Привет, Русский! — Episode 7

Привет, Русский! — Episode Plan

Date: March 28, 2026

Theme: Weather (Погода)

Vocabulary List (10 words/phrases):

• Russian (Cyrillic): погода

Transliteration: pa-GO-da

English: weather

Example sentence: Какая сегодня погода?

Example translation: What is the weather like today?

Memory hook: Sounds like “page” + “oda” — imagine turning the page of a weather calendar every day.

• Russian (Cyrillic): дождь

Transliteration: dozh-d’ (soft “d” at the end)

English: rain

Example sentence: Идёт сильный дождь.

Example translation: Heavy rain is falling.

Memory hook: Sounds like “dodge” — you have to dodge the raindrops!

• Russian (Cyrillic): ветер

Transliteration: VYE-ter

English: wind

Example sentence: Сегодня сильный ветер.

Example translation: Today there is strong wind.

Memory hook: Think “veteran” — an old wind that’s been blowing for years.

• Russian (Cyrillic): солнце

Transliteration: SOLN-tse

English: sun

Example sentence: Солнце светит ярко.

Example translation: The sun is shining brightly.

Memory hook: Sounds like “sol” (Spanish for sun) + “nce” — our sunny friend.

• Russian (Cyrillic): облако

Transliteration: OB-la-ka

English: cloud

Example sentence: На небе большое белое облако.

Example translation: There is a big white cloud in the sky.

Memory hook: Sounds like “oblong” + “cloud” — an oblong fluffy cloud.

• Russian (Cyrillic): гроза

Transliteration: gra-ZA

English: thunderstorm

Example sentence: Вчера была сильная гроза.

Example translation: Yesterday there was a strong thunderstorm.

Memory hook: Sounds like “grows a” — the storm grows with thunder and lightning.

• Russian (Cyrillic): холодно

Transliteration: KHOL-ad-na

English: cold (as in “it is cold”)

Example sentence: На улице холодно.

Example translation: It is cold outside.

Memory hook: Sounds like “cold” but with an extra “h” at the beginning — “h-cold-no”.

• Russian (Cyrillic): тепло

Transliteration: tyep-LO

English: warm

Example sentence: Сегодня тепло.

Example translation: Today it is warm.

Memory hook: Think “tepid” — tepid water is slightly warm.

• Russian (Cyrillic): буря

Transliteration: BOO-rya

English: storm

Example sentence: Приближается буря.

Example translation: A storm is approaching.

Memory hook: Sounds like “boor-ya” — a rude, wild storm that bursts in.

• Russian (Cyrillic): радуга

Transliteration: RA-doo-ga

English: rainbow

Example sentence: После дождя появилась радуга.

Example translation: After the rain a rainbow appeared.

Memory hook: “Ra” like ray of light + “duga” like “arc” — a colorful arc of rays.

Grammar Spotlight:

Using the question word “какой / какая / какое” (what kind of / how is it?) with weather.

This is an adjective-question word that changes ending depending on the gender of the noun (but with “погода” we usually use feminine “какая”).

• Какая сегодня погода? (What’s the weather like today?)
• Какой сегодня ветер? (What is the wind like today?)
• Какое сегодня небо? (What is the sky like today?)

Compare to English: In English we say “What is the weather like?” Russian asks “What kind of weather is it?” — it’s like asking for a description instead of a simple “how”.

Word Origins — Deep Dive: погода

Did you know that the Russian word погода and the English word weather are actually distant cousins? They both come from the ancient Proto-Indo-European root *we-dh- meaning “to blow” or “to weather.”

This root travelled through Germanic languages to become English “weather,” while in Slavic languages it became the Russian “погода.” Interestingly, in old Russian “погода” originally meant “good weather” specifically — so when Russians say “хорошая погода” they are kind of saying “good good-weather”!

But be careful — the Russian word “погода” sounds a bit like “page” or “powder,” yet it has nothing to do with either. A funny false friend is the Polish word “pogoda,” which also means weather, but in some contexts Russians jokingly say “погода портится” (the weather is spoiling) when it gets bad.

Next time you check the weather forecast, remember it’s cousins with the Russian погода — they both come from the idea of “how the wind blows.” That connection is your secret shortcut to remembering it forever.

Cultural Corner:

Russians love talking about the weather almost as much as British people do! In winter they often say “Мороз и солнце, день чудесный!” (Frost and sun, a wonderful day!) — a famous line from Alexander Pushkin. Even when it’s -20°C, many Russians will still go for a walk because “свежий воздух” (fresh air) is considered very healthy. Weather is a safe, friendly topic to start conversations with anyone in Russia.

Practice Challenge:

For kids: Draw a big weather picture (солнце, дождь, радуга, облако) and label each thing in Russian. Then play “What’s the weather?” with your family — one person says “Сегодня холодно и идёт дождь” and everyone has to act it out like they’re freezing or dodging raindrops.

For adults & older kids: Next time you look at your phone’s weather app, say the forecast out loud in Russian using at least three words from today’s list: “Завтра будет ветер и дождь, но потом появится солнце.” Record yourself and play it back — celebrate every correct sound!

Ready to make weather words your new superpower? See you in the next episode of Привет, Русский! Пока-пока!