Hi Junkies!
The Russian language is beautiful. If you have started to learn Russian, you might have noticed that there are tons of Beautiful Russian words and phrases. And for good reason! Russian literature is one of the most extensive and important parts of world literature.
And today, you’re going to learn the top 20! So, take this lesson:
- Review & read out loud
- Print out to keep for yourself
- Listen to the FREE Audio Lesson included below as well
…Oh, if you want to learn Russian with a complete Russian learning program — 1000+ audio/video lessons by real teachers – click here to visit RussianPod101 and try them for yourself. I recommend the site.
The Top 20 Beautiful Russian Words You Should Know
1. Mother
- Мама
- Mama
Of course, this is one of the most beautiful Russian words. Well, in any language! Russian is not an exception. Most Russians consider [mama] the most beautiful word in the world.
2. Smile
- Улыбка
- Oolibka
How do you say smile in Russian? Улыбка! This is a very positive and beautiful word. Foreigners adore this one; especially how it sounds.
3. Rainbow
- Радуга
- Raduga
One more beautiful word. According to psychologists, in Russian, this word evokes positive emotions.
4. Joy/positive
- Радость
- Radost’
Russian might seem like a cold, rough language but maybe that’s just the impact of weather. For example, take “Радость,” a frequently used word in Russian. This word means “Joyfulness”, “Happiness” and “Fun” put together. How is that possible? Well, you’d have to be a native speaker to capture it’s feeling but here’s hoping this explanation does enough.
5. Comfort/coziness
- Уют
- Ooyoot
“Уют“ is a very simple, short and pleasant word in Russian. Say it with me; “oo-yoot!” This word is often associated with home.
6. Home/ fireside
- Домашний очаг
- Domashniy ochag
“Домашний очаг “ is a beautiful Russian phrase, which has no literal equivalent in English. The closest would be “hearthstone” which is a stone used in fireplaces. Symbolically, it represents the “home” or the “household.” Back in the old days when food was made at the fireplace, this was indeed an integral part of a home and family. It brought light, warmth, cooked your food and overall, set the atmosphere and comfort of home!
7. Twinkle
- Мерцание
- Mertsanie
“Мерцание” means twinkle. But not just any twinkle. It refers to stars; it’s irregular change in the intensity of radiation or light of cosmic bodies. Now what can be more beautiful that the twinkling of distant starts?
8. Sun
- Солнышко
- Solnishko
Actually, “Sun” means “Солнце” in Russian, but “Солнышко” is a diminutive word. What’s diminutive mean? It’s a form of a word – usually a shorter version – that makes the word sound smaller, cuter and generally adds endearment to it. Kind of like you’d turn “Elizabeth” to “Lizzy” or “Kenneth” to “Kenny.”
You can call a loved one “solnishko” and use it as a term of endearment. You can use it on relatives or lovers. It’s quite general.
9. Hare
- Зая
- Zaya
“Зая” is another of the best beautiful Russian words. Why? It means “Hare,” “Bunny” or “Rabbit,” but there’s more. Russians use it as sweet talk. It’s kind of like “Honey” or “Baby” in English, that you’d use called a loved one. Oh, it’s also diminutive which you learned about above.
10. Tranquility
- Cпокойствие
- spokoystviye
The meaning and the sound of this word are both amazing. “Cпокойствие” means tranquility; a feeling which comes when everything is fine, calm and good.
11. Lawlessness/Chaos
- Беспредел
- Bespredel
There is no equivalent in English. It means lawlessness and chaos. “Беспредел” is a generally a cool and strong sounding word. Now, if we were to break it down literally; the prefix Bes means without and predel means limit.
12. Snowflake
- Снежинка
- Snezhinka
The literal meaning is a “Single ice crystal” Sounds really great, huh? “Снежинка” – some foreigners say it’s a typical Russian word which can`t be confused with any other language.
13. Inspiration
- Вдохновение
- Vdohnoveniye
Another frequently used word in the literature. “Вдохновение” is a Russian word which means Inspiration. For some reason, statistically, Russian people consider this word incredibly beautiful. Why? Who knows. Perhaps a lack of inspiration is the main reason.
14. Pleasure
- Удовольствие
- Oodovolstvie
Удовольствие – one more beautiful word, which sounds similar to the previous one. “Удовольствие” means “Pleasure, ”so obviously this word is a pretty big deal, meaningwise. Who doesn’t like pleasure? But there’s more. This is one of those beautiful sounding Russian words because it does not have any hard vowels. It sounds soft and smooth.
15. Hope
- Надежда
- Nadezhda
“Надежда” is a beautiful word which means hope. And just like “Hope” is a female name in English, “Надежда” is also used as a female name in Russia and the surrounding Russian speaking countries.
16. Sunshine
- Солнечный свет
- solnechniy svet
The word “Sunshine” can be translated into Russian with two words “Солнечный свет.” The word свет means light and Солнечный means sun, though conjugated. Just like in English, this is commonly used in songs and poems.
17. Honeymoon
- Медовый месяц
- myedovyi myesyats
This is another phrase, which is also obtained by dividing one English word “Honeymoon” into two parts. Медовый means honey (conjugated) and месяц means month. So, literally it means “honey month.”
18. Dream
- Мечта
- mechta
This is how you say dream in Russian. There is no need to explain why “dream” is one of the most beautiful Russian words. Wait, not just Russian. It’s a powerful word in every language and for every person on earth.
19. Family
- Семья
- Semya
For some cultures, the most important thing in life is success, honor or courage. For Russia, family is the most important. As we mentioned earlier “Семья”, “Домашний очаг” and everything connected with family and home is considered important and beautiful in Russian.
20. Peace
- Мир
- Mir
“Mir” is easy to spell and easy to remember. This makes it is a great final entry of your lesson. You’ll remember it. No doubt “Peace” is also the most important and indispensable concern of our world. So “Peace” – “Мир” my friends, don`t forget! Oh, and by the way, Mir was also the name of the space station that orbited Earth until 2001.
Congrats! Now you know the top 20 Beautiful Russian Words! Try to read and memorize these a few times to truly remember them.
Of course, 20 is not the end. There are a lot more great and beautiful sounding words in the Russian language. If you think I’m missing any or want a part 2, just leave a comment! I read them all.
- For Russian TextBooks: The Top 10 Russian Textbooks
- For Audio Lessons: 6 FREE Lessons for Beginners
– The Main Junkie
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