Afraid of communicating with Russian taxi drivers? Learn these useful phrases that RBTH selected from famous Russian films.
1. It is important to know how you greet your cabbie. Don't forget to wink and smile like these actors from ‘The Diamond Arm’ (1969).
- Who ordered a taxi to Dubrovka? (Кто заказывал такси на Дубровку?)
- Me! (Я!)
- Get in! (Садитесь!)
- Off I go! (Поехал!)
- Good luck! (Счастливо!)
2. And try not to shout, even if people don’t understand you. ‘Brother 2’ (2000).
- Hello! Brighton Beach! (Здравствуйте! Брайтон Бич!)
- Why are you shouting? (Чего орешь?)
- Oh, I thought you don't understand Russian. (Ой, я думал, вы по-русски не понимаете.)
- He thought... (Думал...)
3. If a driver offers you a free ride, don't hesitate to accept. It happens not only in movies, such as ‘Three cottonwood trees on Plyushikha street’ (1968).
- Anna Grigoriyevna, would you like me to show you Moscow? Don't think about money, heck with it! (Хочешь, Анна Григорьевна, я тебе Москву покажу? О деньгах не думай, шут с ними, с деньгами!)
- It's raining, what will we see? (Ну льет, что же увидишь?)
- It's going to stop soon. (Да дождь пройдет, короткий!)
4. If you are not satisfied with your ride, you can insult your cab driver (politely, of course). Remember the word “lapot” from ‘Gentlemen of Fortune’ (1971).
- Where are you going? (Куда?)
- Home. (Домой.)
- Buy a map! Knucklehead! (Карту купи! Лапоть!)
5. A cabbie is the only one who can pretend he understands your philosophical talk. Just watch this scene from ‘Taxi Blues’ (1990).
You are quiet. That's right! Very good! You don't need to speak, as the taxi meter speaks for you. (Молчишь? Правильно! Молодец! К чему слова - за тебя счетчик говорит.)
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