День 11 из 37: Сто друзей!
📚 Слова́ дня · Words of the day: 8 – лицо́, мо́рда, цвето́к, огуре́ц, у́лица, молоде́ц, э́то, эй.
🔤 Бу́квы дня · Letters of the day: 2 – Ц Э. Ц has a little tail; Э is an E that looks the other way!
⏱ Part 1 = 15 minutes – everybody finishes it. Part 2 = more, only if you want. · 🗺️ All days
Stand up! Yesterday's homework: wash your hands – «Мы мо́ем ру́чки – вот так!» 🧼 – then touch: «Вот плечо́! Вот щека́!» 🙆
You remembered it – that is your first win today. Today we go out into the street – a flower, a cucumber, a few coins – and the last two «easy» letters. 🌼
- Don't read anything yet. Listen to the street: «Эй!» – and the echo. Watch who gets the fish – and who brings the flowers. 👂
- Listen to the end: на у́лице – the end -е again, like на столе́.
- Tap the words above to hear them.
Say every word aloud and show it – the gesture is under the picture. The movement falls on the loud syllable: ли-ЦО́ – draw a circle round your face; цве-ТО́К – open your fingers like a flower; ЭЙ – call far away!
Tap the word to hear it. Tap the picture to open the word in the dictionary.
🛍️ In the street:
🙂 A face – and a cat's face:
🗣️ Little words:
- A cat has no лицо́ – a cat has a мо́рда (sweetly: мо́рдочка, морда́шка). Like a cat has a ла́па, not a рука́! 🐱
- у́лица and лицо́ – remember them together! Natasha's trick: the street is what is «у лица́» of the house, in front of its face. 🏠 Natasha is a teacher, not a linguist – this is a trick to remember, not the true history of the word. Don't believe her – when you know Russian, check her and correct her! 😉
- э́то and молоде́ц – you have heard them since День 1 and 2. Today you can read them! 🎉
- Where? на у́лице – the end -е again, like на столе́. Just copy it. 😊
- Ц – ts as in cats – but one sound, at the start too: ЦВЕТО́К, ЛИЦО́, ОГУРЕ́Ц. It looks like a little cup with a tail – like Щ has. 🐈
- Э – e as in met, mouth open: Э́ТО, ЭЙ. It is an E that looks the other way – like a mirror! 🪞
- Small letters: ц э – the same shapes, only smaller.
- Now you know twenty-eight letters: А К М О Т Е Р С В Н У И Л Д Б П Г З Ф Ы Й Х Ж Ч Ш Щ Ц Э – only five to go! Read today's words: ЛИЦО́, МО́РДА, МО́РДОЧКА, ЦВЕТО́К, ОГУРЕ́Ц, У́ЛИЦА, МОЛОДЕ́Ц, Э́ТО, ЭЙ – all of them! And something you heard on День 9 – МЫ – МОЛОДЦЫ́! 🎉
- ✍️ Пиши́те! Write them by hand: Ц · Э – how each letter is written, and a sheet to print.
👂 Listen first. Then try to read it – most words you can read today! 🪙
- Ната́ша: Ско́лько сто́ит ры́ба? —
Сли́нки: Сто рубле́й! — Ната́ша: Да! Так! - Ната́ша (coins on the table, one by one): Оди́н рубль, два рубля́, пять рубле́й… сто рубле́й! 🪙
Ска́ффлз: Сто рубль?! — Ната́ша: Нет! Сто рубле́й.- Ска́ффлз: Не хочу́ сто рубле́й. Хочу́ ры́бу! 🐟 — Ната́ша: Нет, Ска́ффлз!
- Ри́чард 👋: А ско́лько сто́ит огуре́ц? — Ната́ша: Сто рубле́й, Ри́чард! — Ри́чард: Сто?! Ой! 😮
And you? Point at a thing: «Ско́лько сто́ит?» – and answer: «Сто рубле́й!» – aloud, or just in your head. Both count. 😊 🌱 Ско́лько сто́ит…? = How much is…? – one block, learn it whole. After a number the word changes: оди́н рубль, два рубля́, пять рубле́й, сто рубле́й – like «два кота́» on День 9. Scuffles forgets it – Natasha says «Нет!». Just copy – the rules come later. (ско́лько, рубль, рубля́, пять – heard only: they need letters that come on День 12 and 13. Сто рубле́й – you can read!)
Say the story aloud, with the actions. Then play: do the action – say the word. Mix them up!
