Russian Language Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for students, teachers, and linguists wanting to discuss the finer points of the Russian language. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
When I look in dictionaries, they give me driveway, but then the following sentences don't really make sense. It sounds more like a part of a building (complex):
Мы живем в одном подъезде.
Моя квартира -- в четвертом подъезде на третьем этаже.
Она работает консьержкой в нашем подъезде.
Она убирает в нашем подъезде.
As an addition to @Artemix' answer, here's a picture of what a подъезд looks like. Usually buildings have several of them, they are counted from left to right, so the leftmost arrow points to the первый подъезд, the next one is второй подъезд, etc.
Its "communal entrance hallway" or "entrance of an apartment building". Other synonym is "парадное".
One building can have multiple entrances which lead to a different parts of a building.
Мы живем в одном подъезде.
"We use common entrance to the apartment building".
Моя квартира -- в четвертом подъезде на третьем этаже.
"My apartments are in the 4th entrance, on the third floor"
Она работает консьержкой в нашем подъезде.
"She is a doorkeeper of the entrance we use"
Она убирает в нашем подъезде.
"She cleans the entrance (and staircase, and other commonly used indoor spaces - hallway, corridors, elevators) we use".
Last example illustrates the idea of подъезд as a "section of an apartment building that uses single entrance".
Driveway is also correct, but "entrance" is more commonly used in cities.
Подъезд - is a (multilevel) block of appartments with a common entrance.
Another meaning driveway is also correct.
