The most common Russian words, in frequency order

This is a frequency-based Russian word list: words ranked by how often they actually occur in everyday text, with translations and pronunciation. Frequency-based learning means studying words in this order, so every hour goes to the words you will meet most. Learn the first 500 and you will recognise about 55% of the words in everyday Russian. That is Zipf's law, and it is why this list is in this order. The first 250 are below; Zipf teaches all 5,000.

55%of everyday Russian text is the first 500 words

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The 250 most common Russian words

#	Word	IPA	Part of speech	Meaning
1	в	[v]	preposition	[with prepositional]; in, at, on
2	и	[i]	conjunction	and
3	на	[nə]	preposition	[with accusative]; onto, on
4	не	[nʲɪ]	particle	not, no, -n't, without; Idiomatic negative usage
5	что	[ʂto]	pronoun	what
6	с	[s]	preposition	[with instrumental]; with
7	быть	[bɨtʲ]	verb	to be; there be
8	я	[ja]	pronoun	alternative letter-case form of я (ja).
9	это	[ˈɛtə]	pronoun	Generic demonstrative pronoun. Translated as "this" or "that" (or their plural forms, "these" or "those"), depending on the context.; Used as a personal pronoun when not referring to a particular noun. Translated as "it".
10	по	[pə]	preposition	[with dative]; used broadly to indicate action, typically involving movement, across a surface or across several things in a generally flat plane; across, on, along, down, up, all over, (all) around
11	а	[ə]	conjunction	and, but
12	как	[kək]	adverb	how
13	из	[ɪz]	preposition	from; out of
14	за	[zə]	preposition	[with accusative]; to
15	для	[dlʲə]	preposition	for
16	к	[k]	preposition	to, toward; by, for (of time)
17	о	[o]	preposition	[with prepositional]; about, of, on
18	год	[ɡot]	noun	year
19	но	[no]	conjunction	but, yet
20	то	[to]	conjunction	that
21	у	[u]	preposition	at, by, near; in the possession of (used to express "to have")
22	от	[ɐt]	preposition	from, away from, of, with (in the following senses):; to denote the starting point of the movement of something
23	его	[(j)ɪˈvo]	pronoun	accusative of он (on): him; genitive of он (on): of him
24	он	[on]	pronoun	third-person masculine singular pronoun: he, it.
25	все	[fsʲe]	pronoun	all
26	этот	[ˈɛtət]	pronoun	this
27	свой	[svoj]	pronoun	one's own
28	так	[tak]	adverb	like that, like this (in that/this way, in that/this manner) (translated as "that" or "this" with some verbs); Used to indicate a high degree of something.
29	мочь	[mot͡ɕ]	verb	can, be able to; may
30	человек	[t͡ɕɪɫɐˈvʲek]	noun	person, human being, man; mankind, man, the human race
31	такой	[tɐˈkoj]	pronoun	such
32	же	[ʐɨ]	particle	Emphasises identity: very, same; With expressions of time and order: emphasises promptitude: very, right, immediately, without delay
33	мы	[mɨ]	pronoun	we; I (only when used with с (s))
34	ещё	[(j)ɪˈɕːɵ]	adverb	yet, more; else
35	до	[də]	preposition	before; up to, till, until
36	ты	/tɨ/	pronoun	second-person singular, nominative case: you, thou
37	только	[ˈtolʲkə]	adverb	only
38	весь	[vʲesʲ]	adjective	all, whole
39	время	[ˈvrʲemʲə]	noun	time; tense
40	если	[ˈjes⁽ʲ⁾lʲɪ]	conjunction	if, in case
41	когда	[kɐɡˈda]	adverb	when
42	кто	[kto]	pronoun	who
43	было	[ˈbɨɫə]	verb	neuter singular past indicative imperfective of быть (bytʹ)
44	мне	[mnʲe]	pronoun	dative/prepositional of я (ja)
45	меня	[mʲɪˈnʲa]	pronoun	genitive of я (ja): of me; accusative of я (ja): me
46	уже	[ʊˈʐɛ]	adverb	already; carries the sense of the perfect continuous tenses in English.; by now, (as of) now
47	бы	[bɨ]	particle	would
48	или	[ˈilʲɪ]	conjunction	or; or else
49	их	[ix]	pronoun	genitive of они́ (oní); they, of them; accusative of они́ (oní): them
50	они	[ɐˈnʲi]	pronoun	they
51	себя	[sʲɪˈbʲa]	pronoun	myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves (no nominative case); oneself
52	новый	[ˈnovɨj]	adjective	new; novel