Эй! Эй! – Э́то э́хо! 📣
Вот у́лица. Мы на у́лице! 🛍️
Вот огуре́ц. Вот цвето́к. А вот ры́ба! 🥒🌼🐟
Ско́лько сто́ит огуре́ц? – Сто рубле́й. 🪙
Сли́нки мо́ет мо́рдочку. А у меня́ – лицо́! 🐈🙂
Ой! Рубле́й нет! 😢
Ска́ффлз! А сто рубле́й?! Нет, нет, нет! Брысь! 😼
Спаси́бо! Сли́нки – молоде́ц! Ри́чард – молоде́ц! 👍
👀 read it and say it – a proverb you read on its own day: Не име́й сто рубле́й, а име́й сто друзе́й. 🤝
- Call a friend (or your cat) from far away: Эй! 📣
- Draw a circle round your face: Вот лицо́! – and whiskers for a cat: Вот мо́рда! 🐱
- Point at a flower or a cup: Э́то цвето́к! Э́то ча́шка! 🌼
- Ask: Ско́лько сто́ит? – and answer yourself: Сто рубле́й! 😄
- Thumbs up for yourself: Молоде́ц! 👍
- Speaking is optional – listening and doing count too.
Can you do it without the video? – Молоде́ц! Go to the tap quiz.
Guess, then tap. A wrong tap is not a mistake – it is a guess. 😊
Хорошо́! Молоде́ц! Two small things left – two minutes.
- Ц = т + с together, as one quick sound: not «т… с… вето́к» – цвето́к. English has it only at the end (cats); Russian has it at the start too.
- Ц is always hard, like Ж and Ш: so ци sounds like цы – цирк = «цырк». 😮
- Hear the end: огуре́ц, молоде́ц – a short, sharp ts.
- Call the hens, like a Russian grandma: «Цып-цып-цып!» 🐔 – three times, faster and faster.
- 30 seconds, every day. The tongue is a muscle – this is aerobics. 💪
Tomorrow, find a flower (or draw one) and say: «Вот цвето́к! Ско́лько сто́ит? – Сто рубле́й!» 🌼 – then draw a circle round your face: «Вот лицо́!»
That is the first minute of День 12. You already know it – so День 12 starts with a win.
«Эй! – Э́хо!» – Natasha calls a word, loud, with a big gesture. You are the echo: say it twice, quieter, with a small gesture. 👂 Listen and play – you can read every line! 📣
| Say | Do |
|---|---|
| Эй! – эй… эй… | cup your hand at your mouth and call far on ЭЙ – then whisper it twice 📣 |
| Лицо́! – лицо́… лицо́… | a big circle round your face on ЦО – then two small ones |
| Цвето́к! – цвето́к… цвето́к… | open your fingers like a flower on ТОК – then smaller 🌼 |
| Огуре́ц! – огуре́ц… огуре́ц… | hold a long cucumber with both hands on РЕЦ – then a short one 🥒 |
| Молоде́ц! – молоде́ц… молоде́ц… | both thumbs up on ДЕЦ – then one, then a little one 👍 |
| Ска́ффлз? – Р-р-р! | the wrong echo – a cross cat face 😼 |
- Play it three times – a little faster each time.
- Gesture → word. Don't look at the cards. Make a gesture – say the word. Mixed order: 🌼 · 👍 · 🐱 · 🛍️ · 🥒 · 📣 · 👇 · 🙂
- Yesterday comes back. Mix in four words from День 10: ча́шка ☕ · шокола́д 🍫 · плечо́ 🙆 · щека́ 😊. Careful – щека́ and лицо́: for «щека́» puff out one cheek and press it, for «лицо́» draw a circle round the whole face!
Saying a word again after a pause, from memory, is what makes it stay. э́хо = echo – you can read it too: Э́ХО! 😄
What vegetable is it? – помидо́р, карто́шка, огуре́ц… Где огуре́ц? – Вот он!
Today's огуре́ц with the new letter Ц. Tap the title – the page opens; the bar at its top brings you back here.
Parts of the body: the face – listen to the orders and do them: touch your nose, show your ears…
Today's word лицо́ – with the new letter Ц. Tap the title – the page opens; the bar at its top brings you back here.
Only the twenty-eight letters you know: А К М О Т Е Р С В Н У И Л Д Б П Г З Ф Ы Й Х Ж Ч Ш Щ + Ц Э. Read the word aloud, then tap it to check.
