- Tell me where the bank is - no. I've been stuck in Russia since the Olympic Games. No one tells me where the bank is

I've lived in US for 29 years; I still can't get over the insincerity. Even though I have now spent more than half my life in US, my Russian soul still longs for my people's way of thinking and acting. Everyone at work knows that I'm direct and if I say something, I'll follow through.

Вообще-то было бы неплохо рассказать чем грубая речь отличается от негрубой в русском языке, тогда понятней станет Не могли бы вы закрыть дверь? (очень вежливо) Пожалуйста, закройте дверь. (вежливо) Закройте дверь. (непонятно вежливо или нет, зависит от интонации) Дверь закройте.(порядок слов изменился, просьба на грани приказа, иногда это повторная просьба закрыть дверь) Дверь закрой. (порядок слов + обращение на "ты", это грубо) Дверь закрыл! (порядок слов+ обращение на "ты" + прошедшее время, так говорят в состоянии раздражения, злобы, или когда близки к бешенству) вот примерно так, еще какие-то тонкости употребления есть, может не все русские согласятся даже предыдущие примеры - это для офиса а в гараже у дальнобойщиков или на стройке где-нибудь, там по другому

I can't stress enough how important #5 is. As a Russian I've had so many unpleasant moments with English speakers when they'd say something like "hey let's catch up sometime next week" and when I contact them later to see when they have time, they'd be scrambling for excuses why they can't meet or they'd be acting like they forgot about it. It always left me perplexed: like, why would you suggest we meet again if you don't want to? Later I learned that English speakers simply never mean what they say, they say it out of politeness. But this "politeness" used to leave me with a sense of bitterness. I know I'm not the only Russian who's fallen into the trap haha

Почти все правильно. Правда на улице все же чаще спросят что-то вроде "Извините, где можно найти банк?" или "Здравствуйте, можете подсказать где банк?". А в остальном все подмечено достаточно точно. Из видео лучше разобрался в западном менталитете.

Your explanation is very good, but you've missed one major point. Word endings are very important in Russian and can change the meaning of what is being said. Podskazhi(te) Podnesi(te) Peredai(te) The (te) ending already implies a level of respect as it is usually used when addressing someone older, in a higher position, or someone you don't know well. This eliminates the need for the extra please and thank yous. Because there is no such thing in English..This can get lost in translation if the Russian person speaking English has a limited vocabulary.

HERE'S MY THEORY About the PLEASE and THANK YOU aspect: in English YOU is used both for the formal and the informal context - and so, unconsciously people is more inclined to say Please and Thanks in order to underline the kindness and formality. In Russian the informal and formal pronouns are DISTINGUISHED: to address to someone in an informal way it's used YOU (singular) "TI" (or like "TU" in italian) , while it's used YOU (plural) "VI" (or like "VOI" in italian) for the formal way. So this DISAMBIGUATION between the two forms is JUST ENOUGH for Russians to understand the context of formality and kindness.

Wow, that's a lot of markers 😯

This is a very useful video. I am an English teacher and my students are Russian and Estonian. The same characteristics of conversation style carry over into Estonian (of course). I really think this video is excellent. I appreciate what you are saying and try to teach it in reverse to my students. Especially as a Canadian (the culture that loves to insincerely apologize for their existence), I agree wholeheartedly.

There is no right and wrong here, it’s culture differences, and it’s not about being polite or not. it might be rude to western people but to some other cultures it’s definitely not! I’m Palestinian and we also have polite standards and manners to follow, we love to appreciate what other people do to us even if it is small deeds. but for me i’m more into the russian manners and culture. Anyway thanks for explaining this whole thing up, you just got yourself a new subscriber 🖤

