Eating and ordering in Russian
Russian has a special use of the genitive — the partitive — for talking about portions of mass nouns ('some tea, some sugar'). Restaurant phrases also lean on the dative and a few set expressions you'll hear constantly.
The partitive: 'some' = genitive
When you ask for an unspecified amount of something: - Дайте, пожалуйста, чая. = Give me some tea, please. (genitive of чай) - Хочу воды. = I want some water. - У меня нет сахара. = I don't have any sugar. A few common nouns even have a special 'partitive' genitive ending in -у/-ю in casual speech: чашку чаю = a cup of tea (instead of чая). Both forms are correct.
Meals and times
- завтрак (breakfast), обед (lunch), ужин (dinner). - завтракать / позавтракать = to have breakfast. - обедать / пообедать = to have lunch. - ужинать / поужинать = to have dinner. Я завтракаю в восемь часов. = I have breakfast at eight.
At the restaurant
- Меню, пожалуйста. = The menu, please. - Что вы будете? = What will you have? - Я буду суп и салат. = I'll have soup and salad. (буду = future of быть, with the food in accusative.) - Счёт, пожалуйста. = The check, please. - Это вкусно! = It's delicious!
Like vs love (food edition)
Russians use both: - Я люблю чай. = I love tea (general love for it). - Мне нравится этот суп. = I like this soup (more limited / contextual). Food preferences typically use любить for general likes and нравиться for specific instances.
