Russian For Dummies

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sends you to a dyermatolog (deer-muh-toh-luhk; dermatologist) if your problem concerns the skin of your foot; to a khirurg (khee-roork; surgeon) if you broke a bone in your foot; or to a nyevropatolog (neev-ruh-puh-toh-luhk; neuropathologist) if your problem stems from nerve connections.

Some other doctors and their areas of specialization include:

ukho-gorlo-nos (oo-khuh gohr-luh nohs; Literally: ear-throat-nose), or lor (lohr) — not unpredictably, this doctor specializes in the ear-throat-nose system

dantist (duhn-teest; dentist), also known as zubnoj vrach (zoob-nohy vrahch)

vyenyerolog (vee-nee-roh-luhk) — specializes in venereal diseases

narkolog (nahr-koh-luhk) — specializes in drug addictions

tyerapyevt (tee-ruh-pyeft; internist)

glaznoj vrach (gluhz-nohy vrahch; eye doctor)

ginyekolog (gee-nee-koh-luhk; gynecologist)

ortopyed (uhr-tah-pyet; orthopedist)

pyediatr (pee-dee-ahtr; pediatrician)

nyevropatolog (neev-ruh-puh-toh-luhk; neurologist)

khirurg (khee-roork; surgeon)

psikhiatr (psee-khee-ahtr; psychiatrist)

kardiolog (kuhr-dee-oh-luhk; cardiologist)

Some employers require a myeditsinskoye obslyedovaniye (mee-dee-tsihns- kuh-ee ahbs-lye-duh-vuh-nee-ee; full medical examination) from their potential employees. And in Russia, going through a myeditsinskoye obslyedovaniye requires seeing half a dozen doctors.

Undergoing an examination and getting a diagnosis

During a medical examination, you may hear the following phrases:

Razdyen’tyes’ do poyasa. (ruhz-dyen’-tees’ duh poh-ee-suh; Undress from your waist up.)

Razdyen’tyes’ polnost’yu. (ruhz-dyen’-tees’ pohl-nuhst’-yu; Take off all your clothes.)

Zakatitye rukav. (zuh-kuh-tee-tee roo-kahf; Please roll up your sleeve.)

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If the doctor recommends that you go to the hospital — lozhit’sya v bol’nitsu (lah-zhiht’-sye v bahl’-nee-tsoo) — you have a more serious condition. Maybe you have appyenditsit (ah-peen-dee-tsiht; appendicitis), pyeryelom (pee-ree- lohm; a broken bone), or pish’yevoye otravlyeniye (pee-sh’ee-voh-ee uht- ruhv-lye-nee-ee; food poisoning).

Don’t panic if the doctor recommends that you go to the hospital; it doesn’t necessarily mean that your condition is critical. Russians tend to go to the hospital more often and stay there longer than Americans generally do. For a comparison: A new mother with a baby stays in the hospital for two weeks in Russia, versus a stay of only 48 hours in the United States.

Your doctor can also prescribe for you to khodit’ na protsyedury (khah-deet’ nuh pruh-tsih-doo-rih; take treatment). A prescription doesn’t necessarily imply that you have to stay at the hospital; you may need to come to the hospital daily, or several times a week, for a certain type of treatment. In this case, the doctor gives you a napravlyeniye (nuh-pruhv-lye-nee-ee; written treatment authorization).

Visiting a pharmacy

In most cases, a doctor will propisat’ lyekarstvo (pruh-pee-saht’ lee-kahrst- vuh; prescribe a medicine) for you. The Russian word for prescription is ryetsyept (ree-tsehpt).

The Russian word ryetsyept is an interpreter’s false friend. To an English speaker, it sounds a lot like “receipt.” Watch out, though! The Russian for “receipt” is chyek (chehk). Ryetsyept, on the other hand, means “prescription” or “recipe.”