🛍️ У́ЛИЦА · ОГУРЕ́Ц · ЦВЕТО́К · ЛИЦО́
🗣️ ЭЙ · Э́ТО · МОЛОДЕ́Ц · МОЛОДЦЫ́ · Э́ХО
🐔 ПТИ́ЦА · КУ́РИЦА · ПЕВЕ́Ц · ЭКРА́Н · СТО · СПАСИ́БО · ЦЫП-ЦЫП-ЦЫП!
Now whole sentences:
ЭЙ! Э́ТО Э́ХО! · ВОТ У́ЛИЦА. · МЫ НА У́ЛИЦЕ! · ВОТ ОГУРЕ́Ц. · У КО́ШКИ – МО́РДОЧКА. · ВОТ СТО РУБЛЕ́Й. · СКА́ФФЛЗ! А СТО РУБЛЕ́Й?! · Э́ТО ЦВЕТО́К. · СПАСИ́БО! · РИ́ЧАРД – МОЛОДЕ́Ц! · МЫ – МОЛОДЦЫ́!
👀 And now – today's proverb. Read it alone!
НЕ ИМЕ́Й СТО РУБЛЕ́Й, А ИМЕ́Й СТО ДРУЗЕ́Й.
All its letters are yours now – no Я, no Ь. With «Рука́ ру́ку мо́ет», «Где голова́, там и но́ги бу́дут» and the four of День 10, that is seven proverbs you can read! 🦉
- Write three words in big letters: ЛИЦО́, ЦВЕТО́К, ЭЙ. Has your Ц its little tail? Does your Э look the other way? ✏️
- лицо́ comes from the old word лик – a face (on icons you still see «лик»).
- ли́чность – a person, who you are: your «face» among people.
- нали́чность – cash, the money you have on you – «на лице́». 🪙 (And today's story is about money!)
- юриди́ческое лицо́ – a company: a «legal face», a legal person.
- отли́чно – excellent: from отличи́ться – to stand out, to have a face different from all the others. ⭐
- о́блик – how something looks, its whole picture.
- у́лица – Natasha's trick: «у лица́» of the house. 🏠 Easy to remember – but the dictionaries say the real root is different: у́лица is a cousin of у́лей (a beehive), from an old word for «an empty passage». One day you will check this yourself – then you are a good student! 🐝
- And a cat? A cat has no лицо́ – a cat has a мо́рда: мо́рдочка, морда́шка. 🐱
Just look and smile – you don't have to learn these words now. One root, many words: Russian is built like this. 😊
Don't have a hundred roubles – have a hundred friends.
Natasha had no money for the flower – and she got two flowers for nothing, from Slinky and from Richard. Friends are worth more than money: when money can't help, friends can. рубль comes from руби́ть, to chop – long ago silver bars were chopped into pieces. друзе́й = of many friends (one is друг – a strange «more than one», like у́хо → у́ши). 🤝 Gesture: rub your fingers as if counting coins on «сто рубле́й», open your arms wide on «сто друзе́й». (Proverb page and mp3 to add.)
Эй! Эй! – Эй… эй… Э́то э́хо! Вот у́лица. Мы на у́лице! Вот огуре́ц. Вот цвето́к. А вот ры́ба! Ско́лько сто́ит огуре́ц? – Сто рубле́й. Вот сто рубле́й. Сли́нки мо́ет мо́рдочку. У ко́шки – мо́рдочка! А у меня́ – лицо́. Вот лицо́! А цвето́к? Ско́лько сто́ит цвето́к? – Сто рубле́й. Ой! Рубле́й нет! Ска́ффлз! А сто рубле́й?! Нет, нет, нет! Брысь! – Р-р-р… Ната́ша, э́то тебе́! – Спаси́бо! Сли́нки – молоде́ц! Ри́чард – молоде́ц! Не име́й сто рубле́й, а име́й сто друзе́й. Молоде́ц! Пока́!
Hey! Hey! – Hey… hey… It's an echo! Here is a street. We are in the street! Here is a cucumber. Here is a flower. And here is a fish! How much is the cucumber? – A hundred roubles. Here are a hundred roubles. Slinky is washing her little face. A cat has a мо́рдочка (a cat's face)! And I have a лицо́ (a face). Here is my face! And the flower? How much is the flower? – A hundred roubles. Oh! No roubles! Scuffles! And the hundred roubles?! No, no, no! Shoo! – Grrr… Natasha, this is for you! – Thank you! Slinky, well done! Richard, well done! Don't have a hundred roubles – have a hundred friends. Well done! Bye!
