до́брый день
dóbryj denʹ
до́брый день (dóbryj denʹ) is the Russian way to say 'good day'.
до́брый день is used as a standard greeting during daylight hours, between sunrise and sunset, similar to 'good afternoon' in English.
Meaning: greeting between sunrise and sunset (intj)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the adjective до́брый (good) and the noun день (day).
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
до́брый день is a common, neutral and formal greeting used in professional or polite settings. It is much more formal than the common informal greeting приве́т.
How do you pronounce it?
dóbryj denʹ
When do people say it?
In formal settings, you can use до́брый день interchangeably with Здравствуйте, which means 'Hello' or 'Greetings'. For informal situations, you might instead use приве́т (hi/hello) or Здорово (hello).
Did you know?
- The Russian word день is a linguistic cousin to the Sanskrit word dina, showing a deep ancient connection between Slavic and Indian languages.
- While English speakers use 'good day' as a polite-sounding way to end a conversation, using до́брый день as a parting salutation in Russian sounds unnatural and awkward.
- While до́брый день means 'good day', the word до́брый is more often used to describe a person's kindness or a 'kind' soul rather than general quality.
Example sentences for Russian are not verified yet.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “good day” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries день, CC BY-SA 4.0.
