Quick answer
Да · Нет
da / net — the two shortest words — and the traps around them
The options
Да.Yes.
Нет.No.
Коне́чно!Of course! — the ч sounds like ш: kanéshna
Да, коне́чно.Yes, of course.
Не о́чень.Not really.
Мо́жет быть.Maybe.
Answering a negative question
When a Russian asks Вы не зна́ете, где метро́? (“You don’t happen to know where the metro is?”), that is a polite question, not a real negative. Answer Зна́ю or Не зна́ю — repeating the verb is clearer than да or нет.
да as a filler
Russians often start a sentence with да without meaning “yes” at all: Да нет, наве́рное famously means “well, probably not”. Do not try to use it early — just do not panic when you hear it.
What you hear back
Зна́ю.I do know. — answering the verb
Не зна́ю.I don’t know.
Да, э́то так.Yes, that’s right.
Typical mistakes
Да, я не зна́ю.
Нет, я не зна́ю.
да with a negative sentence sounds contradictory. Match them.
Pronouncing коне́чно with a ч
kanéshna
In this word and in что, ч is pronounced ш.
Check yourself
How is коне́чно pronounced?
Unstressed о sounds like a, and ч becomes ш in this word: kanéshna.