To get your lyekarstvo, you need to go to the aptyeka (uhp-tye-kuh; pharmacy). Unlike in the United States, a Russian pharmacy isn’t usually a part of a big department store; it’s a separate little store, where only medicine is sold. To get your lyekarstvo, you hand your ryetsyept to the aptyekar’ (uhp- tye-kuhr’; pharmacist). Alternatively, you can say

Mnye nuzhyen . . . (mnye noo-zhihn; I need . . .) + the masculine name of the medicine

Mnye nuzhna . . . (mnye noozh-nah; I need . . .) + the feminine name of the medicine

Mnye nuzhno . . . (mnye noozh-noh; I need . . .) + the neuter name of the medicine

Mnye nuzhny . . . (mnye noozh-nih; I need . . .) + the plural name of the medicine(s)

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Going herbal

Some common medicines include

nyejtralizuyush’yeye kislotu sryedstvo (neey-truh-lee-zoo-yu-sh’ih-ee kees-lah-too sryets-tvuh; antacid)

aspirin (uhs-pee-reen; aspirin)

kapli ot kashlya (kahp-lee uht kahsh-lye; cough drops)

sirop ot kashlya (see-rohp uht kahsh-lye; cough syrup)

sryedstvo dlya snizhyeniya tyempyeratury (sryets-tvuh dlya snee-zheh- nee-ye teem-pee-ruh-too-rih; fever reducer)

bolyeutolyayush’yeye (boh-lee-oo-tuh-lya-yu-sh’ee-ee; pain reliever)

sryedstvo ot izzhyogi (sryets-tvuh uht eez-zhoh-gee; heartburn reliever)

You can buy many drugs that require prescriptions in the United States as over-the-counter drugs in Russia. So, to save the time you would’ve spent going to the doctor, you can just ask the pharmacist for chto-nibud’ ot prostudy (shtoh nee-boot’ uht prahs-too-dih; something for the cold).

Calling the Police When You’re

the Victim of a Crime

In the difficult situation of becoming a victim of crime, you need to know where to turn to for help and what to say to the people helping you. In the following sections, you find out how to talk to the police about different crimes and answer their questions.

If the crime is serious, you should try to contact your embassy before contacting the police. A person at the embassy will advise you on what to do and help you through the difficult situation.

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Talking to the police

You can contact the militsiya (mee-lee-tsih-ye; police) by calling 02 (see the section “Calling the right number” earlier in this chapter) or by going directly v otdyelyeniye militsii (v uht-dee-lye-nee-ye mee-lee-tsih-ee; to the police station). To find the nearest police station, you can ask a passerby Gdye blizhajshyeye otdyelyeniye militsii? (gdye blee-zhahy-shih-ee uht-dee-lye-nee-ye mee-lee-tsih-ee; Where is the nearest police station?)

Here are some useful phrases you can use to describe different types of crime to the police:

Myenya ograbili. (mee-nya ah-grah-bee-lee; I was robbed.)

Myenya obokrali. (mee-nya uh-bah-krah-lee; I became a victim of a theft.)

Na myenya bylo sovyershyeno napadyeniye. (nuh mee-nya bih-luh suh- veer-shih-noh nuh-puh-dye-nee-ee; I was attacked.)

Moyu kvartiru obvorovali. (mah-yu kvahr-tee-roo uhb-vuh-rah-vah-lee; My apartment was broken into.)

Ya stal zhyertvoj moshyennichyestva. (ya stahl zhehr-tvohy muh-sheh- nee-chihst-vuh; I became a victim of a fraud; masculine.)

Ya stala zhyertvoj moschyennichyestva. (ya stah-lah zhehr-tvuhy muh- sheh-nee-chihst-vuh; I became a victim of a fraud; feminine.)

Moyu mashinu obokrali. (mah-yu muh-shih-noo uh-bahk-rah-lee; My car was broken into, Literally: My car was robbed.)

In order to report a specific item that’s stolen from you, use the phrase U myenya ukrali . . . (oo mee-nya oo-krah-lee; They stole . . .) + the name of the item in the accusative case. (For more info on case endings, see Chapter 2.)

Answering questions from the police

When a crime is reported, the police want to gather more information about pryestuplyeniye (prees-toop-lye-nee-ee; the crime) and pryestupnik (prees- toop-neek; the criminal).

When talking to the police and describing the incident, you may need to use the words vor (vohr; thief), karmannik (kuhr-mah-neek; pickpocket), or bandit (buhn-deet; gangster) to refer to the criminal.