- Ц = ts, one sound · Э = e in met.
- Ц is always hard: ци sounds like цы (цирк = «цырк»).
- Where? на у́лице – the end -е, like на столе́.
- Ско́лько сто́ит…? – Сто рубле́й. One block – learn it whole.
- A person has a лицо́, a cat has a мо́рда (мо́рдочка).
- Every new word has two links: tap the word to hear it 🔊, tap the picture to open it in the dictionary 📖.
ударе́ние – stress – shows the syllable you say louder and longer, just like in English: LUN-dun (London), TEL-ih-fohn (telephone).
ЛО́НДОН – the stress is on the first syllable, as in English. But Russians say a real, round о: LON-d’n, not LUN-dun. The second о comes after the stress, so it is short and weak (like the a in sofa).
ТЕЛЕФО́Н – not like the English TEL-ih-fohn: the stress is on the last syllable: ti-li-FON (е without stress sounds like a short и). That is why we mark the stress.
🎯 Why does о sound like а?
ЦИРК = circus, ЦЕНТР = centre – the same words in Russian letters! 🎪
ПОЭ́Т = poet, ЭКРА́Н = screen (like French écran). 📺
ЦВЕТО́К – from цвет, colour: a flower is a little bit of colour. 🌼
ОГУРЕ́Ц came from old Greek ágouros – «not ripe», because we eat cucumbers green. 🥒
Э is an E looking in a mirror. And «Эй!» is just hey! 😄
🔬 Почему́ так · Why this way
- A win in the first minute – yesterday's homework. Remembering yesterday's words without looking is one of the best-proven tools – 50 classroom experiments: Agarwal · Nunes · Blunt 2021.
- 15 minutes a day, not one long lesson. Short daily sessions beat one long one: 35 min × 6 days scored 83 vs 70 for one 3.5-hour lesson. Study with adults – Stoltzfus · Sukseemuang 2018; gaps of 1–4 days work best – Rogers · Nakata · Chiu 2025.
- New letters, then real words at once. Learners who meet letters inside real words they can read straight away learn to read faster. Study with adults – Brennan · Booth 2015.
- Heard for days, read today. «э́то» was heard from День 2, «молоде́ц» from День 1 – today you read them. A thing met again after a gap of days is remembered far better than the same thing met again at once (84 % vs 63 %, Wegener et al. 2023).
- The echo game. Saying a word again from memory, a moment later, is a small retrieval – the same tool as the warm-up (Agarwal 2021).
- The body with a gesture. A word said with a matching gesture, made by the learner, stays in memory far longer. Study with adults – Macedonia · Knösche 2011 (Max Planck Institute, Leipzig). Watching the gesture helps almost as much as doing it – 7 studies, 309 adults – Oppici et al. 2023.
- The action on the loud syllable. A hand beat on the stressed syllable helps adults pronounce new words. Studies with adults – Prieto's group, Barcelona.
- A block before the rule. «Ско́лько сто́ит? – Сто рубле́й» is learned whole, like a song; the grammar inside comes much later. Learners pick up such ready-made blocks whole (Wray 2002, formulaic language).
- The proverb at the end of the story. Natasha says it once at the end of the video, where the story shows it; its explanation sits in Part 2, outside the core lesson – extras inside the core lower learning of the main thing (Mayer, seductive details). An idiom learned with its picture and story is remembered better than with a bare translation (Boers 2001).
- The cat makes the mistakes. Nobody corrects the student. The student laughs and is never the one who is wrong.
- Our own method. Natasha's Language Aerobics – tested for many years with her students.
- Videos needed
- Russian лицо
- Russian морда
- Russian лик
- Russian личность
- Russian отлично
- Russian цветок
- Russian огурец
- Russian улица
- Russian молодец
- Russian это
- Russian эй
- Russian сколько
- Russian стоить
- Russian сто
- Russian рубль
- Russian иметь
- Russian друг
- Russian друзья
- Russian рыба
- Russian спасибо
- Russian мыть
- Russian птица
- Russian курица
- Russian певец
- Russian экран
- Russian кошка
- Russian один
- Russian два
- Russian пять
- Russian хотеть
- Russian ты
- Russian мы
- Russian нет
- Russian вот
- Russian на
- Russian в
- Russian не