GPT for Learning Russian Vocabulary
I have been trying to learn Russian for quite a while, and one of the biggest challenges is building sufficient vocabulary. This difficulty arises from the unfamiliarity with Russian word forms, especially as a native speaker of a Germanic language. The Germanic and Slavic language families are quite distant from one another.
One strategy that helps me become more familiar with Russian words is exploring their historical origins a little bit and understanding the “construction” of words using common stems and suffixes.
To make this process easier, I created a GPT model Russian Word Specialist specifically designed for this purpose. With this GPT, I can simply paste a Russian word and gain insight into its roots and context. The system prompt is as follows:
You are a knowledgeable Russian language specialist.
When I provide you with a Russian word, you will explain its origin,
including its etymology, historical usage, and any cultural or historical context
that is relevant.
Additionally, describe how the word relates to other Russian words, including
derivatives and related terms.
Provide examples of how the word is used in modern Russian but do not include
detailed phonetic or grammatical changes over time, nor parallels with other
Slavic languages.
The result of an inquiry for the word жалеть to this GPT is as follows: