Сначала выслушай меня, а потом отвечай.

Выслушай means listen to me all the way through or hear me out. It comes from выслушать, which often implies listening until the speaker is finished.

By contrast, слушай меня usually just means listen to me in a more general sense. In this sentence, выслушай fits better because the idea is:

First hear me out, then answer.

So the speaker is not just asking for attention, but for the other person to let them finish.

Меня is the accusative form of я (I/me). The verb выслушать takes a direct object, so me appears in the accusative:

• выслушай кого? → меня

This is very common in Russian:

• Слушай меня. = Listen to me.
• Подожди меня. = Wait for me.
• Понимай меня правильно. = Understand me correctly.

This is about verbal aspect.

• выслушай is perfective
• отвечай is imperfective

The perfective imperative выслушай tells the person to complete one action: hear me out.

The imperfective imperative отвечай can sound like then answer, with focus on beginning the response after listening. It is a natural conversational choice.

If you said а потом ответь, that would also be possible, but it would sound a bit more like and then give your answer as a completed action. The actual sentence with отвечай feels very natural in spoken Russian.

So the contrast is not strange: Russian often mixes aspects depending on how the speaker views each action.

This is the informal singular imperative, used when speaking to:

• one friend
• one child
• one family member
• one person you address as ты

That is why the forms are:

• выслушай
• отвечай

If you wanted the formal or plural version, you would say:

• Сначала выслушайте меня, а потом отвечайте.

That can mean either:

• speaking politely to one person, or
• speaking to several people.

They organize the sequence of actions:

• сначала = first, at first
• потом = then, afterward

So the structure is:

• сначала
  • action 1
• а потом
  • action 2

This is a very common way to give instructions in Russian:

• Сначала прочитай текст, а потом переводи.
• Сначала подумай, а потом говори.

In English, we often say first..., and then... But in Russian, а потом is extremely common in this pattern.

Here а does not strongly mean contrast like but. It often marks a transition from one step to the next:

• Сначала сделай одно, а потом другое.

So in this sentence, а потом means something like:

and then / and after that

Using и потом is possible in some contexts, but а потом is more natural for this kind of sequencing.

Yes, Russian word order is flexible, but the original order is the most natural and clear.

Original:

• Сначала выслушай меня, а потом отвечай.

You might also hear:

• Выслушай меня сначала, а потом отвечай.

That still means nearly the same thing. The difference is mostly one of emphasis.

The original version puts сначала right at the start, which strongly highlights the order:

1. first listen
2. then answer

That is why it works well as an instruction.

It depends on tone.

By itself, it is not automatically rude. It can simply mean:

Please let me finish before you respond.

But because it is in the imperative, it can sound:

• firm
• impatient
• annoyed

if said sharply.

In a calm tone, it may sound like a reasonable request. In an angry tone, it can sound like:

First listen to me, then answer!

So the emotional effect comes a lot from intonation.

Yes.

• отвечай = answer, respond
• говори = speak, talk

In this sentence, отвечай is more precise because the speaker wants a response to what they have said. If you used говори, it would sound more like:

First hear me out, then speak.

That is possible, but it is less specific.

Yes. Сначала and сперва are very close in meaning, and both can mean first.

So you could also say:

• Сперва выслушай меня, а потом отвечай.

In many contexts, the difference is small. Сначала is extremely common and neutral, so it is a very safe choice for learners.