This is the extended treatment of the courtesy formulas introduced on please, thank you, sorry. There you learned the three core words; here we add the register layer that native speakers actually navigate — the difference between a light "sorry" for stepping on a foot and a heavy "forgive me" for a real wrong, the formal Прошу́ проще́ния you'd write in an email, and the self-deprecating replies (Не за что, Винова́т) that learners almost never reach for but Russians use constantly. Get these right and you stop sounding like a textbook. Each phrase below is tagged for register, with the grammar that drives it.
Sorry: the Извини́те / Прости́те split
English leans on one word — sorry — for everything from a bumped elbow to a betrayal. Russian splits this more sharply. Извини́(те) (from вина́, "fault/guilt") is the lighter, everyday "excuse me / sorry" for small things. Прости́(те) (from прости́ть, "to forgive") is heavier — literally "forgive me" — for genuine wrongs, or as a more emphatic, more sincere apology. Both are imperatives (see imperative formation): the bare stem is the ты-form (Извини́, Прости́, informal), and the -те ending makes it formal/plural (Извини́те, Прости́те).
| Russian | Weight / register | English |
|---|---|---|
| Извини́. / Извини́те. | light; informal / formal | Sorry. / Excuse me. |
| Прости́. / Прости́те. | heavier; informal / formal | (I'm) sorry. / Forgive me. |
| Извини́те за беспоко́йство. | polite, formal | Sorry to bother you. |
| Прости́те, я не хоте́л. | sincere | I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. |
Извини́те, как пройти́ к метро́?
Excuse me, how do I get to the metro? — light Извини́те (formal) to open a question to a stranger.
Извини́, я опозда́л на пять мину́т.
Sorry, I'm five minutes late. — informal Извини́ for a small slip.
Прости́те меня́, я был непра́в.
Forgive me, I was wrong. — heavier Прости́те for a real apology; меня́ (accusative).
Heavier and formal apologies
For a formal apology — in writing, in customer service, or when you genuinely messed up — Russians use Прошу́ проще́ния (formal), literally "I beg [your] forgiveness." Note the grammar: проси́ть ("to ask/beg for") takes the thing requested in the genitive, so it's проще́ния, not the accusative. The blunt confession Винова́т (masc.) / Винова́та (fem.) means "(it's) my fault" — a short-form adjective from вина́, common when you own a mistake.
| Russian | Register | English |
|---|---|---|
| Прошу́ проще́ния. | formal | I (do) apologise. |
| Приноси́м свои́ извине́ния. | very formal (academic/official) | We offer our apologies. |
| Винова́т. / Винова́та. | informal, owning a fault | My fault. / My bad. |
| Мне о́чень жаль. | neutral, sympathetic | I'm very sorry. |
Прошу́ проще́ния за заде́ржку с отве́том.
I apologise for the delay in replying. — Прошу́ проще́ния (genitive проще́ния) + за + accusative; typical email opener.
Винова́т, совсе́м забы́л тебе́ позвони́ть.
My fault, I completely forgot to call you. — Винова́т (masc. short form) owning the slip.
Мне о́чень жаль, что так получи́лось.
I'm so sorry it turned out this way. — Мне (dative) жаль = 'I'm sorry / I regret'.
Replying to an apology: "no worries"
When someone apologises to you, the natural replies are reassurances that it was nothing. Ничего́ стра́шного ("nothing terrible") and the shorter Да ничего́ ("it's nothing") are the workhorses. Всё в поря́дке means "it's all fine." These downplay the offence — the polite move is to wave it off.
— Прости́те, я вас толкну́л! — Ничего́ стра́шного.
— Sorry, I bumped into you! — No harm done. — Ничего́ стра́шного, the standard reassurance.
— Извини́, я опозда́ла. — Да ничего́, я то́же то́лько пришёл.
— Sorry I'm late. — It's fine, I only just got here too. — Да ничего́, casual brush-off.
Не волну́йся, всё в поря́дке.
