Thank you, please, and you're welcome in Russian

Let’s take a pause from the Russian grammar and learn how to be polite in Russian. Today, you will learn how to say thank you, please and you are welcome in Russian, as well as will see how to ask something politely in Russian.

Thank you in Russian

To say “thank you” in Russian, we use the word спаси́бо:

Спаси́бо.
Thank you.

Instead of thank you very much, we say big thank you or huge thank you:

Спаси́бо большо́е. / Большо́е спаси́бо.
Thank you very much.

Спаси́бо огро́мное. / Огро́мное спаси́бо.
Thank you very much.

Examples of thank you in Russian:

Спаси́бо тебе́ за по́мощь.
Thank you for your help (only informal).

Спаси́бо вам за по́мощь.
Thank you for your help (only formal).

Спаси́бо большо́е за сове́т.
Thank you very much for your advice.

Огро́мное спаси́бо всем, кто нас поддержа́л.
Thank you very much to everyone who supported us.

– Вот ваш зака́з.
– Спаси́бо.
– Here is your order.
– Thank you.

As you have noticed, when we say thank you for something, we use the preposition за. The noun after this preposition goes in the Accusative case.

Please in Russian

To say please in Russian, we use the word пожа́луйста:

Пожа́луйста.
Please.

Examples:

– Пропусти́те, пожа́луйста.
– Коне́чно, проходи́те.
– Спаси́бо.
– Let me go through please.
– Sure, please go.
– Thank you.

You are welcome in Russian

You will be surprised, but we use the same word пожа́луйста to say you are welcome in Russian. You need to always translate it depending on the context.

Have a look at these examples:

– Спаси́бо за то, что вы́ручил.
– Пожа́луйста.
– Thank you for helping out.
– You are welcome.

– Дай мне вон ту па́пку, пожа́луйста.
– Вот, держи́.
– Спаси́бо.
– Пожа́луйста.
– Give me that file please.
– Here you are.
– Thank you.
– You are welcome.

You can also say не за что which literally means there is nothing to thank me for, but it can be also translated as you are welcome. For example:

– Спаси́бо за кни́гу, о́чень интере́сная.
– Не́ за что, я ра́да подели́ться.
– Thank you for the book, very interesting.
– You are welcome, I’m glad to share.

– Спаси́бо, что подбро́сил.
– Не́ за что.
– Thank you for the ride.
– You are welcome.

How to ask something politely in Russian

When you need to ask something politely, you can use the following questions:

Бу́дьте добры́, …
Would you be so kind …

Вы не могли́ бы …?
Could you … ?

Подскажи́те, пожа́луйста, …
Tell me please, …

Вы не подска́жете, …?
Could you tell me please, …?

Examples:

Бу́дьте добры́, помоги́те мне, пожа́луйста.
Would you be so kind to help me please?

Вы не могли́ бы показа́ть мне доро́гу?
Could you show me the way please?

Подскажи́те, пожа́луйста, где нахо́дится метро́?
Tell me please, where is the metro?

Вы не подска́жете, как пройти́ на Не́вский проспе́кт?
Can you tell please me how to get to Nevsky Prospect?

Now you know how to say thank you, please, you are welcome, and ask polite questions in Russian. Stick with us and we will continue learning Russian in the next lesson!

Listen to the audio and practice all today’s phrases.

The offline version of this lesson is available here

• 003. Goodbye in Russian
• 005. "I speak Russian" in Russian and other useful phrases