Vocabulary List
Additional Notes
All words which have a difference in feminine/masculine form are listed!
When talking about how you feel in Russian, you will often use мне(to me) rather than я(I). This is because many Russian expressions describe a feeling or condition as something that is happening to you, rather than something you are.
For instance...
<<Мне скучно>> would mean, "I'm bored" whereas <<Я скучно>> would sound more like, "I'm boring." as in, 'I'm a boring person.'
Here's a another one: <<Мне холодно>> translates to, "I'm cold." (ie; 'I feel cold.') Swap it out for <<Я холодный>> and it becomes something closer to 'I'm a cold person.' As in, you're cruel or depressed. Big difference, right?
Here are some common phrases with this format:
• Мне грустно = I am sad
• Мне весело = I am having fun/I feel happy
• Мне страшно = I am scared
• Мне холодно = I am cold
• Мне жарко = I am hot
Think of мне as roughly meaning “to me/for me.” (eg; to me, this is scary/to me, it is hot.. and so on.)
➔ However, you do use я when describing yourself with an adjective that directly agrees with your gender:
• Я счастлив = I am happy (male speaker)/Я счастлива = I am happy (female speaker)
• Я злой = I am angry (male speaker)/Я злая = I am angry (female speaker)
• Я уставший = I am tired (male speaker)/Я уставшая = I am tired (female speaker)
As a good rule... мне + -о/-е → “I feel / I am experiencing…”
я + adjective → “I am [describing myself].”
