I haven't come back to you,
Means that winter has come

Maybe snowstorms hindered,
Maybe it was a delusion of approaching dawn.
Remember we wanted
Winter to come

Voice, silent, mysterious…
Where are you, sweet one, the only one?
My dream

I'll become a blizzard
White and tender
My dream

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Learn Russian from music!
« Reply #7 on: October 17, 2008, 09:06:58 PM »
How to speak Russian without an accent (or pretty close)


The key to speaking words to be understandable to a casual Russian listener, someone such as a stranger who has never heard you speak before, is the Russian vowels.

Are there 5 or 10?

Linguists will fight over semantics so let's just call it 5, with 10 different sounds.  But if you insist on 10, then that's okay too.


5/10 Vowels in Russian

Russian has 5 vowels and they come in two forms: hard and soft.  If you wish to call it 10 vowels, that's okay too.  To speak Russian and be understood by total strangers, you must master the vowel sounds.


The hard vowels/soft vowels:
A (ah)     я (ya)
 
э (eh)     е (yeh)
 
ы (ie)      и (e)

о (oh)     ё (yoh)

у (ooh)    ю (you)


Russian vowels lesson 1:

Russian vowels lesson 2:

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Learn Russian from music!
« Reply #8 on: October 17, 2008, 09:20:54 PM »
Year


Year = год

Think of the word "god" with your mouth puckered, 'goo wd'.  Then follow this link and click on the play button to listen: http://www.ilearnwords.com/eng_rus/erw084_year.html  This word is very affected by the hard vowel O and it's relationship to the consonant г (geh).  The O is stressed so it makes the г sound hard also.  (This link plays words much more SLOWLY than you will use in real life!)


Okay, I know this video is kind of corny.  But its a great way to learn how Russians say год (year):
 The chorus sung over and over is "new year," although sometimes it is used to note new year's eve.



While the words Новый год mean "new year," the popular expression "Happy New Year" at the holidays is с новым годом (snO-vim gOd-am) and sounds like this: http://listen2russian.com/lesson05/b/index.html






Grammar note:
You're probably asking yourself that if год is "years,"  then why when you ask someone their age, do you speak Сколько вам лет? or the shortened Сколько лет?  Isn't летo "summer" and летa "summers?"

Its a good question and here is a quick answer:  Drop the o from летo or drop the a from летa and you are left with лет.  It is a common expression for "years."  So in certain contexts, Russian adds an a back to the end of лет and in those cases, летa means "years" instead of "summers."

Confusing?  Yes, but good to know the options when translating.


Lesson bonus:
Сколько вам лет "skoyl-KA  vam  let"

Сколько лет "skoyl-KA let"

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Learn Russian from music!
« Reply #9 on: October 17, 2008, 10:29:28 PM »
Months:

Imagine how impressed your Russian friend will be when you can say her birthdate in Russian!  Or, you can confidently tell her the name of the month of your upcoming visit.  So, we'd better learn the months of the year.


Month = месяц "meysats"

Months = месяцы (plural)

This is the only video you need to learn the word for месяц.  Now true that it's only spoken one time, and very quickly at that.  However as the smokinhotkova blonde lowers her dress for the pharmacist to take a look, you'll play this one over and over!  Ah, to hear the word месяц of course.  ;D  For those who can tear your eyes away from her falling dress for just a moment, the word is spoken at :10.  Just in case you were wondering.


In this stage tune standard, Irina Allegrova sings about the "honey month" which is equivalent to "honeymoon" in English. 

If those videos didn't help, then follow this link and play the word over and over again until you are comfortable with speaking it correctly: http://www.ilearnwords.com/eng_rus/erw083_month.html



Lesson bonus:
This guy must be a student and he is going to say the names of the месяцы first forward, then backward!

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Learn Russian from music!
« Reply #10 on: October 17, 2008, 11:54:48 PM »
календарь (Calendar) "Kah lin dar"


Today's printed Russian calendars can take on various forms, some of them confusing to the Western eye.  But if you see one lined up much like our English calenders, just remember that the first day of the week is Monday, not Sunday, and therefore the last day of the Russian week is Sunday, not Saturday.


Январь - January
The first месяц of each год begins with Январь.  That's right!  The first month of each year begins with "YAN var."  Westerners call it "January."





 
Февраль - February

"Feev-RAhl" is how this is pronounced.  Listen to the chorus and you'll hear "poka Feev-RAhl" (goodbye February) to learn how to say this month correctly:





Март - March

It's just one syllable, said strongly because the one vowel and three consonants are all hard, "Mahrt."

You probably know that the date 8 Март is "International Woman's Day" in the FSU.  Listen to this cartoon, specifically at the :10 second mark, when the word "Мартa" is spoken.  That 'a' on the end is just a grammar addition, what you're listening for is the way Март is spoken in good Russian. 






Апрель - April

Can you say "AP-ryél" like a Russian?  This is a good teaching song because it mentions both Апрель (April) and Февраль (February) of many times! Listen:








Май - May

It sounds almost like "my" and this song is great because it's repeated over and over:
Singer Kristina Orbakyte won several awards for this song and watch the video to hear the TV announcer also pronounce Май: (First of many references comes at :05 seconds)







Июнь - June

It's spoken as "ee-yoon" or as the pro Linguists like to transliterate, "ee-yún."  This is one of those words where things are spoken quickly and syllables run into each other.  It's almost 2 syllables but jam them together as one.

This guy says them quickly, but listen to him list all the months first forward, then backward:






Lesson bonus

Here is a list of the typical calendar abreviations:

ЯНВарь (January)
ФЕВраль (February)
МАРт (March)
АПРель (April)
МАЙ (May)
ИЮНь (June)
ИЮЛь (July)
АВГуст (August)
СЕНтябрь (September)
ОКТябрь (October)
НОЯбрь (November)
ДЕКабрь (December)

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Learn Russian from music!
« Reply #11 on: October 17, 2008, 11:55:50 PM »
Continuing the months of the year:


Июль - July

"ee-yúl" is the way to speak the word meaning Июль (July) in Russian.






Август - August

Август (August) is known as "áv-goost" in Russian.







Сентябрь - September

The name for Сентябрь (September) is spoken as "seen-tyábr."







Октябрь - October

Since the 'O' in Октябрь is not stressed, it becomes an 'ah' and "ak-tyábr" is how it sounds.






Ноябрь - November

By the time Ноябрь (November) rolls around, Russians have already been putting up with snow and ice for a month.  The name for Ноябрь is spoken as "na-yábr."






Декабрь - December

Perhaps you're noticing a pattern that most of the names fo Russian months follow somewhat closely with the English version.  Декабрь (December) is no different and sounds like "dee-kábr."






Have you memorized the months?

Offline Ward_Cleaver

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Re: Learn Russian from music!
« Reply #12 on: October 18, 2008, 12:48:53 AM »
Mendeleyev, your ROCK!  Thank you.  I've been looking for something like this.

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Learn Russian from music!
« Reply #13 on: October 18, 2008, 07:31:22 AM »
Ward, thank you for the kind encouragement and I hope it will be very beneficial to you!

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Learn Russian from music!
« Reply #14 on: October 20, 2008, 01:59:29 AM »
Weather conditions:


Often communication over the telephone or via email is hampered because a couple doesn't know the words to describe what is going on in their part of the world.  Just a little weather information will help improve such communications sometimes.


Listen for surprise on the other end of the line the first time you ask: Какая сегодня будет погода?  "ka-ká-ya  see-vód-nya  bóo-deet  pa-gó-da"  (Whats the weather today?)


And when your lady asks about your weather, you can reply Будет (insert weather here) "bóo-deet (_________.)"







Rain - дождь

Rain sounds like (dózht).

The first time I heard Игорь Тальков (Igor Talkov) sing "Летний дождь" (was around the year 2000 and I was hooked.  Its a slow ballad and was very popular at the time and means "The years rain,"  Igor does an excellent job with the word дождь!  You can't miss it and he repeats it over and over.


Another great music video with lots of clear and understandable дождь is the rock/metal Russian band DDT:

How do you say, "its raining?"  That would be Идет дождь (ee-dyót  dózht).


The term for дождливо (rainy) is "dash-dlée-VA."
 
 



Wind - ветер

Ветер (wind) sounds like "vyé-teer."

 
The Russian rock band Brainstorm is a solid band with lots of hits.  That sound great in this song called ветер (wind).

This is a very nice smooth jazzy song called ветер (wind).

"Windy" is ветренно (vyét-ree-na).
 




Clouds - Облака

The plural form is Облака (AH-bla-ka--note the O is unstressed so we convert is to "Ah").

 
This accostic rock ballad by Александр Барыкин (Alexander Bapykin) is called "Облака" (clouds).

Алексей Гоман & Людмила Николаева (Alek Goman & Ludmila Nikolayeva) do their pop version of Облака (clouds):
 
"Cloudy" = облачно (óoh-blach-na -- here the O is sounded)
 




Sunny - солнечно or Солнечный   

The way to say "sunny" is ('sól-neech-na' or 'sol-neech-knee').






Warm - тепло

"Warm" sounds like teep-ló.

We all like to stay тепло (teep-ló) in winter.
 





Cold - холодно     

Cold is "ho-lad-NA."


Холодно (cold) is the very first word in this song by Алла Пугачева и Максим Галкин (Alla Pugacheva & Makism Galkin):





Snow - снег

Снег (snow) is pronounced with a 'k' at the end because of a spelling rule so it sounds like "snyek."

Listen to Сергей Никитин (Sergei Nikitin) sing Снег идёт "It's going to Snow." 

Glukoza sings Идет снег (ee-dyót snyék) "Its snowing:"
 





Lesson bonus:
- Frost - Мороз (ma-ROS)

- Thunderstorm - Гроза (gra-ZA)

- Fog - Туман (too-MAhn]
 

Offline Olga_Mouse

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Re: Learn Russian from music!
« Reply #15 on: October 20, 2008, 12:21:22 PM »

I want that calendar!!!    :GRRRR:
Leaving Russia is not an emigration, rather an evacuation.

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Learn Russian from music!
« Reply #16 on: October 20, 2008, 02:15:47 PM »
Olga, that was a 2008 and I've sent you a link by PM.   :)


For members who would like a very beautiful 2009 Russian calendar, the annual Hermitage Museum calendar from St Petersburg is a wonderful addition to your wall.  Order from the museum here: http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/shop/html_En/products/01191_Saint_Petersburg_2009_Calendar.html


If your city has a Russia supermarket you can usually find a nice selection of calendars there also.  The supermarket calendars are usually the same as in this link, however the internet price is double what you can get at a local store ($9-$11 versus $21-$23). http://www.russianlegacy.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=137_143

Offline Ward_Cleaver

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Re: Learn Russian from music!
« Reply #17 on: October 20, 2008, 08:04:10 PM »
What if you run across a lady named "Angela" and need to know how her name is spoken? This song "Kiss of an angel" is not really about a lady's name but will teach how to speak the word angel with the feminine form of "a" attached.  And that is "Angela."
Listen:

I thought that Angela was spelled with a ж (анжэлика) rather than a г (ангэлика).

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Learn Russian from music!
« Reply #18 on: October 20, 2008, 08:26:52 PM »
Ward, thanks for bring this up.  Its a good question.  Angela (Ангела/"AHN-geh-la") is a common nickname and can also be a shorter/intimate form of анжэлика which is spoken as "ahn-zhil-LEEkah."  I failed to point that out in the original post.

Aнгелa is a nickname which you can give to your favourite lady even if her name isn't анжэлика ("ahn-zhil-LEEkah").

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Learn Russian from music!
« Reply #19 on: October 20, 2008, 10:42:41 PM »
Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow


Yesterday - Вчера "che rah"

The B "veh" is silent and as Alsou (Алсу) sings Вчера (yesterday) you should notice two things:
1) With the silent "veh" the word Вчера sounds like чера "che rah."
2) You'll also pick up that there is something a little extra in between the 'e' and the 'r' (p).  That is because the 'r' is trilled and because the vowel following it (a) is hard.

Listen:
Alsou gives it a soft feel as that fits the tone/tempo of her song.  But listen to this rendition of the word Вчера with a more uptempo and jazzy presentation by Irina Allegrova:




Today - Сегодня "See VODE nah"

Сегодня ветер дует "Today the wind blows" The word Сегодня is the very first word in this song and it's repeated endlessly. 

