Say I Miss You in Russian
There are several ways to say "I miss you" in Russian. The most direct translation from English is relatively easy for English speakers to say, even if they haven't studied Russian. If you do know some Russian, or if you're feeling ambitious, there are a variety of other phrases you can use.
Steps
- Say “Я по тебе скучаю” for "I miss you." The verb скучать (skoo-cháht') means "to miss" in this context. Here is the full sentence "I miss you:"
- Я по тебе скучаю.
- Ya puh te-byé skoo-chái-yoo
- Exact pronunciation in IPA: [ja pətʲɪˈbʲe skʊˈʨajʊ]
- English phoneme approximation: [jɑː pətɪ'bɛ skʊ'tʃɑːjʊ]
- You can change the word order to “Я скучаю по тебе” with no change in meaning.
- Keep it short and sweet. The easiest way to say "I miss you" is one word: “Скучаю.” This is the same word used in the sentence above, pronounced "Skoo-chái-yoo."
- Use an alternative. Соскучиться is another common word for "miss." This form conveys the same meaning “I miss you”, but may by more suitable if you want to suggest something (e.g., let's see each other). It can be used by itself as well.As a female speaker:
Я по тебе соскучилась.
Ya puh te-byé so-skóo-chi-las'
Exact pronunciation: [ja pətʲɪˈbʲe səsˈkuʨɪləsʲ]
English phoneme approximation: [jɑː pətɪ'bɛ səs'kuːtʃɪlɑːs]As a male speaker
Я по тебе соскучился.
Ya puh te-byé so-skóo-chil-s(y)uh
Exact pronunciation: [ja pətʲɪˈbʲe səsˈkuʨɪlsʲə]
English phoneme approximation: [jɑː pətɪ'bɛ səs'kuːtʃɪlsɑː]- Even though the verb is in the past tense, "I miss you" is a good translation into English.
- Emphasize the feeling. To step your love letters up a notch, use these variations:
- Я по тебе так сильно скучаю (Ya puh te-byé tak síl'-nuh skoo-chái-yoo): "I miss you so much."
- Мне тебя не хватает (Mnyé te-byá ni khva-tái-yet): a common but sweet phrase for "I miss you" (literally "I can't get enough of you")
- Ты всегда в моих мыслях (Tui vsyeg-dá vmo-íkh múi-sl(y)akh): "You are always in my thoughts."
- Address multiple people or a formal acquaintance. "I miss you" is usually used in romantic or family contexts, when you should always use the informal phrases above. If you are talking to an acquaintance or someone you still address with the formal вы, use one of these constructions instead. This is also how you address multiple people, even if you know them well.
- Я скучаю по вам. ("po vam" instead of "puh te-byé").
- Я по вам соскучилась / соскучился.
Tips
- The form of соскучиться does not change depending on the gender of the person you are talking about. Russian past tense verbs change depending on the gender of the speaker.
- Where the parenthetical "(y)" appears in the transliteration, there is a slight "y" sound that can be difficult for English speakers to include. You can skip it and still be understood.
- If you are studying Russian, practice using the verb скучать in other sentences. It takes the preposition по followed by the dative or prepositional case (скучать по кому-то/чему-то or ком-то/чём-то).
Warnings
- The same verb скучать also means "to be bored"! Я скучаю (Ya skoo-chái-yoo) as a standalone sentence might be taken to mean "I am bored" if it is not clear from context. Мне скучно (Mnye skóo-chnuh) is the more common phrase for "I am bored," however, so the meaning is usually clear.
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