Don't worry, everything's fine. — всё в поря́дке reassures after an apology.
Thanking: from спаси́бо to благодарю́
The everyday "thank you" is спаси́бо (a fused form of "save [you], God"). Make it warmer with большо́е спаси́бо or спаси́бо большо́е ("big thanks"), and say what you're thankful for with за + accusative: Спаси́бо за по́мощь ("thanks for the help"). The verb благодарю́ ("I thank") is markedly more formal/elevated — you'd use it in a speech, a formal note, or to sound especially gracious, not when a friend passes the salt.
| Russian | Register | English |
|---|---|---|
| Спаси́бо. | neutral, everyday | Thanks. |
| Большо́е спаси́бо. | warmer, everyday | Thank you very much. |
| Спаси́бо огро́мное! | very warm, informal | Thank you so much! |
| Благодарю́ (вас). | formal / literary | I thank you. |
Большо́е спаси́бо за по́мощь!
Thank you very much for your help! — Спаси́бо за + accusative по́мощь.
Благодарю́ вас за внима́ние.
Thank you for your attention. — formal Благодарю́ + вас; a classic end-of-talk line.
Спаси́бо тебе́ огро́мное, ты меня́ спас!
Thank you so much, you saved me! — спаси́бо тебе́ (dative) for an extra-personal touch.
Replying to thanks: the humble formulas
Here English speakers most often slip — they reply to спаси́бо with пожа́луйста (fine) but never reach for the more idiomatic, self-effacing options. Не за что ("there's nothing to thank for") is the natural, modest reply. Не сто́ит ("it's not worth [mentioning]") is similar. На здоро́вье ("to your health") is the reply specifically after feeding someone. Всегда́ пожа́луйста ("always welcome") is warmly informal.
| Russian | When | English |
|---|---|---|
| Пожа́луйста. | all-purpose | You're welcome. |
| Не за что. | modest, very common | Don't mention it. |
| Не сто́ит (благода́рности). | modest, slightly formal | It's nothing. |
| На здоро́вье. | after feeding someone | You're welcome / enjoy. |
— Спаси́бо за у́жин! — Не за что, заходи́ ещё.
— Thanks for dinner! — Don't mention it, come again. — Не за что, the humble go-to reply.
— Спаси́бо большо́е! — Да не сто́ит, э́то ме́лочь.
— Thank you so much! — Oh, it's nothing, a trifle. — Не сто́ит downplays the favour.
— Всё бы́ло о́чень вку́сно, спаси́бо! — На здоро́вье!
— Everything was delicious, thanks! — You're welcome! — На здоро́вье specifically after a meal.
Common Mistakes
❌ Прости́те за всё ма́ленькое — извини́те за уби́йство.
Reversed weight — use light Извини́те for small slips and heavier Прости́те for serious wrongs, not the other way round.
✅ Извини́те за беспоко́йство. / Прости́те, я был непра́в.
Sorry to bother you. / Forgive me, I was wrong. — light vs heavy, correctly matched.
❌ Прошу́ проще́ние за опозда́ние.
Case error — проси́ть takes the GENITIVE of the thing requested: Прошу́ проще́ния, not the accusative проще́ние.
✅ Прошу́ проще́ния за опозда́ние.
I apologise for being late. — genitive проще́ния after прошу́.
❌ Спаси́бо для по́мощи.
Wrong preposition — 'thanks for' is за + accusative, not для: Спаси́бо за по́мощь.
✅ Спаси́бо за по́мощь.
Thanks for the help. — за + accusative по́мощь.
❌ — Спаси́бо! — Не за что́ что.
Не за что is a fixed phrase ('nothing to thank for'); don't add an extra что or stress it as a question.
✅ — Спаси́бо! — Не за что.
— Thanks! — Don't mention it. — the standard humble reply, stress on не.
❌ На здоро́вье! (clinking glasses)
That's not a toast — На здоро́вье replies to thanks for food. To toast, say За здоро́вье! or За тебя́!