5:00 Спорный момент. Здесь все индивидуально. Кто-то благодарит официантов, когда они приносят блюда или убирают уже ненужную посуду и приборы со стола, а кто-то воспринимает это, как должное. Хотя с большего соглашусь. 7:35 Ну не знаю. Не сказала бы, что слово "извините" мы использует только, если косячнули где-то. Если спрашиваешь дорогу, ты, чтобы привлечь внимание, говоришь "прощу прощение, не подскажете...", когда пробираешься через толпу людей, говоришь "прошу прощение - простите - извините - пардон - извиняюсь - сорян". В транспорте обычно просто заранее спрашивают, выходит ли человек, а потом пробираешься и уже по ситуации смотришь, где уместно извиниться, а где извиняться не за что. Постоянно говорить "извините-извините-извините", как попугайчик, тоже не будешь. Хотя, смотря какое настроение. В целом, странноватые примеры, как по мне. Я с ними, пожалуй, не соглашусь. 11:24 Ничего подобного. Спокойно подходят люди, извиняются за беспокойство (особенно, если ты в наушниках) и спрашивают дорогу. И ничего это не странно. Пример: "Прошу прощение, Вы не подскажете, как пройти к остановке 53 троллейбуса?". Конечно, фраза "Извините, где банк?" будет звучать странно из-за самой конструкции предложения, но фраза "Извините, Вы не подскажете, как пройти к банку Х?" "Прошу прощение, Вы не подскажете, где найти банк Х?" странными уже не будут. Обычные предложения. "Прошу прощение" или "Извините" - для привлечения внимания и "Вы не подскажете..." - уже сама просьба.

Очень понятное произношение, понимаю каждое слово, хотя у других англоговорящих могу понять от силы 30%.

Кристофер, ты очень полезное звено между нашими странами! 👍👍👍

I always say excuse me in Russian, if I ask about somebody I don't know. For example "Не подскажите, где находится банк". Where "не подскажите" is a polite form because, first of all "подскажите" is polite conjugated form "подскажи", and the second - expression "не подскажите" is even more polite, like "could you tell me". Or you can say "подскажиТЕ пожалуйста", so politines is included in polite form of verb, and in polite word "пожалуйста". Just wanted to clarify the situation🙂

Thank you so much for this video! You formulate it so perfectly! I have some issues with being rude at work because of direct speech. Some colleagues had complained about my negative way of communication. I was really shocked and very upset. It took time to find these reasons, admit these cultural differences and accept these facts, that sound really discriminating and offensive sometimes, because the problem is my cultural background not my negative attitude. I had to reconsider some manners, and I hope I managed to upgrade my politeness level and use more indirect language constructions. Still, very often I feel fake and silly when I try to sound nice and friendly to Americans.

🇷🇺Regarding the word "sorry": the more often you repeat, the more this word devalues. Especially if you CONSTANTLY apologize "out of politeness", and not because you are really sorry, you feel guilty and (or) shame.

U could also include 'smiling' without reason in west vs no smile in russia

Ой. послушал тебя, дядька, и искренне порадовался за тебя, за то что ты так хорошо прочувствовал эти все моменты в русском. красава! так держать!