Grammar note:   By now you're asking yourself why the "geh" in Сегодня is pronounced as a "veh."  That is something we'll tackle later in the companion learning Russian thread, but for now just note it and learn to speak this word as you hear it on the video music.





Tomorrow - Завтра "Zaf-tra"

With this song we're going to learn not just a word, but a phrase!  Two for the price of one!  завтра = tomorrow and the phrase До завтра "Da Zaftra" means "until tomorrow."  Here is Dmitri Malikov with До завтра:

Grammar note: In Завтра (tomorrow), the "veh" (B) is replaced with an "ehf" sound so that it sounds like zaftra.



This short 2 minute video allows you to practice along with some basic Russian phrases:

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Learn Russian from music!
« Reply #20 on: October 20, 2008, 11:45:46 PM »
Week, Day, Night


 
Week - неделя  "ne dyil ya"

This is a Russian programme called "Week" неделя.  Can you say it as fast as the TV hostess?



Day - день  "dyen"

This song is cool but it took 1:33 to get to the expression Новый день (New Day) that I almost didn't include it.  However they do it so nicely that I couldn't pass up the song.  The phrase is repeated in the chorus and at the end.

Christina Orbakaite uses день in her hit song "Каждый день с тобой" (Every day with you) but it goes by so fast that even repeated thru the chorus, some readers may miss it.  But try anyway:







Night - ночь  "Noo tch"

Белая ночь (White night) is a nice sound from the rock band 'Forum' and you can't miss the ночь thru the song:

Ночь есть ночь (Night is Night) is a popular love ballad by Diana Gurtskaya and Mikhail Veselov: Yes, the talented singer Gurtskaya is blind.







Time - Время  "Vreh myah"

Okay, who could resist the song "Doctor Time?"  You must watch this! 


Lesson bonus:
День и ночь = day and night

.....and that is the title of this song by Andrusha Gubin:

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Re: Learn Russian from music!
« Reply #21 on: October 21, 2008, 09:52:41 PM »
Days of the week


This is a hoot!  Learn all the days of the week here! 


Monday -  понедельник
[pan-nye-DYEL-neek]



 
Tuesday -  вторник
[ftór-neek]



 
Wednesday - среда
[srye-dá]

 


Thursday - четверг
[chyet-vyérk]



 
Friday - пятница
[pyát-nee-tsa]
 


Saturday - суббота
[soo-bó-ta]
 


Sunday - воскресенье
[vas-krye-syé-nye]
 


Lesson Bonus:
This is one cool video to teach how to correctly voice понедельник!

Just watch this video about среда:

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Learn Russian from music!
« Reply #22 on: October 22, 2008, 09:27:38 PM »
Some phrases to impress

There you are, standing together in the moonlight with a gentle breeze as water seems to dance in reflections from the nearby river.  Romance is in the air!  Now, yes, now, is just the right moment for a softly spoken expression of love and affection.  You know she is waiting to hear it.  Her head tilts toward yours and your eyes meet.  You can sense that the moment is magic, ripe with promise.

Rising to the challenge, you have just the thing to say at this delicate time so you slide the backpack off to get out the electronic translator.  She waits with anticipation, but in the darkness the unit slides from your fingers and falls to the concrete, internal pieces rattling with each bounce. 

Dang!  The moment is ruined!

She gasps and then exclaims Вы - идиот! which you are certain is a sympathetic utterance and hope for the chance to respond with the same tender affection.  For some reason the electronic rattling hasn't quit--but the translator has.  It's not working.  You wish to explain that the unit doesn't turn on and try to remember that phrase when something isn't working but....what was that phrase?  Oh, yes, you believe it was this one and attempting to recapture the moment in a nervous stammer you spit out the words Где - туалет?

A look of disgust on her face causes you to realize with horror that you've just called her mother a Nazi!  Totally panic stricken, you sense that Russian romance and international love is quickly slipping through your fingers and something must be done quickly to turn this around, or you will go home lonely and in despair.

Suddenly there is a flash, a real moment of inspiration!  It is sheer brilliance!  Grabbing her hand you race back down the deserted street where on the corner is an Internet Cafe.  The lights are on and somebody's home, baby!  Throwing your American Express card in the general direction of the yawning cashier you dash over to the nearest computer and sign on. 

