Questions & Answers about Скажи это ещё раз, пожалуйста.
Why is it скажи and not говори?
Russian uses the perfective aspect for a single, completed action. Скажи is the imperative of perfective сказать and means “say (once).” Говори (imperfective говорить) means “speak/keep talking,” so it doesn’t work for “say it one more time.”
What’s the formal or plural version?
Use скажите: Скажите это ещё раз, пожалуйста. This is for polite/formal address or when speaking to more than one person.
What does ещё раз literally mean? How is it different from снова or опять?
- ещё раз = one more time (counts occurrences; neutral and very common in requests)
- снова = again/afresh (neutral, often used for doing something from the start)
- опять = again (colloquial; can hint at mild annoyance depending on tone) For a polite request, ещё раз is the safest.
Could I use повтори instead of скажи?
Yes. Повтори(те), пожалуйста. or Повтори(те) это, пожалуйста. means “repeat (it).” Повтори asks for the exact same words; Скажи ещё раз is broader “say it again,” not necessarily word-for-word.