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In this post we’re going to look at some basic Russian vocabulary that you can use to talk about your town or city.

Здание и улица: A Building and a Street

Let’s start with some basic general vocabulary: здание (n) building; жилой дом (m) apartment building офисное здание (n) office building; улица (f) street; (авто)магистраль (f) highway; тротуар (m), пешеходная дорожка (f) sidewalk; парк (m) park; парковка (f), стоянка для машин (f) parking lot; парковочное место (n) parking space; отель (m), гостиница (f) hotel.

• Где находится гостиница?
  Where’s the hotel?
• Мы хотим пойти в парк.
  We want to go to the park.
• Сколько квартир в этом здании?
  How many apartments are in this building?

Магазин: A Store

Now let’s look at how to say various kinds of stores: магазин (m) store; супермаркет (m) supermarket; магазин одежды  clothing store; магазин обуви  shoe store; магазин ювелирных изделий  jewelry store; пекарня (f) / булочная (f) bakery; кондитерский магазин/ отдел (m) pastry shop; мясник (m) butcher; хозяйственный магазин  hardware store; книжный магазин bookstore; магазин электроники electronics store аптека (f) pharmacy.

• На этой улице много магазинов. 
  There are a lot of stores on this street.
• В моём городе есть большой супермаркет. 
  There is a big supermarket in my town.
• Есть ли поблизости обувной магазин/ магазин одежды/ книжный магазин? 
  Is there a shoe store/ clothing store/ bookstore nearby?

Школа: School

Now let’s look at vocabulary for other places around town: школа (f) school; библиотека (f) library; университет (m) university; пожарная часть (f) firehouse; почта (f) post office; полицейский участок (m) police station; больница hospital; заправка (f), заправочная станция (f) gas station; церковь (f) church; синагога (f) synagogue; храм (m) temple; мечеть (f) mosque.

• Ученики в школе.
  The students are at school.
• В городе есть университет.
  There’s a university in the city.
• Я иду на почту. 
  I’m going (walking) to the post office.
• Я еду в библиотеку. 
  I’m going (driving) to the library.

GRAMMAR TIP! English uses the verb go pretty generally; whether you’re walking or driving, traveling in one direction or repeatedly, go works fine. But Russian uses different basic verbs that all mean go, depending on the details of how you’re going:

• идти: to go on foot, to walk, in one direction
• ехать: to go with some means of transport, to drive or go by vehicle, in one direction
• ходить: to go on foot, to walk, repeatedly or in more than one direction
• ездить: to go with some means of transport, to drive or go by vehicle, repeatedly or in more than one direction

So you can be very precise with examples such as:

• Я иду на почту. 
  I’m walking/going on foot to the post office.
• Я еду на почту. 
  I’m driving/going by car (bus, etc.) to the post office.
• Я хожу на почту каждый день.
  I walk/go on foot to the post office every day. (And come back.)
• Я езжу на почту каждый день.
  I drive/go by vehicle to the post office every day. (And come back.)

Хороший ресторан: A Good Restaurant

Now let’s look at vocabulary related to fun and entertainment: ресторан (m) restaurant; бар (m) bar музей (m) museum; кинотеатр (m) cinema/movie theater; театр (m) theater; художественная галерея (f) art gallery.

• Здесь есть хороший ресторан?
  Is there a good restaurant here?
• Пойдем в кино.
  Let’s go to the movies.
• Мы хотим посетить художественную галерею.
  We want to visit an art gallery.

Железнодорожный вокзал: The Train Station

Now let’s look at some vocabulary related to getting around town: железнодорожная станция (f) train station; автовокзал (m) bus station; автобусная остановка (f) bus stop; аэропорт (m) airport; станция метро (f) subway station.

• (Железнодорожный) вокзал находится в центре города. 
  The train station is downtown.
• Я еду/езжу на поезде в город.
  I take the train to the city.
• Я еду/езжу на автобусе в аэропорт. 
   I take the bus to the airport.

Где метро?  Where is the subway?

Let’s end with a few expressions related to asking directions: здесь here; там there, направо to the right; налево to the left; рядом, близко nearby; далеко far away.

• Где метро?
  Where is the subway?
• Здесь.
  It’s here.
• Там.
  It’s there.
• Направо.
  It’s to the right.
• Налево.
  It’s to the left.
• Рядом/ близко.
  It’s nearby.
• Далеко.
  It’s far away.
• Рядом с отелем.
  It’s next to the hotel.
• На другой стороне улицы.
  It’s across the street.
• Идите прямо.
  Go straight.
• Поверните налево.
  Turn left.
• Поверните направо.
  Turn right.

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