✅ За тебя́! / За здоро́вье!
To you! / To (your) health! — the actual toasting formulas (за + accusative/genitive).
Key Takeaways
- Извини́(те) = light (small slips), Прости́(те) = heavy ("forgive me"); both are imperatives, -те = formal/plural.
- What you're sorry/thankful for = за + accusative: Извини́те за опозда́ние, Спаси́бо за по́мощь.
- Прошу́ проще́ния (formal) takes the genitive проще́ния, because проси́ть governs the genitive.
- Мне жаль = sympathy/regret "sorry"; Прости́те = apology "sorry" — keep them apart.
- Humble replies beat plain пожа́луйста: Не за что, Не сто́ит, На здоро́вье (after food). На здоро́вье is not a toast — that's За здоро́вье!
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- Please, Thank You, SorryA1 — The core courtesy formulas. Пожа́луйста is overloaded — 'please' (request), 'you're welcome' (reply to thanks), and 'here you go' (handing something over); context decides. Спаси́бо (thanks; Большо́е спаси́бо; Спаси́бо за + accusative). Replies to thanks: Пожа́луйста, Не за что ('don't mention it'), На здоро́вье (food). Apologies: Извини́те / Извини́ (minor), Прости́те / Прости́ (heavier, 'forgive me'), Прошу́ проще́ния (formal). The insight English speakers miss: пожа́луйста's triple duty; Russians split Извини́те (small) from Прости́те (serious) more than English 'sorry'; and Не за что (lit. 'there's nothing to thank for') is the natural humble reply learners wrongly replace with пожа́луйста.
- The Imperative: FormationA2 — To build a Russian command you start from the PRESENT/FUTURE stem (the они-form minus its ending), not the infinitive: a vowel stem adds -й (чита́ют → чита́й), a consonant stem with end-stressed 1sg adds -и (говоря́т → говори́, пиши́, иди́), and a consonant stem with fixed stem-stress adds -ь (гото́вят → гото́вь, брось). Add -те for the plural/polite form, and -ся/-сь for reflexives. A handful of high-frequency irregulars (дай, ешь, пей, пой, ляг, поезжа́й) have to be memorized.
- Genitive After Prepositions (без, для, до, из, от, у, около, после)A2 — Most of the genitive you'll ever use is triggered by prepositions: без са́хара (without sugar), для тебя́ (for you), до конца́ (until the end), из го́рода (from the city), от врача́ (from the doctor), у окна́ (by the window), о́коло до́ма (near the house), по́сле уро́ка (after the lesson), plus про́тив, вокру́г, кро́ме, среди́, ра́ди, ми́мо. Practising the genitive THROUGH its prepositions builds the form and the construction at once — and the из↔в, от↔к, с↔на 'from/to' symmetry ties them together.
- Imperatives: Usage, Softening, and PolitenessB1 — A bare Russian imperative can sound blunt, so this page shows how commands actually work in conversation: ты vs. вы (Извини́ vs. Извини́те), softening with пожа́луйста and не могли́ бы вы…, 'let's' with дава́й(те), third-person пусть/пуска́й, and the crucial twist that invitations take the imperfective (Сади́тесь!, not Ся́дьте!).
- Greetings and FarewellsA1 — The full hello-and-goodbye system with register. Greetings: Здра́вствуйте (formal/plural, with a silent first в — 'zdrastvuytye'), Здра́вствуй (informal sg), Приве́т (casual), and the time-of-day До́брое у́тро / До́брый день / До́брый ве́чер. Farewells: До свида́ния (formal, 'until the meeting'), Пока́ (casual), До за́втра / До встре́чи / Уви́димся, Споко́йной но́чи. The insight English speakers miss: most farewell-wishes are frozen GENITIVES governed by an implied 'I wish you' — Споко́йной но́чи, Счастли́вого пути́, Всего́ до́брого — so they look like fragments but are genitive objects of жела́ть; and Как дела́? expects a brief positive default, not a real status report.