Breakdown of Идите наверх: туалет справа.
идти
to go
справа
on the right
туалет
the toilet; restroom
наверх
upstairs; upward (direction)
Questions & Answers about Идите наверх: туалет справа.
Why is it идите and not иди?
Идите is the imperative form used for:
- more than one person: Go
- one person politely: Go, in a respectful/formal way
Иди is singular and informal, used with one person you know well, a child, etc.
So Идите наверх can mean either:
- Go upstairs (to several people)
- Please go upstairs (to one person, politely)
What verb is идите from, and does it literally mean go?
Идите comes from идти, which means to go / to walk.
In directions, Russian often uses идти where English simply says go. So Идите наверх is a normal way to tell someone where to go.
A slightly more explicit alternative would be Поднимитесь наверх (Go up / Go upstairs), but Идите наверх is perfectly understandable and natural in many situations.
What exactly does наверх mean?