“I want to learn Russian”
Oh, hello!
Do you really want learn it? And how do you say that in Russian? You say “Ya h’achu viuchit’ russkiy.” In Russian, that would look like this: Я хочу выучить русский.
In this article, you will indeed learn some Russian. You will: ① learn how to say “I want to learn Russian” in many ways, and ② actually get some ways to learn Russian: Apps, Textbooks and Russian courses.
Ready? Keep reading.
First, let’s learn how to say “I want” in Russian. If you say “I want to learn Russian” you better know how to say “want.” Here’s how: Я хочу … (Ya h’achu…).
“Я” is “I” and “хочу” is “want.” It’s just like in English. And the good news is that it’s the same for all genders.
Let’s have a look at the some examples:
- Я хочу поздравить Вас
- Ya h’achu pozdravit’ vas
- I want to congratulate you
- Я хочу увидеть мир
- Ya h’achu uvidet’ mir
- I want to see the world
By the way, you should also HEAR some real Russian.
So, while you read this lesson, listen to this free Russian Audio Lesson. It’s a bit unrelated but you will learn Russian greetings.
- Lesson: 3-Minute Russian – Greetings
- by RussianPod101 – click here for more easy Russian lessons
Now, onto the “I want to learn Russian” phrases.
1. I want to learn Russian – Я хочу выучить русский
- Я хочу выучить русский
- Ya h’achu viuchit’ russkiy
We already know the how to say the first part of the sentence, now we’re going to discuss the rest of it.
“выучить” (viuchit’) here means “to learn” and “русский” (russkiy) is “Russian.”
Remember that the (t’) sound you see above is a softer “t” than the one we’re used to pronounce in English.
2. I want to be able to read Russian – Я хочу научиться читать на русском
- Я хочу научиться читать на русском
- Ya h’achu nauchitsa chitat’ na russkom
Here “научиться” (nauchitsa) has the meaning of “to learn”, “читать” (chitat’) stands for “to read” and the word combination “на русском” (na ruskom) means “in Russian.”
3. I want to speak Russian – Я хочу говорить по-русски
- Я хочу говорить по-русски
- Ya h’achu gavarit’ po russki
The Russian for “to speak” is “говорить” (gavarit’) and “по-русски” (po russki) literally means “in Russian.”
4. I will learn Russian – Я выучу русский язык
- Я выучу русский язык
- Ya viuchu russkiy yazik
You can say this phrase when you’re sure that you can and you will learn the Russian language.
“выучу” (viuchu) is a verb in the future form meaning “I will learn” and “русский язык” (russkiy yazik) is “Russian language” just as easy!
5. I want my Russian to be better – Я хочу улучшить свой русский
- Я хочу улучшить свой русский
- Ya h’achu ulutshit’ svoy russkiy.
When you already know the basics of Russian you will naturally want to improve it, in this case you can say this phrase. “улучшить” (uluchshyt’) stands for “to make better” and “свой” (svoy) means “my.”
6. I want to speak Russian better – Я хочу лучше говорить по-русски
- Я хочу лучше говорить по-русски
- Ya h’achu lutshe gavarit’ po russki
This one is good for the case when you want to improve your Russian speaking skills. “luchshe” (luchshe) is simply “better.” All the other words in this sentence are already familiar to job. Good job!
7. I want to speak Russian fluently – Я хочу бегло говорить по-русски
- Я хочу бегло говорить по-русски
- Ya h’achu begla gavarit’ po russki
In this sentence the word “бегло” (begla) has the meaning of “fluently.” Remember this one because it’s your goal!
8. I want to understand Russian – Я хочу понимать русский
- Я хочу понимать русский
- Ya h’achu panimat’ russkiy
The only new word for you here is “понимать” (panimat’) and it can be translated as “to understand” in English.
9. I’ll start studying Russian today – Я начну изучать русский сегодня
- Я начну изучать русский сегодня
- Ya nachnu izuchat’ russkiy sevodnya
Don’t just say it – dot it! Start doing your first steps this very day and you’ll see how your Russian becomes better.
“начну” (nachnu) has got the meaning of “I will start”, “изучать” (izuchat’) means to learn / to study and “сегодня” (sevodnya) stands for “today.”
10. I dream of learning Russian – Я мечтаю выучить Русский
- Я мечтаю выучить Русский
- Ya mechtayu viuchit’ russkiy
Learn and memorize the phrases in this article and you’ll approach a few steps closer to your dream to come true.
If you want to say that you dream of something in Russian say “Я мечтаю” (ya mechtayu) – “I dream.” Pretty easy, isn’t it?
11. I’d like to study Russian… – Мне бы хотелось выучить русский
- Мне бы хотелось выучить русский
- Mnye bi h’atelas’ viuchit’ russkiy
“Мне бы хотелось” (mnye bih h’atelas’) is a more polite way to say “I want to…”
You can also use this construction before you wish to initiate or add something in a polite manner. Here’s an example:
“Мне бы хотелось сказать…” (Mnye bih h’atelas’ skazat’) – I’d like to say…
And one more thing we should note here is the Russian particle “бы” (bih) which means “would, could have.” In this case it is used to express a wish or a desire to do something.
12. It would be great to know Russian… – Было бы неплохо знать русский
- Было бы неплохо знать русский
- Byla bih neploh’a vyuchit’ russkiy
- Word for word translation: It would be not bad to learn Russian
This example is another way to express your desire to learn Russian.
In this sentence we see another example of using particle “бы” (bih). “Было бы” (byla bih) literally means “would be.”
Now let’s move forward to the word “неплохо” (neploh’a) which has the direct meaning of “not bad”, but it can also be translated as “good, nice, great.”
The phrase “было бы неплохо” (byla bih neploh’a) is quite often used in the Russian language, especially in everyday speech, when you want to initiate something or make a hint that you want to do something. Have a look at the examples down below:
- Был бы неплохо поехать в отпуск (Byla bih neploh’a poeh’at’ v otpusk) – I would be nice if we could go on a holiday.
- Было бы неплохо, если бы вы приехали навестить нас (byla bih neploh’a, esli bih vy prieh’ali navestit’ nas) – It would be great if you could come and visit us.
Conclusion: Now, you can say “I want to learn Russian.”
You can also talk about reading, speaking and understanding this language. Just re-read and repeat these lines some more if you want to master them.
But wait, what’s that? You say you want to learn MORE?
Well, my friend, check out the links below for resources:
Written by the Main Junkie
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