Learn Russian - Russian Language Lessons

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VOCABULARY USED IN THIS LESSON

Russian	Pronunciation	English

извините *	iz-vin-EE-tye	excuse me / pardon me (for attention or small apology)
простите *	pras-tI-tye	forgive me
разрешите *	raz-reh-shI-tye	permit me / allow me (e.g., when trying to get past someone)
прошу	pra-shOO	I ask (verb)
прощения	pra-shYEn-i-ya	forgiveness, pardons

* Note: To be polite, you often follow these words with пожалуйста (please).
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Excuse me / Pardon me

извините

Pronounced:

iz-vin-EE-tye

Audio:

(Lena)

Forgive me

простите

Pronounced:

pras-tI-tye

Audio:

(Lena)

Permit me / Allow me, please

разрешите, пожалуйста

Pronounced:

raz-reh-shI-tye pa-zhAl-oo-sta

Audio:

(Lena)

I ask for forgiveness (literally: I ask forgiveness / pardons)

прошу прощения

Pronounced:

pra-shOO pra-shYEn-i-ya

Audio:

(Lena)

Will you forgive me?

You will notice that many of the words in this section have the suffix (word ending) '-те' (tye).

'-те' means you are asking or telling someone else to do something.

For example, простите, you are asking the person you are talking with to forgive you.

In contrast, the suffix '-у' in прошу (I ask), or 'ю' in благодарю (I thank) means that you yourself are doing the action.