Soon the old IBM pulls up RUA and you surf to the "learn Russian from music" thread, page 2. 

There it is!  That one magic romantic phrase which will certainly "seal the deal" and make the moment come back to life. 

Feeling a female presence behind your back, your eyes close while thinking of the lovely damsel to whom you will whisper those words of love.  Maybe it's not too late to save the moment.  Wishing to savior her warm response as you speak, you slowly turn toward the soft female scent behind you, and opening your eyes.....

Unfortunately it's just the babushka cashier who hands back your Amex card as she says in perfect English, "Sorry, we don't take American Express here.  You must pay in rubles, and by the way that girl has already left."


-The End-


PS:  You're probably wondering what that phrase was, right?  That one magic romantic phrase which would have "sealed the deal" and made the moment come alive is Я Дышу тобой! "Ya  DaSHu Ta boiy" means "I breathe you" and is an expression which makes women go weak in the knees if you catch my drift.

Listen and learn: 

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Learn Russian from music!
« Reply #23 on: October 26, 2008, 11:23:04 PM »
More Romantic phrases:


If you look deep into your lady's eyes and say Тебе одной, she may swoon!  "Tee-byeh  Ahd-noi" means that "you one."  Not every romantic in English, huh?

Remember that Russian doesn't use conjunctions and with this phrase you have just told your lady that she is 'the only one.'  She is "the only one for you."  You seek no one else as you have found everything you've ever dreamed in her.  She is your other half.  All that is what this phrase conveys.

So let's practice, "Tee-byeh  Ahd-noi."

First listen to this song and then practice trying to say the phrase exactly as the singer:

We'll break it down just a bit.  Do you think it sounds like TE  BEE or is it closer to TE beh?  Well that is closer but lets remember that the letter e in 'be' is a yeh.  So try to do the TE then add the second syllable by making sure the 'yeh' sound is combined with the b.....byeh.  But don't stress the YEH, it's there but don't let it overpower the b.  Okay, we're getting closer!   TE  byeh   Ad  noi!

Next let's work on the одной.  The first letter looks like an O but is pronounced as an A.  No, not A, but "ah."  Now lets connect the "ah" with the D and we have this sound:  "Ahd."  Excellent.

The last syllable is this one: ной.  Call it noi or noy or whatever English transliteration but if you listened carefully to the song this is the easiest syllable to speak. 

So when putting it all together you have:  "Te-byeh  Ahd-noi."  молодец! (well done!)

Armed with that knowledge, listen to the song once more:
Тебе одной!

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Re: Learn Russian from music!
« Reply #24 on: October 29, 2008, 12:06:47 AM »
Ways to say, "I Miss you."


We'll call upon popular singers Nikolai Baskov and Taisia Povaliy to teach us how to say, "я знаю, Ты Далеко моя." If we translated it word for word we'd end up with 'I know, you far away my/mine.'   :)  So lets see how to make this romantic phrase work as intended.

я "Ya" (I)
знаю "zs-nigh-u"  (know)
Ты "Te" (You)
Далеко "Dah-le-ko" (far away)
моя "mai-ya"

1) Take the "Ya" and "zs-nigh-u" and run them together at the front.  Slur if you want!  Just jam them together.  "Yazs-nigh-u" is how the first part should sound.

2) To the "Yazs-nigh-u" add "Te  Dah-le-ko."  Pretty easy so far.

3) "Mai-ya" a way to express mine or my.  It's about possession. That is important because you can use 'mai-ya' to shorten affectionate terms.  I can say "mai-ya zhe-nah" (my wife) or I can affectionally shorten it to "Mai-ya" and the word "wife" can be dropped as it's understood.  That possession is what makes this romantic phrase so, well, romantic!

"Yazs-nigh-u,  Te Dah-le-ko  mai-ya."  я знаю, Ты Далеко моя.

Listen and follow along:



Без тебя

She picks up the telephone and each of you says hello.  Then she asks "how are you?"  Instead of the standard, "thank you.  I'm fine," this time you surprise her with a romantic Без тебя! (without you).

Без тебя is really easy to learn:  Без sounds just like it looks--'bez.'  Add тебя "te-byah" and you have "bez  te-byah" which means "without you" and a very romantic phrase.

Its easy, so to make sure you have the accent correctly, listen and sing along: