russian

Everyday

1. Russian means coming from or connected with Russia, the very large country that stretches from Eastern Europe across northern Asia. tree →
2. A Russian is a person from Russia. tree →
3. Russian is the main language of Russia, written in the Cyrillic alphabet. tree →

In the lessons

In geography, Russia is the largest country in the world by area, and has many time zones. In languages, Russian is a Slavic language and uses Cyrillic letters. In stories, Russian folk tales include Baba Yaga and the firebird; Russian dolls (matryoshka) fit one inside another. Phrases: "Russian doll", "speak Russian", "Russian roulette" (a dangerous gamble).

Examples

• My friend's mum speaks Russian. tree →
• Russian is written in the Cyrillic alphabet. tree →
• We opened the Russian doll and found five more inside. tree →
• The Russian winter is very cold. tree →
• Baba Yaga is a witch in Russian fairy tales. tree →
• A Russian dancer came to perform at our school. tree →
• I smell Russian flesh![188] Who's there?" tree →

Note

It is a proper adjective and noun, so it takes a capital letter: Russian. The country is Russia. Russian dolls are used in maths and language as an image of things nested inside each other. Do not confuse Russian with the languages of neighbouring countries like Ukrainian or Belarusian, which are separate languages.