Russian · phrasebook
Hello in Russian
Hello in Russian is привет (privet) with friends and здравствуйте (zdravstvuyte) with everyone else. The choice is not optional politeness: Russian splits all social life into informal ты and formal вы, and your greeting announces which side you are on.
Aurélien CuvelierAug 9, 2026 · Updated Aug 10, 2026The ways to say it
привет (privet), informal: friends, family, anyone you call ты
здравствуйте (zdravstvuyte), formal: strangers, shops, work, any вы situation
здравствуй (zdravstvuy), formal-singular: rare; formal in form but addressed to one ты person
алло (allo), on the phone: answering a call only
How to use it
Здравствуйте literally wishes health (the root is здоровье), which is why it looks so long. Native speakers compress it in speech: something like zdrastvuyte, with the first в silent. Nobody pronounces every letter, and you should not either.
When in doubt, use здравствуйте. Being over-formal with a peer costs you a smile; being under-formal with an official or an elder reads as rude. You will be offered ты quickly when it fits.
Watch out
Привет carries stress on the second syllable: priVET. Learners who stress the first syllable are understood but instantly marked; stress is the single loudest feature of a foreign accent in Russian.
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