Student's Perspective - 5 Thing I Wish I Knew Before Learning Russian

I started learning Russian with Daria last year with no background in the language and a preconception that it was going to be very difficult.

Happily, it turned out to be easier — and much more enjoyable — than I expected. So, from one beginner to another, here are five things I wish I'd known before I started.

1. The Russian alphabet is easier than it looks

I expected the Cyrillic alphabet to take me a long time to get used to, but after just a couple of lessons I was already starting to recognise the letters and, importantly, learning that an English H and a Russian Н are not the same thing!

Daria groups the alphabet into useful categories, including what she calls "true friends" and "false friends". I found this made it much easier to pick up than simply trying to memorise 33 unfamiliar letters.

It looks intimidating at first, but it really isn't.

2. Russians don't mess about with sentence structure!

One of the things I like about Russian is how direct sentences can be. English sometimes seems to use an awful lot of words to say something relatively simple, while Russian can often just get to the point.

Russian grammar definitely has plenty of challenges waiting for you later, but building basic sentences was much less daunting than I'd expected.

3. You already know more Russian words than you think

Once you can read Cyrillic, you start spotting Russian words that are very similar to English.

Football becomes футбол (futbol), film is фильм (fil'm), and there are lots of other familiar words hiding behind the Cyrillic alphabet.

There's something quite satisfying about looking at what initially appears to be a completely alien word, sounding out the letters and suddenly realising: Oh... I know what that means!

4. Regular practice makes a huge difference

I've tried to keep my lessons regular, usually in 60–90 minute sessions, and I've found that maintaining that rhythm really helps keep the momentum going.

Earlier in the year I had to miss a few lessons and was surprised by how quickly I regressed in some areas. Since then, I've tried to keep on top of it.

You don't necessarily need to spend hours studying every day, but I've found that regular exposure to Russian makes a big difference.

5. Duolingo is useful — but it doesn't teach you Russian on its own

I have a 300+ day streak on Duolingo, so I'm certainly not against it!

I've found it great for learning new words, recognising patterns and making sure I interact with Russian every day. What it doesn't give me is the same progress I get from actually speaking Russian and having someone explain why something works the way it does.

There's a big difference between recognising the right answer on your phone and having to construct a sentence yourself in a real conversation.

I'd definitely recommend using apps like Duolingo alongside private lessons and other learning materials rather than relying on them alone.

One last thing...

If you're considering learning Russian but are put off because you've heard how difficult it is, I'd say give it a go.

Yes, there are difficult parts — I'm certainly not claiming to have mastered Russian cases yet! — but there are also plenty of things that are much easier than they first appear.

And there's a particularly nice moment when all those strange Cyrillic symbols stop looking like symbols and simply start looking like letters.