How to Say Hi in Russian

How to Say Hi in Russian

The casual way to say hi in Russian is Привет (pree-VYET). It is the go-to greeting between friends, family members, classmates and anyone you are on familiar terms with. Because it is informal, you should switch to the formal greeting when speaking to strangers, elders or in professional settings. Once you have the greeting down, learn to say hello (Здравствуйте) and thank you (Спасибо) in Russian too.

The Casual Greeting: Привет

Привет — pronounced pree-VYET — is your everyday informal hi.

Use it with:

• Friends and close acquaintances
• Family members and relatives
• Children and teenagers
• Peers your own age in relaxed settings

The stress falls on the second syllable, so it sounds like pree-VYET, not PRY-vet. The final consonant is softened to a light ‘tye’. As a noun, привет means ‘a greeting’ or ‘regards’, which is why Russians also say передай привет (“say hi for me / pass on my regards”).

Copy the Phrase

The Russian word for hi is Привет (pree-VYET).

All the Ways to Say Hi in Russian

Russian	Transliteration	Pronunciation	When to Use
Привет	Privet	pree-VYET	Universal informal “hi”
Приветик	Privetik	pree-VYE-tik	Cute, affectionate “hi”
Здравствуйте	Zdravstvuyte	ZDRAST-vooy-tye	Formal “hello”
Здравствуй	Zdravstvuy	ZDRAST-vooy	Semi-formal, one person you know
Здарова / Здорово	Zdarova / Zdorovo	zda-RO-va	Slangy “hey” (mostly men)
Хай	Khai	khai	English-borrowed youth slang
Алло	Allo	a-LO	”Hello?” on the phone
Ну привет	Nu privet	noo pree-VYET	”Well, hi there” (warm)

Formal vs. Informal

Russian draws a clear line between informal and formal address, tied to the pronouns ты (informal “you”) and вы (formal/plural “you”).

Informal (ты):

• Привет — the standard casual hi
• Приветик — affectionate, playful
• Здарова — very casual slang

Use these with friends, family, children and peers.

Formal (вы):

• Здравствуйте — the polite, respectful greeting
• Добрый день (DOB-riy dyen) — “good day”, neutral and safe

Use these with strangers, older people, teachers, officials, colleagues and anyone you want to show respect. When in doubt, default to Здравствуйте — being slightly too formal is never rude in Russian, but being too casual can be.

Pronunciation Tips

• The ‘и’ in the first syllable is unstressed, so it reduces to a short ee sound: pree, not pri.
• The stressed ‘е’ in -вет sounds like YET (the ‘е’ carries a soft ‘y’ glide).
• The final ‘т’ is palatalised — soften it toward tye rather than a hard English ‘t’.
• Здравствуйте looks intimidating but the first ‘в’ is silent in fast speech: say ZDRAST-vooy-tye.

Cultural Notes

Russians value the right register. Greeting a much older person or a stranger with Привет can come across as overly familiar or even disrespectful — use Здравствуйте instead. Among friends, though, a warm Привет! is the friendliest opener you can offer. Texting culture loves the diminutive Приветик and even shorter forms like Прив (priv). When greeting a group informally, Всем привет! (“hi everyone”) is the natural choice.