How to Say "Please" in Russian
By Daily Cyrillic · Updated
“Please” in Russian is пожалуйста (pozháluysta). Use this expression as your starting point, then check the examples for tone, formality and context. Listen to the pronunciation, notice the stressed syllable and compare the common variants before choosing the wording that fits your conversation.
Reading time: about 2 min.
- Russian
- пожалуйста
- Transliteration
- pozháluysta
- Meaning
- please / you're welcome
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In Russian
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.
Example sentences
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
Practice deck
1 / 4FAQ
How do you say "please" in Russian?
Does пожалуйста also mean "you're welcome"?
Turn this guide into words you can use
Build a free Russian set for this topic, with examples and ElevenLabs AI audio.
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