Take Charge of the Situation Using Your Russian

Learn how to get around Russia by asking for directions, and learn how to understand them

    A:  Следующая станция – Тверская.
    B:  Извините, Вы выходите?
    C:  Да, выхожу.
    B:  Извините, Вы не подскажите, как пройти к отелю Голден Эпл?
    D:  Это недалеко. Идите прямо по Тверской, потом поверните направо, на Настасьинский переулок. Идите до конца, потом поверните налево, на улицу Малая Дмитровка. Отель будет по левой стороне через метров сто.
    B:  Большое спасибо.

переулок lane / станция station / левый left / налево to the left /следующий next / до конца to the end, until the end / подсказывать to give a hint, to give a clue; to prompt / недалеко near, not far, approximately / направо to the right / пройти to pass through; to get to / повернуть to turn / выходить to go out, to come out, to get off / Вы не подскажите… would you please tell me… / через across; in (about time, distance), through / сторона side

When giving directions, you start with the word “go” (e.g. “go straight”).

*If you are giving directions to a pedestrian, you should say идите (idite), which is a polite command form of “go on foot.”

*If it is a driver you are explaining the road to, you should start with езжайте (ezhaite), which is a polite command form of “go by transport.”

Examples:

1. Идите прямо, потом налево.
   IIdite pryamo, potom nalevo.        
   “Go straight, then left.”
2. Езжайте до конца улицы
   Ezhaite do konca oolicy
   “Go (drive) till the end of the street”

The words “right” and “left” differ according to the grammatical class they belong to.

In the context of “to the right” and “to the left,” they are adverbs; therefore, they sound as:

1. направо (napravo) – “to the right”
2. налево (nalevo) – “to the left”

When they are adjectives, as in “right side,” or “left side,” they sound as:

1. правый (praviy) – “right”
2. левый (leviy) – “left”

The word “side” in Russian has feminine gender, therefore the adjectives “right” and “left” change according to it:

1. правая сторона (pravaya storona) – “right side”
2. левая сторона (levaya storona) – “left side”

When you say that something is “on your right” or “on your left,” you put the words “side,” “right,” and “left,” into the dative case and use them with the preposition по (po).

Sample Sentences

1. Магазин будет по правой стороне дороги
   Magazeen boodet po pravoj storone dorogi
   “The store will be on the right side of the road.”
2. По левой стороне будет банк
   Po levoj storone boodet bank
   “There will be a bank on your left.”

The Preposition ПО (po) 

This preposition plays a significant role in telling directions. It has different meanings, except for the one mentioned above.

For Example:

1. “down” (as in “down the road”) 
2. “along” ( as in “along the road”) 
3. “around” (as in “drive around the country”) 

Very often, it’s not translated in English.

For Example:

1. идти по улице
   idti po oolice 
   “walk the street/go down the street”
2. ехать по городу
   ehat’ po gorogu 
   “to go down the city/to drive in the city”
3. идти по берегуidti po beregu
   “go along the river”

The Way to Express an Approximate Value 

To express the exact number, length, weight, or any other measurement, we put a noun after a number.

For Example:

1. 100 метров 
   sto metrov
   “one hundred meters”
2. 10 лет 
   desyat’ let
   “ten years”
3. 3 килограммаtri kilograma
   “three kilos”

If we switch the number and the noun around, we’ll get an approximate value.

For Example:

1. метров 100
   metrov sto
   “about one hundred meters”
2. лет 10
   let desyat’
   “about ten years”
3. килограмма 3 kilograma tri
   “about three kilos”