Kilo Lingo
Russian grammar Part of Chapter 4

CEFR A1

5 min read

Test yourself (18 questions)

Transport in Russian: на метро, на автобусе and Asking the Way

By Michael McGettrickUpdated 12 October 2026

Russian travels on its vehicles: , by bus. On foot is . To find your way, ask ...? (where is...?) and follow the directions. And mind the ending on the city: is where you are going, is where you are.

Quick check

Three quick questions on what you have just read. The full practice is further down.

Pick the right one

0/3

Tap the Russian.

  1. Go to the left! (change direction)

  2. a train to Moscow (where it is going)

  3. a bus or tram stop

The whole system on one screen

Colour marks the case ending:

prepositionalaccusativeWhat do the colours mean?
RussianEnglishJob
by bushow you travel
by metrohow you travel
on foothow you travel
?Where is the station?asking where
, (go) left, rightwhich way to go
, on the left, rightwhere it is
to Moscowwhere to
in Moscowwhere

In this table two cases do the work: the prepositional for how you travel and where you are, the accusative for where you are going.

На автобусе, на метро: how you travel

Colour marks the prepositional ending:

prepositionalWhat do the colours mean?

Russian puts the vehicle after (on) in the prepositional case, as if you were sitting on it:

VehicleBy...English
by bus
by train
by tram
by car
by metro
by taxi
  • by bus by bus
  • by train by train
  • by metro by metro
  • by taxi by taxi

and are borrowed words that never change, so they are the easy two. With a verb:

  • . - I'm going to work by bus.
  • . - We're going to St Petersburg by train.

and belong to the verb for travelling by vehicle. Russian has a whole family of going verbs, and verbs of motion sorts them out; for now, (I'm going, by transport) is all you need.

Пешком: on foot

On foot is one word, (peshkom), with no preposition, and it goes with the walking verb, not the riding one:

  • . - I'm walking.
  • , . - It's not far, five minutes on foot.

Distances are often given in time like this: , five minutes' walk, or , five minutes by bus.

Tickets and the station

Colour marks the prepositional ending:

prepositionalWhat do the colours mean?
RussianEnglish
ticket
(mainline) railway station
metro station
bus or tram stop
airport
platform
carriage (of a train)
passenger

Three words for station, and they are not interchangeable:

  • . - I'm at the (railway) station.
  • . - I'm at the metro station.
  • . - I'm at the bus stop.

All three take . Buying a ticket:

  • , . - One ticket to Moscow, please.
  • . - Return (there and back).
  • ? - How much is a metro ticket?

On a long-distance train your ticket names a and a seat, and the attendant checks your at the carriage door.

Places in town

Colour marks the prepositional ending; the boxes mark the two prepositions:

prepositionalв (in)на (on, at)What do the colours mean?
PlaceEnglishWhere it is
museum
theatre
cinema
park
square
street
bridge

Most places take (in); open spaces such as a square or a street take (on). has its own form with a stressed -у, , like . Learn the third column as it stands, a phrase at a time.

Going to Moscow: в Москву, в Москве

Colour marks the two cases after the same preposition:

accusativeprepositionalWhat do the colours mean?

The same little word does two jobs, and the ending tells you which:

QuestionExampleEnglish
? .I'm going to Moscow.
? .I live in Moscow.
? .I'm going to the theatre.
? .I'm at the theatre.

A masculine place such as or looks the same after going, and adds -е for being there: , . Russians often just say , or Питер among friends.

Two panels. In the first, a man with a moustache walks along the grass towards a yellow house, a dashed arrow pointing at its door. In the second, the same house is cut away to show him inside, waving, beside a lamp.
  1. .
  2. .

Он идёт в дом, he is going into the house: куда?, accusative. Он в доме, he is in the house: где?, prepositional.

Где...? Asking where something is

(gde) is where, and the verb is disappears, so the question is two words:

  • ? - Where is the station?
  • ? - Where is the metro round here?
  • ? - Where is the stop?

Open with (excuse me) or , (tell me, please), and you are as polite as you need to be: , ?

To ask the way somewhere on foot, use ...? (how do I get to...?). The place after changes its ending; learn it with the place for now:

  • ? - How do I get to the museum?
  • ? - How do I get to the station?

Налево, направо, прямо: directions

The boxes mark which way to go against where something is:

which way to gowhere it isWhat do the colours mean?

Russian keeps two sets of words where English uses left and right for both:

Which way to goWhere it isEnglish
left
right
(none)straight on
  • , . - Go straight on, then right.
  • . - The entrance is on the left.
  • . - The shop is on the right.

In everyday speech can also say where something is: , there's a shop on the left. But does not tell you which way to turn: means walk on the left-hand side.

So for directions use the на- words, and for position the с- words are always right.

Distance comes in two words: , it's not far, and , it's a long way.

Mistakes English speakers make

WrongRightWhy
(by bus) how you travel: prepositional
Я в . .where: prepositional
в (to Moscow) where to: accusative
(go left) is where, not which way
(on foot)on foot is one word
(the metro) a is for mainline trains

is a real sentence, but it means I'm travelling around inside Moscow; for to Moscow the accusative is the only choice.

What to do next

  1. Say how you get to work or school, with or .
  2. Give directions from your door to the nearest shop with , and .
  3. Do the drill below.

Practise: test yourself

Sort into groups

0/6

В or на: which goes in front of each place (where it is)?

Tap a word, then the group it belongs in.

Complete the story

0/3

Choose the right form for each gap.

Getting to work

Я живу в . На работу я еду на , а домой иду . Это пять минут.

Gap 1 of 3

Spot the mistake

0/2

Tap the mistake.

Pick the right one

0/3

Tap the Russian.

  1. Go to the left! (change direction)

  2. a train to Moscow (where it is going)

  3. a bus or tram stop

Matching

0/4

Match each word to its English.

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Frequently asked questions

How do you say by bus or by train in Russian?
plus the prepositional case: (by bus), (by train), (by tram), (by car). and never change, so and . On foot is a single word, : , I'm walking.
What is the difference between and ?
and say which way to go: , go left. and say where something is: , the entrance is on the left. In everyday speech can also point at where something is, as in , but does not tell you which way to turn: means walk on the left-hand side.
How do you ask for directions in Russian?
Start with or , , then either ...? (where is...?) or ...? (how do I get to...?, on foot). , ? and , , ? are both everyday and polite.
What is the difference between and ?
is a mainline railway station building, for long-distance trains; Moscow has several, each serving its own directions. is a stop on a line, above all a metro station: . A bus or tram stop is neither; it is an .
Is it or ?
Both, for two different questions. Going there (?) takes the accusative: , I'm going to Moscow. Being there (?) takes the prepositional: , I live in Moscow. The same split runs through every place: and , and .