Learn Russian in 5 Words: 3/5

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3: Minding your p's and q's

The third (and fourth) words I choose come as a pair: SPASIBA and PUZHALSTA.

Spasiba means 'thank you', and there is no harm in sprinkling it liberally through any conversation with a Russian.

Puzhalsta - the u as in the English up is a little more tricky. Its basic meaning is 'please', to be used when making requests. It does, however, have two other uses.

First, you say puzhalsta when you are offering something to someone (a sort 'here you are' or 'have one of these').

Secondly, you should say puzhalsta after someone has said spasiba to you: a kind of 'not at all'. All of which can lead to the perfectly respectable Russian exchange of puzhalsta - spasiba - puzhalsta.

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