Thank you, very useful video. For me as a russian it's actually interesting to get an external perspective on this topic. But let me correct you a little bit from my perspective: 1. About polite and direct language: Those people who never use "special polite words" (like "please") are rude even in Russian standards. I can say more, it's a common thing in Russia to teach little kids from their young age to tell "special word" to get something they ask to give or path. It's just enough to tell it 1 time, it's not necessary to add polite constructions in every sentence you speak. So in a long conversation with a waitress about your order you will probably not hear "special polite words" while it's going, but good polite russian person will definitely say it in the end of order when waitress will be ready to go. Otherwise it's not very polite. If you are foreigner, better use those words as you are used to. It will sound unusual, but in a good way. While if you will say something too short trying to sound native, you may end up saying something unexpectedly rude even for foreigner. One tricky thing for example: "открой дверь" ("open the door") is neutral - if you will say it with a smile or giving a raised up eyebrows gesture and with higher calm intonation, it'll look and sound OK, - just a regular semi-polite request. But if you will say "дверь открой" (the same phrase, but with reversed, command order), neither intonation nor face, not even your origin will probably save you from looking extremely rude. It's not bad looking at all, when you extra-polite in russian. It's just uncommon and as a consequence a little bit suspicious. So acting like this you will probably get no polite response at first. But if you will continue to speak polite and behave as a gentleman, it will show you very nice person and russians will respect you and will wellcome you as a friend. And one more thing, sometimes words "please" and "excuse me" are not used not because there is no intention to be polite, but because other used words themselves are already in polite form. For example: "скажи, где метро" ("tell me, where is the subway") - this is not polite "подскажите, в какой стороне метро" ("give me advice which direction is subway in") - this is neutral and if you say it with "please" emotion on your face, it basically sounds almost like you said it. Moreover, this ending "те" of the word "подскажите" itself means a special polite form, so there's no so much need in "please" here - you already payed the respect speaking to the person with the word in polite form. 2. About calling attention in public: First of all, you definitely can say "Excuse me". It's not common nowadays, but it sounds perfectly OK, polite and understandable. But more often russians just use different initial words for the conversation. Example: instead of "excuse me, can I pass?" we say "молодой человек, позвольте пройти" or "девушка, позвольте пройти" ("young man / women, please, let me pass"). 3. About promises: There is such attitude, that is true. But everything is not too bad with these expectations. If you did not keep your "little promise", it's OK (if it is little one). Just explain how did it happen when you can, and say you are sorry (show, that this was not out of disrespect, but for some other reason), and it all will be perfectly fine. Here are some points I wanted to point out. Besides that, very interesting and useful video, again, thank you very much. ) (My friends sometimes tell me I'm a bit too polite, though, but it's OK, I like and prefer it this way. =) )

Зачетное видео, парень хорошо прочувствовал российский народ, респект ему

I enjoyed this video and loved your insight on this subject. Thank you

I just realized I am Russian!

I've been studying and practicing English for about 20 years now (my gosh, time flies!) and I'm aware of American mentality since I travel a lot for work, but the next to last paragraph still bugs me sometimes. Like when people say "I'll call you back" or "I'll let you know later" - I wait for them every time lol and they just never do. One more thing that really gets me is when Americans ask me "How are you?" - I reply "I'm great, what about you brother?" and I get silence in response lol. It really used to make me angry back in the days. I mean, if you don't care that much - why would you ask me ffs! But other than that, I really like American people. We Russians should learn how to stay positive, be friendly and enjoy life from you ;)

В русском есть ты и вы - это сложно будет объяснить американцам. ПодскажиТЕ - это уже вежливо. В английском you, поэтому вы придумываете как избежать это прямое обращение с you.

мне нравится кофта и эта супер понятная английская речь! насчёт вежливости не совсем согласна. мне, возможно, просто всю жизнь попадаются такие люди, но почти все вокруг меня постоянно говорят спасибо и пожалуйста, и подойти к кому-то на улице без фразы «извините, пожалуйста» или хотя бы просто «извините» - это будет считаться не совсем вежливым

I visited Псков in late November last year. Very cool Kremlin there as well as former Soviet architecture and War memorials.

I Russian speaker who learning English and i heard a lot "You are rude" . Thank you for this amazing explanation

Мужик, ты красавчик! 98% всё совпадает. Остальное по ситуации.

Dude, you’re a godsend. I needed this channel and content.

I learned Russian in University from 1983-1988, i.e. during the Soviet Era. I visited 3 times during the Soviet Time. I am fascinated by your term "Soviet Russian"... That would be a great video in it's own right.

Мне кажется, что русскоговорящие уже так задолбали Криса поправками, что он решил забросить канал.)

I’m American, but I am often perceived as rude because I don’t fake my interest or care. Like, if I don’t know you, why smile at you or ask pointless questions too??

Sir... Are you going to leave us, you might never see this but I need to say something. Without you I could never learn Russian to the fullest. Thank you, best of luck...

