How to expand my Russian vocabulary

Becoming fluent in Russian takes dedication and consistency. Once you make the first steps in learning the basics of the language, you need to begin improving your writing and speaking skills. Follow these simple steps to expand your Russian vocabulary and quickly improve your level.

Read Russian books and newspapers

Reading complicated science journals in Russian isn’t the best way to understand Russian, but reading novels and short articles is. Short and straightforward literary works will more likely enrich your Russian vocabulary quickly. On the other hand, newspapers and magazines contain contemporary Russian vocabulary and updates on Russia’s current events.

Change the language on your phone and social media platforms

This will force you to engage with the Russian language and immerse yourself in all its aspects. After seeing the same words and phrases several times for a whole week they become familiar. Changing your phone’s language can be a great way to conveniently and quickly learn new Russian words.

Try to speak Russian frequently

Try to talk to native Russian speakers from time to time to improve your speaking and listening skills. Don’t worry about making mistakes in perspectives, pronunciation, and case endings. If you don’t know any Russian speakers to talk to, you could practice dialogues on your own. For example, train yourself to ask for directions and order food in Russian. And although these simulation dialogues are not as efficient as real-life conversations, they can help you learn new words and get the confidence to say them correctly if given a chance.

Keep an eye on the Russian phonetics and spelling

Your proficiency in pronouncing Russian words won’t help with mistakes that arise when Russian doesn’t sound as it is written. Although much of the Russian spelling is phonetic, there are a few divergences between how some words sound and how they’re written. There are also instances of stressed and unstressed vowels, which do not appear in the spelling.

Master all spelling rules

Russian spelling is a piece of cake compared with English spelling. Besides the few instances where spelling doesn’t match with pronunciation, the Russian spelling is logical and phonetic. Therefore, it’s necessary to first learn the five spelling rules in Russian, and after that, you can easily expand your vocabulary.

Listen to Russian music

Listening to Russian music will help you learn the rhythm of speech and strengthen your vocabulary. You will find memorizing music lyrics a lot easier than memorizing a list of words. Listen to both older slow music songs and contemporary pop music.

Learning the basics of a language is one thing, but achieving fluency and a rich vocabulary requires much more time and dedication. If you are serious about learning Russian, it’s essential to improve your vocabulary and speaking skills. At italki, we offer you an opportunity to learn Russian online with professional Russian teachers and tutors. Join our learning community today to improve your Russian vocabulary for as little as $10 per class.