53	первый	[ˈpʲervɨj]	adjective	first; chief, main
54	при	[prʲɪ]	preposition	with, when, during (in the time and/or presence (of)); at, by
55	мой	[moj]	pronoun	my
56	стать	[statʲ]	verb	to stand (in a certain location or near someone or something); to begin
57	хороший	[xɐˈroʂɨj]	adjective	good, nice, fine; large, significant, decent
58	какой	[kɐˈkoj]	pronoun	what kind of
59	чтобы	[ˈʂtobɨ]	conjunction	that...should (indicates the subjunctive); so that, in order that; in order to
60	она	[ɐˈna]	pronoun	she, it (third-person feminine singular pronoun)
61	тот	[tot]	pronoun	that
62	вы	[vɨ]	pronoun	you (plural or formal singular)
63	после	[ˈpos⁽ʲ⁾lʲe]	preposition	after (in time)
64	день	[dʲenʲ]	noun	day, daytime; afternoon, early evening
65	наш	[naʂ]	pronoun	our
66	нет	[nʲet]	interjection	no
67	хотеть	[xɐˈtʲetʲ]	verb	to want, to desire
68	очень	[ˈot͡ɕɪnʲ]	adverb	very, really, much, very much
69	работа	[rɐˈbotə]	noun	work; labor, toil
70	были	[ˈbɨlʲɪ]	noun · feminine	true story
71	со	[sə]	preposition	alternative form of с (s): with, off, from, etc.
72	сказать	[skɐˈzatʲ]	verb	to say, to tell
73	также	[ˈtaɡʐɨ]	adverb	also, too, as well, likewise; either, neither, nor
74	говорить	[ɡəvɐˈrʲitʲ]	verb	to speak, to talk (perfective поговорить); to say, to tell (perfective сказать)
75	два	[dva]	numeral	two
76	знать	[znatʲ]	verb	to know: to be familiar with or accustomed to a person, place, or thing; to know: to be in possession of a specific fact or datum
77	вот	[vot]	particle	Used in place of a pronoun to direct attention towards something; this (is), here (is), that (is), there (is); Used before; both before and after; or (less commonly) after a pronoun or adverb to direct attention towards a particular thing being shown, pointed to, indicated, etc.
78	ее		pronoun	alternative spelling of её (jejó)
79	дело	[ˈdʲeɫə]	noun	affair, matter, concern; work, business
80	жизнь	[ˈʐɨzʲ(ɪ)nʲ]	noun	life; practice
81	должный	[ˈdoɫʐnɨj]	adjective	due; required
82	где	[ɡdʲe]	adverb	where; now (sometimes; occasionally)
83	под	[pət]	preposition	[with accusative]; under, below, beneath (movement to beneath a location)
84	место	[ˈmʲestə]	noun	place, spot; region(s), province(s), parts (especially if distant or rural)
85	вас	[vas]	pronoun	genitive/accusative/prepositional of вы (vy)
86	да	[ˈda]	interjection	yes
87	даже	[ˈdaʐɨ]	adverb	even
88	можно	[ˈmoʐnə]	adjective	possible
89	того	[tɐˈvo]	adjective	crazy
90	просто	[ˈprostə]	adverb	simply
91	больше	[ˈbolʲʂɨ]	adverb	more
92	раз	[ras]	noun	time (an instance or occurrence); one (in counting)
93	том	[tom]	noun · masculine	volume
94	сейчас	[sʲɪjˈt͡ɕas]	adverb	now (presently, at present, at the moment); now (very recently in the past)
95	сделать	[ˈzʲdʲeɫətʲ]	verb	to make, to do
96	более	[ˈbolʲɪje]	adverb	more; more than
97	мир	[mʲir]	noun	peace; universe; world; planet
98	нужный	[ˈnuʐnɨj]	adjective	necessary, needed; right, proper, relevant, appropriate, desired (of certain objects or qualities to achieve a goal)
99	ну	[nu]	interjection	well
100	без	[bʲɪs]	preposition	without, aside from, except, minus, free of/from (signifying absence); minus, less
101	город	[ˈɡorət]	noun	city, town; a bigger part of a city, including the downtown and inner city areas (as opposed to the suburbs and outskirts)
102	один	[ɐˈdʲin]	numeral	one
103	иметь	[ɪˈmʲetʲ]	verb	to have, to possess; to fuck, to have
104	нас	[nas]	pronoun	genitive/accusative/prepositional of мы (my)
105	ни	[nʲɪ]	particle	not a; whatever, however
106	об	[əb]	preposition	[with prepositional]; about, of, on
107	там	[tam]	adverb	there; used to reference another topic in a list; next, then, else
108	которые		pronoun	inflection of кото́рый (kotóryj):; nominative plural
109	область	[ˈobɫəsʲtʲ]	noun	region, oblast, province; dominion, sovereignty
110	который	[kɐˈtorɨj]	pronoun	which
111	ли	[lʲi]	particle	Do/does/did...? Is/are/was/were...?
