Russian Lessons: Time Schedule

мальчик [`mal'-chik);
(b) a girl - 
девочка [`dye-vach-ka];
(c) a young man (somebody between 15 and 25 years old) 
– молодой человек 
[ma-la-`doy che-la-`vyek];
(d) a young woman (approximately in the same age group) 
– девушка [`dye-vush-
ka]. 
Strictly speaking, the word
девушка means a young unmarried woman. Therefore, 
some young married women may feel offended if you call them 
девушка. But what can 
you call them or, for that matter, any adult woman? 
A man of any age in the old Soviet Union could be called 
товарищ, but for women this 
word was usually used only in combination with their surname (do you remember our 
recent example:
товарищ Иванова? This is because the word товарищ has 
masculine gender, and there was no proper equivalent which you could use towards a 
woman. 
So what could you do? We mentioned before the word rpa
жданкa. You could use this 
word to attract the attention of a woman in a queue, in a bus, and in other public places. 

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29 
As you have already learnt, this word does have an equivalent in masculine gender, 
namely: rpa
жданин. 
An elderly, ordinary looking woman can also be called 
бабушка [`ba-bu-shka], which 
literally means “grandma”. An elderly man in similar circumstances can be called
дедушка  [`dye-du-shka], which means “granddad”. 
But, if you talk to an elderly woman who is smartly dressed and looks “upper-class", 
please do not call her 
бабушка - she may be insulted and can in turn insult you. 
If you are still unsure how to start a "street" conversation with a person you don't know, 
say simply "Excuse me, please". But of course, it will be better if you say the same in 
Russian, i.e.