Сначала допей чай, а потом открывай окно.

the window

Breakdown of Сначала допей чай, а потом открывай окно.

• чай: the tea
• открывать: to open
• а: and

Questions & Answers about Сначала допей чай, а потом открывай окно.

Why are there two time words, сначала and потом? Don’t they both mean first/then?

They work together to mark the sequence clearly:

• сначала = first / at first
• потом = then / afterwards

So Сначала допей чай, а потом открывай окно is literally:

• First finish your tea, and then open the window.

Russian often uses both words together when giving step-by-step instructions. It sounds natural and makes the order very explicit.

What does допей mean exactly?

допей is the imperative of допить, which means to finish drinking.

So:

• пить = to drink
• выпить = to drink up / drink completely
• допить = to finish drinking what remains

In this sentence, допей чай means:

• finish your tea
• literally, drink the rest of the tea

The prefix до- often adds the idea of doing something to the end.

Why is it допей, but открывай? Why are the two commands different?