Thanking
Спасибо is thank you, and it is invariable — no endings, no agreement, nothing to learn beyond the word itself. It comes from the old phrase спаси Бог, "God save you", but nobody hears that any more.
| Thank you, I understand. | Спасибо, я понимаю. |
Two Words for Sorry
Извините and простите are both polite apologies and both are the вы form, which is what you want with a stranger.
| word | strength | typical use |
|---|---|---|
| извините | lighter | excuse me, getting attention, small slips |
| простите | heavier | genuine apology, asking forgiveness |
In practice they overlap heavily, and either will serve. Извините is the one to reach for when stopping someone in the street.
| Excuse me, I do not understand. | Извините, я не понимаю. |
| Excuse me, where is the museum here? | Извините, где здесь музей? |
Agreeing
Конечно means of course — the plain, warm agreement. Note the spelling trap: чн here is pronounced shn, so it sounds like "ka-NYESH-na". Russian does this in only a handful of words, and this is the commonest of them.
Being Glad
Рад is a SHORT adjective — a small closed group in Russian that works only as a predicate, never in front of a noun. It still agrees: рад (m), рада (f), рады (pl).
Я рад. — said by a man. Я рада. — said by a woman.
Приятно means pleasant, and очень приятно is the fixed phrase you say when meeting someone — "nice to meet you".
| Nice to meet you! I am a student. | Очень приятно! Я студент. |
