Asking for Clarification and Repetition

When you are learning Russian, the single most useful set of phrases is not "hello" or "thank you" — it is the kit for saying "sorry, I didn't catch that." This page gives you the natural, polite ways to ask someone to repeat, to slow down, or to explain a word, plus the all-important learner's questions "what does … mean?" and "how do you say … in Russian?" The grammar is mostly fixed formulas, but two points need real attention: the politeness of the right "sorry?", and the gender agreement when you admit you didn't understand.

"Sorry?" — Прости́те? / Извини́те?, not bare Что?

The instinct of an English speaker is to translate "What?" directly as Что? — and that is a trap. A bare Что? to mean "sorry, say that again?" sounds blunt, abrupt, even rude, much like barking "What?!" at someone in English. The polite, neutral way to signal you didn't hear is to use the "excuse me" verbs as a question:

Both Прости́те? and Извини́те? are formal/polite (the вы form). With friends you'd use the ты forms Прости́? / Извини́?, and bare Что? becomes acceptable only among close friends or family, where its bluntness reads as informality rather than rudeness.

"Could you repeat that?" — Повтори́те, пожа́луйста

To ask for a repeat, use the imperative of повтори́ть ("to repeat"):

The form повтори́те is a perfective imperative, which matters: the perfective asks for the action as a single completed event — one repetition, here and now. (The imperfective повторя́йте would mean "keep repeating / repeat habitually," which is not what you want when you just missed a sentence.) To a friend you'd say the ты form Повтори́, пожа́луйста.

"Slow down, please" — Говори́те ме́дленнее, пожа́луйста

When the problem is speed rather than volume, ask the speaker to slow down with the comparative adverb ме́дленнее ("more slowly"):

Here the verb is imperfective (говори́ть) on purpose — you are asking about the manner of an ongoing activity, not a single completed act.

"I didn't understand" — Я не по́нял / поняла́ (mind the gender)

To admit you didn't follow, use the past tense of поня́ть ("to understand") — and this is where many learners slip. The Russian past tense agrees with the speaker's gender: a man says по́нял, a woman says поняла́.

The learner's toolkit: meaning, translation, and a casual repeat

These four questions will carry you through any conversation in which you hit an unknown word.

A few mechanics worth noting. With Что зна́чит …? the word being asked about stays in the nominative (Что зна́чит «о́чередь»?), since it's the subject of зна́чить. Как сказа́ть … по-ру́сски? and the idiomatic Как бу́дет … по-ру́сски? are interchangeable in everyday use; по-ру́сски ("in Russian") is the adverb, written with a hyphen. Как-как? is a relaxed, slightly playful "huh? — once more," fine among friends but too casual for a formal setting.

Common Mistakes

Key Takeaways

• For polite "sorry?" use Прости́те? / Извини́те? — a bare Что? is acceptable only with people you'd address as ты.
• Ask for a single repeat with the perfective imperative Повтори́те, пожа́луйста; the imperfective повторя́йте means "keep repeating".
• Ask someone to slow down with Говори́те ме́дленнее, пожа́луйста (comparative adverb ме́дленнее).
• "I didn't understand" agrees for your gender: по́нял (man) vs. поняла́ (woman) — and the stress shifts to the ending in the feminine.
• Learner's toolkit: Что зна́чит …? (word stays nominative), Как сказа́ть / Как бу́дет … по-ру́сски?, and the casual Как-как?