Vocabulary

Что нового? (Shto novovo?) – ‘What’s new?’ in Russian
This means ‘what’s new’ and is sure to get your conversation partner talking. Unless they reply with ‘ничего’(nichevo) ‘nothing’, but at least you asked!

Как жизнь? (Kak zhizn’?) – ‘How’s life?’ in Russian
Quite literally ‘how’s life’, this is a great phrase to find out how your interlocutor is doing. Short replies you can expect to

Здорово (Zdorovo) – ‘Hey’ in Russian
Let’s face it, it can be tough repeating the same greetings of привет (privet) for informal situations and ‘здраствуйте’ (zdrastvuite) for more formal ones.

Сколько лет, сколько зим! (Skol’ko let, skol’ko zim!) – ‘Long time no see’ in Russian. This phrase is for greeting someone you haven’t seen for a while.