Fascinating. This explains why Donald Trump was so popular in Russia. He would constantly say, "Promises delivered and promises kept." Very direct language. "Telling it like it is." But to Old School Anglo-America, Trump's directness was "rude", "uneducated", "dangerous", "conflict-seeking". And they were afraid to directly counter him because that would add to the conflict.. I never realized how much English avoids conflict. I speak Swedish as well, which also has a lot of indirect grammatical structures to avoid conflict or personal connection.

This video should have more views this is great teaching!!! Thx

Привет, Крис ! 🌞😉👌 Интересное видео получилось !

Great video. Thank you =)

Thank you for this very accurate and informative video!

kris i love the way you teacch russia , upload more videos please

Thank you very much! I visited Moscow last autumn and loved it; am hoping to visit Saint Petersburg this spring (Coronavirus worries). Your online lessons have really helped me breakthrough in terms of reading comprehension.

Урал молодость украл

Great job 👍👍👍👍

Thank you for this video, it’s really riveting and true in many aspects! It’s interesting to mention that Russian kind of ‚excuse me‘ sounds actually a bit more negative, almost as you were faulty, so maybe that’s why something like ‚would you let me’ - ‘позвольте’ is more popular. It seems that women say ‚извините’ more often, unless it’s a rush hour on a subway. However, here this form of politeness is somewhat linked to mistakes or lower social position and self-esteem. Sometimes even psychological coaches would advise to avoid it when possible, lol.

This is absolutely eye opening!

I remember when I was in the supermarket.. one lady push me, instead to say excuse me i was so upset. hahahaha now I know.. thank u to ur video

Great points on the language, it helps me understand everything better

Great lesson! Good job, man. I commit everything that was said)

That's great video. You really have digged into our "PSychology". We don't have time for this polite sheesh.

В принципе, все правильно рассказывал. You said it in a really good way. Truth.

You are AMAZING !

You good, man! Respect what you're doing! Уважуха!

This is a very interesting and informative video, thanks! There is one thing, which I would add - those differences are not so much between "western" culture and "Russian" culture, it is more about "English" (any kind of) and the most of Europe, as most of those points seen from the Russian perspective are the same for other Slavic cultures, Scandinavian and German speaking countries as well... if you look up American, Canadian or English visitors talking about Germany, Poland, Denmark, Czech, Italy, etc. - they talk just about the same differences about being "polite" or "brutally honest" in those cultures as well

When you think of it makes sense to say "allow me" instead of "excuse me". You are asking the other person to move and clear the way for you but you have not done something wrong so you have nothing to apologize for. You don't need an excuse to go past a person you need space for that so you ask him to give you that space.

Thanks for understandable pronunciation.

Very interesting perspective. It helps to actually understand the culture. Folks in US think New Yorkers are rude because they don't say polite words. NYC is a large city and people live in close proximity to one another. They have smaller personal space and not likely to say 'sorry' or 'excuse me' when they bump into you.

Have seen a couple of your videos. Great work. Its interesting to know that you learned Russian after getting there. But how did you learn it? You have not mentioned in this video. Did you attend some Uni or you hired some private tutor for this? Thanks

So valuable

Interesting! thank you

So cute and so sweet. Useful video, perfect style

Excellent explanation of differences not only between languages but also between cultures.

Imagine Japanese people learning direct asking someone about something. It can be very hard for them because they are very polite when speaking to foreigners and strangers.

Now I feel I have to say "извините" and "спасибо" more frequently))

Понравилось, глубокий анализ

Thank you.

Молодец, спасибо.

This is such a helpful video. I have a lot of russian and Chinese customers where I work. First I had to understand the chinese customers bc there were more of them. Post corona it's now more russian customers. I'm trying to be more understanding and less judgemental. Eventually once things go "back to normal" it will probably be about even.

Что тут скажешь, красавчик! Согласен практически со всем сказанным .

