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Formal "hello" in Russian

Russian word of the day | Feb 10, 2018 (see all)

здра́вствуйте

[ zdrá-stvuî-tye ]

Interjection , informal - "здра́вствуй"

(formal) hello; good morning / afternoon / evening

Basic Russian

Different "hellos" in Russian

Saying hello in Russian depends on who you are talking to.

Здравствуйте is a formal way to say hello and should be used with people you don't know, older than you, or anyone else who you keep a formal relationship with.

When you meet a friend, relative or a person that's considerably younger than you, you can say привет which means hi in Russian. But make sure not to say привет to unknown people or in any situation where you need to show respect. It will sound too familiarly.

Здравствуйте comes from the word здоровье (health in Russian) and literally means I wish you health or be healthy. So every time you say hello in Russian you actually wish people to be healthy.

To greet people in Russian, you can also use such phrases as good morning, good day, or good evening. Click on the links to get the details and practice with examples.

Examples of formal "hello" in Russian

Здра́вствуйте, как добра́лись?

zdrá-stvúî-tye, kak da-bra-lées'

Hello, how was your trip here?
Здра́вствуй, Ната́ша, давно́ не ви́делись!

zdrá-stvúî, Na-tá-sha, dav-nó nye vée-dee-lees'

Hello, Natasha, long time no see!

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Additional examples

More Russian sentences with the words that contain "здравствуй".

Здра́вствуйте, меня́ зову́т Татья́на. - Я Мари́я, прия́тно познако́миться.
zdrá-stvúî-tye, mee-nyá za-vút tat'-yá-na. - ya ma-rée-ya, pree-yát-na paz-na-kó-mee-tsa
Hello, my name is Tatyana. - I'm Maria, nice to meet you.