112	друг	[druk]	noun	close friend
113	получить	[pəɫʊˈt͡ɕitʲ]	verb	to receive, to get
114	ребёнок	[rʲɪˈbʲɵnək]	noun	child, kid, baby: children, kids, babies; (plural ребя́та) guys, fellows, friends, comrades
115	вопрос	[vɐˈpros]	noun	question; matter, issue
116	страна	[strɐˈna]	noun	country; region
117	тебя	[tʲɪˈbʲa]	pronoun	genitive/accusative singular of ты (ty)
118	теперь	[tʲɪˈpʲerʲ]	adverb	now, at present
119	российский	[rɐˈsʲijskʲɪj]	adjective	Russian (concerning the country, nationality)
120	часть	[t͡ɕæsʲtʲ]	noun	part; share
121	всего	[fsʲɪˈvo]	pronoun	inflection of весь (vesʹ):; genitive masculine/neuter singular
122	сегодня	[sʲɪˈvodʲnʲə]	adverb	today
123	каждый	[ˈkaʐdɨj]	pronoun	every
124	делать	[ˈdʲeɫətʲ]	verb	to make, to do
125	надо	[ˈnadə]	adjective	necessary
126	через	[ˈt͡ɕerʲɪs]	preposition	through; across, over
127	последний	[pɐs⁽ʲ⁾ˈlʲedʲnʲɪj]	adjective	last, latest, recent; final, ultimate, definitive
128	игра	[ɪˈɡra]	noun	game; a sport which is played (also спорти́вная игра́ (sportívnaja igrá))
129	являться	[(j)ɪˈvlʲat͡sːə]	verb	to report (in person), to appear; to turn up
130	ему	[(j)ɪˈmu]	pronoun	dative of он (on); dative of оно́ (onó)
131	слово	[ˈsɫovə]	noun	word, term; speech, address
132	них	[nʲix]	pronoun	genitive/accusative/prepositional of они́ (oní); genitive/accusative/prepositional of оне́ (oné)
133	тоже	[ˈtoʐɨ]	adverb	also, too, as well, likewise; either, neither, nor
134	почему	[pət͡ɕɪˈmu]	adverb	why (due to what, on what grounds)
135	второй	[ftɐˈroj]	adjective	second; upper
136	работать	[rɐˈbotətʲ]	verb	to work; to function
137	думать	[ˈdumətʲ]	verb	to think; to believe, to suppose
138	главный	[ˈɡɫavnɨj]	adjective	chief, leading, main, principal, head, central
139	группа	[ˈɡrup(ː)ə]	noun	group
140	пока	[pɐˈka]	adverb	for the present, for the time being; for now (at the moment; until later)
141	несколько	[ˈnʲeskəlʲkə]	adverb	somewhat
142	начать	[nɐˈt͡ɕætʲ]	verb	to begin, to start, to commence
143	идти	[ɪˈtʲːi]	verb	to go; to walk
144	тем	[tʲem]	pronoun	that
145	система	[sʲɪˈsʲtʲemə]	noun	system; systema (Russian martial art)
146	им	[im]	pronoun	instrumental of он (on); instrumental of оно́ (onó)
147	вид	[vʲit]	noun	look, looks, appearance, air; sight, view
148	ничто	[nʲɪʂˈto]	pronoun	nothing
149	всегда	[fsʲɪɡˈda]	adverb	always
150	история	[ɪˈstorʲɪjə]	noun	history; story
151	найти	[nɐjˈtʲi]	verb	to find; to think, to consider
152	сторона	[stərɐˈna]	noun	side, hand, party; direction, quarter
153	право	[ˈpravə]	noun	right; claim; law, right
154	между	[ˈmʲeʐdʊ]	preposition	between, among
155	видеть	[ˈvʲidʲɪtʲ]	verb	to see (perceive by eyesight); to see (to be able to perceive by eyesight)
156	дом	[dom]	noun	house, building (a residential building); house, home (as part of a name of an establishment)
157	сила	[ˈsʲiɫə]	noun	strength; force
158	случай	[ˈsɫut͡ɕɪj]	noun	case; occurrence, event
159	здесь	[zʲdʲesʲ]	adverb	here
160	потому	[pətɐˈmu]	adverb	therefore, because of that, consequently
161	рука	[rʊˈka]	noun	hand; arm
162	результат	[rʲɪzʊlʲˈtat]	noun	effect, result, return, outcome
163	три	[trʲi]	numeral	three (3)
164	деньга	[ˈdʲenʲɡə]	noun	money, dough; coin, note
165	тебе	[tʲɪˈbʲe]	pronoun	dative/prepositional of ты (ty)
166	конец	[kɐˈnʲet͡s]	noun	end; ending, close, termination
167	женщина	[ˈʐɛnʲɕːɪnə]	noun	woman; Madam, lady, woman (rather crude but common form of address)
168	него	[nʲɪˈvo]	pronoun	genitive/accusative of он (on); genitive/accusative of оно́ (onó)
169	однако	[ɐdˈnakə]	adverb	however, yet, still; probably
170	много	[ˈmnoɡə]	adverb	much; many
171	тут	[tut]	adverb	here; then, at this point
172	большой	[bɐlʲˈʂoj]	adjective	big, large, great; important
173	русский	[ˈrus(ː)kʲɪj]	adjective	Russian, related to Russian ethnicity, language, or culture; Russian, related to the Russian state
174	проблема	[prɐˈblʲemə]	noun	problem (difficulty)
175	больший	[ˈbolʲʂɨj]	adjective	comparative degree of большо́й (bolʹšój) and вели́кий (velíkij) bigger, greater
176	число	[t͡ɕɪsˈɫo]	noun	number (cardinal); date (number of the day of the month)
177	дать	[datʲ]	verb	to give; to let, to allow
178	любить	[lʲʉˈbʲitʲ]	verb	to love, to like, to be fond of, to grow fond of (more intensely than нра́виться (nrávitʹsja))
179	всё	[fsʲɵ]	adverb	always
180	её	[(j)ɪˈjɵ]	pronoun	her
181	нам	[nam]	pronoun	dative of мы (my)
182	тогда	[tɐɡˈda]	adverb	then (at that time); then (in that case, only then)
183	отношение	[ɐtnɐˈʂɛnʲɪje]	noun	attitude; treatment
184	час	[t͡ɕas]	noun	hour, o'clock, time, time of day; hours, o'clock
185	жить	[ʐɨtʲ]	verb	to live; to reside
186	помощь	[ˈpoməɕː]	noun	help, assistance, aid; relief
187	вам	[vam]	pronoun	dative of вы (vy)
188	военный	[vɐˈjenːɨj]	adjective	war; military; martial
189	фильм	[fʲilʲm]	noun	film, movie
190	находиться	[nəxɐˈdʲit͡sːə]	verb	to be found, to turn up; to be located, to be situated (no perfective form)
191	потом	[pɐˈtom]	adverb	afterwards, afterward, after that; then
192	против	[ˈprotʲɪf]	preposition	against; opposite
193	школа	[ˈʂkoɫə]	noun	school; schoolhouse
194	война	[vɐjˈna]	noun	war, warfare
195	которых		pronoun	inflection of кото́рый (kotóryj):; genitive/prepositional plural
196	ваш	[vaʂ]	pronoun	your
197	принять	[prʲɪˈnʲætʲ]	verb	to take; to admit, to accept
198	центр	[t͡sɛntr]	noun	center, centre; Charlie (C in the ICAO spelling alphabet)
199	развитие	[rɐzˈvʲitʲɪje]	noun	development, growth, progress; maturity
200	район	[rɐˈjɵn]	noun	district; region, area
201	общий	[ˈopɕːɪj]	adjective	common; public
202	некоторый	[ˈnʲek(ə)tərɨj]	pronoun	some
203	организация	[ɐrɡənʲɪˈzat͡sɨjə]	noun	organization, arrangement; organization
204	совет	[sɐˈvʲet]	noun	advice; counsel
205	вместе	[ˈvmʲesʲtʲe]	adverb	together, coupled with, along with; at the same time
206	лишь	[lʲiʂ]	adverb	only
207	связь	[svʲæsʲ]	noun	tie, relation, bond, contact; link, connection, liaison
208	высокий	[vɨˈsokʲɪj]	adjective	tall; high-altitude
209	команда	[kɐˈmandə]	noun	command, order; team, crew, party
210	пойти	[pɐjˈtʲi]	verb	to go; to walk
211	пройти	[prɐjˈtʲi]	verb	to pass, to go, to walk; to pass by
212	лучше	[ˈɫut͡ʂʂɨ]	adverb	comparative degree of хоро́ший (xoróšij); comparative degree of хорошо́ (xorošó)
213	над	[nət]	preposition	above, over
214	никто	[nʲɪkˈto]	pronoun	nobody, no one; (with negative) anybody, anyone
215	компания	[kɐmˈpanʲɪjə]	noun	company (a group of acquaintances); company, corporation
216	ночь	[not͡ɕ]	noun	night, nighttime (period of time from sundown to sunup)
217	перед	[ˈpʲerʲɪt]	preposition	in front of, before; right/immediately before
218	смочь	[smot͡ɕ]	verb	to be able, to manage
219	известный	[ɪzˈvʲesnɨj]	adjective	known, familiar; well-known, renowned, famous
220	решение	[rʲɪˈʂɛnʲɪje]	noun	decision, solution, answer; solving, deciding, determining
221	книга	[ˈknʲiɡə]	noun	book
222	именно	[ˈimʲɪn(ː)ə]	adverb	precisely
223	поэтому	[pɐˈɛtəmʊ]	adverb	so, therefore, that's why
224	выйти	[ˈvɨjtʲɪ]	verb	to exit, to go out; to appear, to be published
225	лицо	[lʲɪˈt͡so]	noun	face; countenance
226	остаться	[ɐˈstat͡sːə]	verb	to remain, to stay; to be left
227	государственный	[ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj]	adjective	state; national
228	важный	[ˈvaʐnɨj]	adjective	important; proud, majestic, imposing (important-looking or -seeming)
229	конечно	[kɐˈnʲeʂnə]	adverb	of course, certainly
230	которая		pronoun	nominative feminine singular of кото́рый (kotóryj)
231	прийти	[prʲɪjˈtʲi]	verb	to come (to), to arrive (at)
232	которой		pronoun	genitive/dative/instrumental/prepositional feminine singular of кото́рый (kotóryj)
233	уровень	[ˈurəvʲɪnʲ]	noun	level, standard, amount; level, gauge
234	стоить	[ˈstoɪtʲ]	verb	to cost; to be worth
235	давать	[dɐˈvatʲ]	verb	to give; to let, to allow
236	язык	[(j)ɪˈzɨk]	noun	tongue; language
237	матч	[mat͡ɕ(ː)]	noun	match
238	хотя	[xɐˈtʲa]	conjunction	although, though (contrasting two clauses)
239	власть	[vɫasʲtʲ]	noun	authority, authorities, power; rule, regime
240	закон	[zɐˈkon]	noun	law; rule
241	семья	[sʲɪˈm⁽ʲ⁾ja]	noun	family
242	земля	[zʲɪˈmlʲa]	noun	earth; land
243	ведь	[vʲetʲ]	particle	after all
244	вообще	[vɐɐpˈɕːe]	adverb	generally, in general, usually; always
245	образ	[ˈobrəs]	noun	shape, form; appearance, look, style, image
246	программа	[prɐˈɡram(ː)ə]	noun	program/programme; syllabus, curriculum
247	плохой	[pɫɐˈxoj]	adjective	bad (not good); ill, bad (ill, sick)
248	следующий	[ˈs⁽ʲ⁾lʲedʊjʉɕːɪj]	adjective	following; next
249	партия	[ˈpartʲɪjə]	noun	party (political group); lot, batch, consignment, parcel
250	настоящий	[nəstɐˈjæɕːɪj]	adjective	present; true, real, genuine

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