How to Say "Please" in Russian

"Please" in Russian is пожалуйста (pozháluysta). It is the politeness workhorse of the language: the same word means both "please" and "you're welcome", so it pays to nail it early.

In Russian

пожалуйста

pozháluysta - please / you're welcome

Variants & registers

  • будьте добрыbúdte dobrý

    would you be so kind - a very polite request opener

    formal
  • прошуproshú

    I ask / please - a bit formal or pleading

    formal
  • пожалуйстаpozháluysta

    you're welcome - the same word, as a reply to thanks

    neutral

Breakdown & pronunciation

Pronunciation

пожалуйста is famously not said the way it is spelled. The middle is swallowed: po-ZHA-lus-ta or even po-ZHAL-sta in fast speech. Stress is on the ЖА. Do not try to pronounce every letter.

Frasi di esempio

  • Чай, пожалуйста.

    Chay, pozháluysta.

    Tea, please.

  • Повторите, пожалуйста.

    Povtoríte, pozháluysta.

    Please repeat that.

  • Спасибо! - Пожалуйста.

    Spasíbo! - Pozháluysta.

    Thank you! - You're welcome.

  • Дайте, пожалуйста, воды.

    Dáyte, pozháluysta, vodý.

    Please give me some water.

Usage & etiquette

пожалуйста does double duty: tacked onto a request it means "please"; said in reply to спасибо it means "you're welcome". Same spelling, same pronunciation - the context tells you which.

For an extra-polite request you can open with будьте добры ("would you be so kind") and still finish with пожалуйста. In everyday situations пожалуйста alone is perfectly polite.

Practice

Mazzo di pratica

1 / 4
Aggiungi queste 4 parole al tuo mazzo

FAQ

How do you say "please" in Russian?
"Please" in Russian is пожалуйста (pozháluysta). The middle is swallowed in speech, so it sounds like po-ZHA-lus-ta.
Does пожалуйста also mean "you're welcome"?
Yes. The same word, пожалуйста, means "please" in a request and "you're welcome" as a reply to thanks (спасибо).

Libero di iniziare

Inizia a imparare il russo gratuitamente

Trasforma le lettere che hai appena imparato in parole reali con flashcard a ripetizione spaziata, audio e una sequenza giornaliera.

Inizia a imparare gratuitamenteAll Russian phrases

More phrases to say

Mancano pochi minuti alle tue prime parole in russo.

Unisciti a migliaia di persone che imparano a leggere il cirillico con Daily Cyrillic. Inizio gratuito, non è richiesta la carta di credito.

Inizia a imparare gratuitamenteVedi i prezzi
Garanzia di rimborso di 30 giorni

Garanzia di rimborso di 30 giorni

Prova Daily Cyrillic completamente senza rischi. Se non fa clic entro 30 giorni, ti rimborseremo ogni centesimo.

Rimborso completo entro 30 giorniNessuna domanda