Russian words you need to know to build your Russian vocabulary

Common Russian words: facts and figures

By focusing your efforts on learning the most common Russian words, you will be fluent in Russian in no time.

Common Russian signs

  • • открыто (otkryto): open
  • • Закрыто (zakryto): closed
  • • вход (vhod): entrance
  • • выход (vykhod): exit
  • • помогите (pomogite): help
  • • пожар (pozhar): fire
  • • полиция (politsiya): police
  • • cтойте (stoyte): stop
  • • уборная (ubornaya): toilet
  • • Часы работы (chasy raboty): opening hours
  • • осторожный (ostorozhnyy): careful
  • • внимание (vnimaniye): attention

Russian flag
Common Russian words

When you know the most common 100 Russian words

You can understand 50% of the texts written in Russian

Top 10 most common Russian words pronounced by fluent Russian speakers

  1. 1. Привет = Hello

    Let's naturally start with "Здравствуйте" which means "Hello" in Russian. This is one of the most known words in Russian and a great way to start a conversation with someone from Russia. Click play below to listen to the actual pronunciation:

    Привет

  2. 2. Любовь = Love

    Love is a universal feeling and we definitely had to talk about it here. Russian people have a lovely way of saying they love someone or something through the word "любовь". Hear it in action here:

    Любовь

  3. 3. Радость = Happiness

    When there's love, there's definitely happiness. We are all chasing "радость" as Russian speaking people would say. Listen closely and you might just get some “happiness” in your life today:

    Радость

  4. 4. Кошка = Cat

    Let's talk pets. There are two types of people in the world: cat people and dog people. We are going to talk about cats first or how people in Ukraine would say: "кошка". Listen to how it sounds like:

    Кошка

  5. 5. Собака = Dog

    But let's not forget our lovely and loyal companions, dogs. A dog in Russian is "собака", a really useful word for dog lovers worldwide. Here is how you would pronounce it:

    Собака

  6. 6. Улыбаться = Smile

    Now it is time to smile. Or how someone from Russia would say: "улыбаться". Smiling makes us happy and helps us stay healthy, so that's why we all need to smile every day. Here's the Russian pronunciation:

    Улыбаться

  7. 7. Россиянин = Russian

    Next, let’s see how people in Russia say “Russian”. The correct answer is "русский". Listen to how a Russian speaker would pronounce it:

    Россиянин

  8. 8. Да = Yes

    Yes, we have arrived at number 8 where “yes” is the subject to be discussed. Russian speakers say “yes” by simply saying "да". Enhance your understanding by listening to how a person from Russia would pronounce it:

    Да

  9. 9. Спасибо = Thank you

    Thank you for reading this far or should I say "Спасибо" as they say in Russian. Here's a native speaker thanking you in Russian:

    Спасибо

  10. 10. До свидания = Goodbye

    No polite conversation can end without a good old goodbye or "Goodbye" how Russian people usually say. Now it's time for a delightful Russian voice to say "До свидания" to you:

    До свидания

Common Russian words

Speaking Russian

    Russian words related to 'place'
  • книжный магазин (knizhnyy magazin): bookshop
  • супермаркет: supermarket
  • Булочная (bulochnaya): bakery

    Russian words related to 'time'
  • час (chas): hour
  • секунда (sekunda): second
  • вчера (vchera): yesterday
  • вчера (zavtra): tomorrow
  • сегодня (segodnya): today
  • год (god): year
  • неделя (nedelya): week

  • Russian words related to 'eating out'
  • кофе (kofe): coffee
  • пиво (pivo): beer
  • чай (chay): tea
  • вино (vino): wine
  • вода (voda): water
  • cалат (salat): salad
  • cуп (sup): soup
  • Цыплёнка (tsyplyonka): chicken
  • говядина (govyadina): beef
  • pыба (riba): fish

Speaking Russian

Russian verbs

People speaking Russian

взять: to take
понять: to understand
встретиться: to meet
пригласить: to invite
идти: to go
купить: to buy
кушать: to eat
xодить: to walk
говорить: to say, to tell, to speak
знать: to know, be aware
стать: to become, begin, come
есть: to eat, to be
хотеть: to want, like
видеть: to see
идти: to go, come
стоять: to stand, be, stand up
думать: to think; believe
спросить: to ask

People speaking Russian

Russian adjectives and adverbs

Top Russian words

трудный: hard
Лёгкий: easy
cухой: dry
мокрый: wet
Ранний: early
иоздний: late
Быстрый: fast
Левый: left
иравый: right
кра́йне: extremely
сре́дне: average
там: there
здесь: here
первый: first
затем: then
потом: afterward
очень: very

Top Russian words

Why learn the most common Russian words first?

Make Russian learning fun and easier

Starting with the Russian basics means you will begin by learning the easiest words first and gradually increase difficulty. This way you will feel great while learning and see how your language knowledge broadens.

Have basic Russian conversations in no time

You'll be able to speak to someone from Moscow or Kiev about regular topics like weather, politics or family. This will make you confident in your Russian skills and eager to learn more.

Become fluent in Russian faster

By learning the most common Russian words first you are learning the smart way. Why learn the most unusual words in Russian when you might never use them in real life?

You improve your Russian vocabulary

Each new Russian word you learn piles up until your vocabulary builds stronger and stronger. Each lesson gets you one step closer to fluency.

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