Each country must have a different culture, including Russia. Russian culture must be different from its neighbors. In addition, Russia has a different national language that is russian language. In Russia very low socializing activities to foreigners. Just like in our country Indonesia, greets men with the title “mas” and girls with the title “mbak“. In russia there is also a greeting greeting to men and women.
This article will talk about 4 way to greet russian women. Other articles regarding culture that are worth reading: History of Russian Ballet, Bread in Russian Culture, Traditions in Celebrating Victory Day, and Culture of Valentine’s Day in Russia.
In the time of the Russian Empire, for centuries the Russians used to address each other as “сударь” (master) and “сударыня” (mistress). Generally in Russia, there is a greeting which is similar to that of “господин” (master) and “госпожа” (lady or mistress). The revolution of 1917 also had an impact on the use of greetings in everyday life. The word “товарищ” (comrade, comrade) has become more popular, although previously it is also well known among Russian society, for example in Aleksandr Pushkin’s poem entitled “К Чаадаеву” (To Chaadayev). The greeting “товарищ” is not only used for men, but also for women, as a symbol of gender equality in Russian society. The word “товарищ” also has a more intimate meaning so that the called feel closer to the relationship because it has the meaning of “comrade arms”. Therefore, to give a more formal impression or to the writing of documents, in Soviet times used the word “гражданин” for men and “гражданка” for women, meaning ‘citizens’.
Here are 4 ways to greet Russian women, such as:
1. First greet with извините – izvinite – excuse me
This greeting shows that you respect the Russian people. For the “-te” suffix in this word izvinite has an important meaning. This shows that you have chosen a respectful compound greeting form. Due to the Greeting of one person using a compound or a single form has its own meaning.
In Russian, the compound form Вы (Vy, you) is a polite and obligatory greeting when greeting a woman older than you. However, the greeting ты (ty, you imply a closer relationship with the other person) is usually used with the other person’s permission, but this greeting does not apply in lower-class society, because it dislikes the preference of modesty and the usual use of мужик (muzhik), братан (bratan), or земеля (zemelya) as a form of greeting between women.
2. Say greetings
Say greeting is a word to appreciate others especially women. In Russia also has culture of saying hello, especially for those who are familiar. In Russian, the most commonly used greeting is Здорово! [zdo-ro-va] – Hello / hi. In addition, there are also greetings in the time function, such as:
- Доброе утро! [dobroye utra] – Good morning
- Добрый день! [dobriy dyen’] – Good day
- Добрый вечер! [dobriy vyecher] – Good afternoon / good night
In russian as well as English, a good night’s sleep is two words, such as:
- Доброй ночи! [dobroy nochi] – Good night / good night
- Спокойной ночи! [spakoynoy nochi] – Good sleep
3. Simply by calling first name only
Such conditions are very reasonable in many countries, including in our country Indonesia. In russia there is also a similar habit that is with the name of just the name. When you are familiar, can by calling with a “familiar call” or in Russian terms called ‘short name’ (сокращенное имя).
The majority of Russian people have familiar names such as:
- Алексей> Алёша
- Надежда> Надя
- Павел> Паша
- Мария> Маша
- Максим> Миша
- Екатерина> Катя.
If the russian has a close relationship with you then can always use the word call directly “ты” (you). There are several familiar calls for Russian names there are the same and are used for both male and female names, for example:
- Александр and Александра> Саша
- Евгений and Евгения> Женя
Basically the familiar name of the russian there is a derivative known as a small name (уменьшительно-ласкательное имя). For example:
- Мария> Маша> Машенька
- Екатерина> Катя> Катюша
- Дарья> Даша> Дашенька
- Михаил> Миша> Мишка
- Александр> Саша> Сашенька.
4. End with say greeting
The majority of women would love a polite person, one way to greet women in Russia is to end with a farewell greeting. Here are some farewell greetings in Russian, such as:
- До свидания! [da svidaniya] – Goodbye/goodbye
“До свидания” is a formal parting form. You can use it for someone or a group of people you call “вы“.
- Пока! [paka] – See you! / bye!
“Пока” is more informal. This utterance is used in spoken language with someone you can say to “ты“.
As with introductory greetings, there is also a function of time. Here are some time-based farewells in Russian, such as:
- До завтра! [da zavtra] – See you tomorrow!
- До послезавтра! [da poslyezavtra] – Until the day after tomorrow!
- До вечера! [da vechera] – See you tonight!
Related Article:
Although russia classified as European race, but their culture is not much different as in Indonesia. A sense of help and respect for their fellow human beings also becomes their habit. Such are the four ways to greet the Russian woman described above. This article is able to give you a general overview of the culture in Russia.