The aim of the study is to compare the methods of semantization of vocabulary in teaching Russian to Chinese students in Russia and in China. It has been established that the set of recommended techniques for the semantization of Russian vocabulary in Russian and Chinese methodological works is the same, however, Russian textbooks are focused mainly on non-translating language training, and Chinese on the translated one. This means that in the study of national linguodidactic traditions, as well as in their comparison, the analysis of textbooks and teaching practices is more important than the analysis of methodological concepts.