Dang thats true. I have a russian friend and she didint avoid conflict she ask me abt my opinion and then we argue abt it but yeah just that tomorrow we still speak like usual. And she says things directly and yes it sounded rude in english but really its just how it is i mean, the truth the thing she actually meant. It felt weird, it still feel weird but its sincere and nice. Sometimes i feel distant and scared when im trying to talk to her bc we speak through chat ive never met her i cant imagine how a body language would react sho i can only count on her words and my trust towards her. But its also a thing we as english speakers with english society have to learn. Its actually a nice experience bc they are genuine.

I've had people be rude to me by them saying "excuse me" due to the tone of voice. I think "pardon me" is more polite

opposite R looks similiar to sanskrit letter(hri) also russia =hrissia (in sanskrit) where h is silent in hindi moreover when russia listen in slow pace sounds like sanskrit

Can you please elaborate on the direct/indirect aspect? Which languages tend to use more direct vs indirect? This would be interesting to study in linguistics.

In my area we say "Извините, не могли бы вы пожалуйста подсказать где находится ближайший банк?" and it's very common thing to say here. Which means "Excuse me, would you please tell me where the nearest bank is?" So I think it also depends on the region.

15:00 Be direct ! So true !))) Actions speak better than words!!! I am Russian who lives in Australia and I agree with that bit a lot)) I do actually struggle at my work because people around tend to be get upset with me being straight forward 🤔

Отличное видео. Очень интересно взглянуть на ситуацию не изнутри, а снаружи. Забавные наблюдения! Таки да, есть такое дело!

Almost everything is true. We are direct and straightforward because we value our and other people's time and dont spend it on unnecessary things. That's a real expression of respect. And we say "excuse me", "thank you" and "please". Especially to unknown people. But only one in one sentence. Two is too much.

What I learned from this video is that I am a rare Russian who wouldn't dare to touch a person without apologizing or ask directions without "excuse me". I also thank the waiter and I literally say "Извините, не могли бы вы подсказать, где банк?". I wounder if it is the difference between cities. I am from St.Petersburg and there are jokes about it being overly polite and too apologetic kinda like Canada jokes.

Yes I agree: a true human person says what he thinks and does what he says. Falsehood and hypocrisy are repugnant. In addition, even classical Latin did not have the articles.

I borne in the wrong country, because iam not polite...people say that Iam rude and I differ in opinions constantly. Feel happy because I know that in Russia plenty of people are like me.

My lessons learnt after 5 yrs in a really cold place (close to Russia): you just wanna get to it straight before the tongue freezes

Wow!!!A leap in the dark to go to a country you know nothing about...but now you found an interesting country,history,literature, music etc...Great videos💐💐💐

11:00 in my surrounding we say just "can i? / Would i?" and that's it

When you want somebody to move (and pushing him/her gently isn't an option) you would say "разрешите" or "можно я пройду" or "вы выходите?" but saying "извините" is unnatural in these situations

Make a video pronouncing the Winter Soldier activation words!

Мужик сказал - мужик сделал. Потому что за базар надо отвечать. И поэтому базар надо фильтровать.

I hear russians speaking English say Sure and Fine but not to be mean, simply another way of saying Ok or Yeah

Amazing video and amazing Russian!

This video does invite to an interesting discussion, even though it’s been here for a long time. And it’s wonderful! As a Russian native, I studied that there’s one more thing that makes Russians sound rude. It’s intonation, regulated completely differently from the English way. Russians don’t rise their tone asking most of questions and naming things in a row. At least, it’s not a must for politeness.

After this explanation, it may seem to anyone that in the West people are internally less patient than in Russia, and are ready to conflict with each other on any occasion. That's why people in the West tend to be polite and evasive, so as not to run into a conflict. At the same time, in Russia, thanks to greater sincerity and patience, people can afford more direct and honest communication.

I watch your short movie and it's very interesting observations I'm from Poland and I can say this intonation is very important in Poland and I suppose in Russia

That was a fascinating look at two different cultures with very different ideas of "normal" behavior. No doubt a lot of people will take offense at something from the video, but when you are talking about millions of people, you necessarily use a large brush. I never noticed how much "social lubricant" was built into English. Personally, put me in "man said - man did" camp. Lots of good advice about not treating Russian as simply English but with different words. And I am totally stealing Псков! as a fake swear word like блин.

In the English language I don’t believe we’re being neither sincere nor insincere, the way we have been taught it’s just a figure of speech most time, just our way of saying things same as Russians have their way of saying thing.

Хотелось бы добавить пару слов, по поводу ролика: 1. "Спасибо" и "пожалуйста" чаще всего применяется при обращении с просьбой и при желании выказать больше вежливости. Конечно, можно и не сыпать этими словами направо и налево, тем ни менее, в зависимости от ситуации (в том числе и с самыми близкими людьми) вежливость пока не вредила. Хотя некоторые люди в России могут расценить подобное обращение как "слабость". 2. По "извините" в целом всё верно, однако отодвигать кого бы ни было в сторону без вовсе без слов - грубовато, в магазине или общественном транспорте. Я обычно в такой момент говорю: "А спросить нельзя? Чего толкаться?!", потому что чаще всего простого: "Позвольте пройти" (что кстати почти полный аналог фразы на английском) полностью решит "проблему". Просто Крису попадались грубияны, увы :) GT===== I would like to add a few words about the video: 1. "Thank you" and "please" are most often used when making a request and if you want to show more politeness. Of course, you don't have to sprinkle these words right and left, however, depending on the situation (including with the closest people), politeness has not hurt so far. Although some people in Russia may regard such treatment as "weakness". 2. As for "sorry" in general, everything is correct, but pushing anyone aside without words at all is rude, in a store or on public transport. I usually say at such a moment: "Can't you ask? Why push?", Because more often than not a simple one: "Let me pass, please" (which, by the way, is almost a complete analogue of the phrase in English) will completely solve the "problem". It's just that Chris came across rude people, unfortunately :)

Yep. You've got it. Especially the point of sincerity and lying.

I am from the upper mid-west (Northern Wisconsin) and I noticed this when I moved to the south. I also see it in the north-east. Perhaps it's the German-Scandinavian influence there.

Встречаются русский и американец: -Excuse me.. -Excuse you for what? My daddy tald me not to be ashamed to ask questions -Your daddy give you good advice! -Sometimes I start to be so polite by asking questions that it rips the meaning of politeness -My dad told me how not to speak too politely -You told me? -I'm glad you ask!

Hi, I am Russian, I've been living in Moscow all my life , and, I'm sorry, but I absolutely disagree with the statements in this video. Me, all my friends and almost all the people I met do say “thank you” to the waiters / cleaners / service staff every single time. Lol There are some rare exceptions, though If you are asking people on the street for directions, you should always say, "Простите/Извините, не подскажете, как пройти в музей (for example)" If you approach a person on the street and directly ask "как пройти в музей" without "Извините, не подскажете" it will sound incredibly rude. Never do that :) ( words "не подскAжете" and "подскажИте" have the same meaning "could you tell me") Also, in Russian, there are several levels of politeness for some words - for example, the greeting "Здравствуйте" differs in politeness and formality from "Здравствуй", and this word is different from "Привет", but they are all translate as "hello" in English. Criss probably only interacted with a very_rude_people in Russia That's just sad :(

I am a 13th generation American. My paternal line arrived here in 1641 from Finland (Sweden at the time). Following through and doing what you say, without meaningless small talk, has always been of utmost importance. Actions matching words is paramount and was ingrained in me since childhood. You did allow that some Russians are the exception, by using “polite” language. But you did not provide the same understanding that our culture has exceptions too-many Americans speak directly, without all this indirect and “dishonest” language. There are 350 million of us. We don’t all possess the same communication habits or customs.

Очень интересно! Жаль, правда, что я так ни одного слова и не понял!

Oh man, I can imagine what did you come through when you opened a business in Russia. It's very very different (read - difficult) thing in Russia compared to Western world. And what happens next after you've done it.... You're a brave man, Chris.

Спасибо вам большое я донесла надо них можно пожалуйста ещееееее видеооооооо плиз