Two Ways to Say Hello
Russian splits its greetings the way it splits ты and вы. Здравствуйте is the polite one — you use it with a stranger, a shop assistant, a teacher, anyone you would address as вы. Привет is for friends, family and children, and it pairs with ты.
Getting this wrong is the single most noticeable beginner mistake in Russian. Привет to your professor sounds startlingly familiar; здравствуйте to your brother sounds like a joke.
| Hello! I am a doctor. | Здравствуйте! Я врач. |
Greetings for the Time of Day
| formula | when | literally |
|---|---|---|
| доброе утро | morning | good morning |
| добрый день | daytime | good day |
| добрый вечер | evening | good evening |
| спокойной ночи | going to bed | peaceful night |
The first three are greetings. Спокойной ночи is NOT — like English good night, it is what you say to someone on their way to sleep, never on arrival.
Notice the endings. Утро is neuter, so the adjective is доброе; день and вечер are masculine, so it is добрый. These are frozen formulas, so learn each as one unit rather than assembling it.
| Good morning, mum! | Доброе утро, мама! |
Saying Goodbye
До свидания is the polite farewell — literally "until the meeting". Пока is the casual one, matching привет, and it is what friends actually say to each other.
| Goodbye, teacher! | До свидания, учитель! |
| Bye, friend! | Пока, друг! |
