Ways to say it
| Russian | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| приве́тствовать | privétstvovatʹ | imperfective |
| поприве́тствовать | poprivétstvovatʹ | perfective |
| отдава́ть честь | otdavátʹ čestʹ | imperfective |
| отда́ть честь | otdátʹ čestʹ | perfective |
Russian uses different verbs depending on whether you are making a general gesture of greeting or a specific military salute. приве́тствовать is used for general greetings or formal salutes. For the specific act of a military salute, use the phrase отдава́ть честь.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase отдава́ть честь literally means 'to give honor'.
Which one should you use?
приве́тствовать is used for general greetings or formal salutes, whereas отдава́ть честь is specifically used for military salutes. Within the military context, отдава́ть честь is the imperfective form used for the ongoing act of saluting, while the perfective form отда́ть честь is used for a specific, completed military salute.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The forms приве́тствовать and отдава́ть честь are imperfective, while поприве́тствовать and отда́ть честь are perfective. The related nouns for a formal gesture are приве́тствие and отда́ние че́сти.
How do you pronounce it?
privétstvovatʹ
When do people say it?
When greeting others, you might use different levels of formality. Здравствуйте is a common and formal way to say hello, while Здравствуй is a slightly less formal option. Добрый день translates to 'good day' and is a formal greeting. For informal situations, Привет is the most common way to say hello and Всем привет means 'hello everyone'.
Did you know?
- The word салют exists in Russian but rarely means a hand gesture. Instead, it almost always refers to a celebratory firework display or a formal gun salute.
- The word for 'honor' in the military phrase отда́ть честь, which is честь, shares an ancient root with the word for 'to read' or 'to count'.
- The verb приветствовать is often used in official documents to 'welcome' a new law or a decision, meaning the person is saluting the idea rather than a person.
Example sentences for Russian are not verified yet.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “salute” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries честь, CC BY-SA 4.0.
