Russian English Frequency Dictionary - 2.500 Most Used Words: Russian, #1

1  Why This Dictionary Was Created

This dictionary was created because I needed a word list of the most frequent used words & verbs in Spanish, to help me understand the language in the shortest amount of time possible.

I started passing it around to friends and got great feedback on it, so I decided to turn it into a book.

Because it was such handy tool, I repeated the process for several other languages. Currently available frequency dictionaries are Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. Check www.mostusedwords.com as new languages are added frequently.

Why study by frequency?

If you´re not familiar with the importance of frequency word lists when it comes to language learning, here is a short summary:

Language learning is fun, but can be overwhelming. Almost every language as hundreds of thousands different words, but most of them you will rarely use. That’s why it makes sense to study only the words you actually need to know to have conversations and read in your desired language.

Frequency dictionaries are usually either text based, or based on speech. The unique advantage of using subtitles as a method of frequency sorting is that it covers both speaking and reading (73% and 83% respectively).

By only studying the words you will actually use, it is possible to gain a good grasp of a language in a short amount of time. By knowing 2500 words, you can express yourself in everyday situations and be fluent enough have conversations with locals.

On average, you only use 1000 words in any language on a daily spoken basis. This translates to roughly 95% of all words you use daily speech. When it comes to reading, 2500 words will get you to understand around 85% of all words used in written text.  This is usually enough to learn new words you don’t know from context.

This is idea is based on the Pareto Principle.

You might have heard about it. Pareto was an Italian economist who discovered that 80% of the output comes from only 20% of the input (or material, or effort).

On language learning, this principle is on steroids. Let’s take a look:

95% proficiency with conversational Russian = 2,500 (most common) words

98% proficiency with conversational Russian = 100,000 (most common) words

To put this in perspective: the corpus we have examined as a base for our frequency dictionary was a little over 1 million entries. We only need to know 2.5% of the most common words, to reach 95% conversational fluency.

Trying to increase your fluency even further, from 95% to 98%, would require you to learn another 97.500 words.

Talk about diminishing returns.

The importance of grammatics

This book is the first of the series to include an overview of the most important grammar. I am not a big fan of studying grammar religiously, but having a basic understanding allows you to learn much faster and much more efficient.

2  Study Tips

While you are free to do whatever you want with this dictionary, I would like to give you some pointers.  By learning just 28 new words a day, you can build up your vocabulary to fluency in three months. If you dedicate yourself and learn 43 new words daily, two months is possible. Here are a couple of tips to build up your vocabulary fast, and to keep remembering what you previously learned.

Spaced repetition

Hack your brains ability to store and recall information. The most efficient way of studying is by incorporating the system of spaced repetition. This way you can store information faster, and for a longer amount of time. Paul Pimsleur published a paper in 1968 on spaced repetition.

He came up with the following intervals: 5 seconds, 25 seconds, 2 minutes, 10 minutes, 1 hour, 5 hours, 1 day, 5 days, 25 days, 4 months, and 2 years.

You do not need to time yourself with a stopwatch, as there are upper and lower bounds to the intervals.  Just revisited the words you have previously learned from time to timey.

(Interactive language learning software and audio courses are based on this principle, and they can work really well. To see which ones are great investments, and which ones are terrible, read our reviews of different 3rd party language learning methods, audio courses, software and apps on www.mostusedwords.com/reviews )

Mnemonics

By giving creating a little story with a word, it’s easier to remember. The more visual it is, the easier it is to remember.  The Russian word for tea is чай (chai).

E.g. The last time I was in Russia, It just so happened to be, that most Russian tea, came from China.

Read

Reading and speaking the words out loud greatly helps with building your vocabulary and developing a sense of grammar, pronouncuation and listening skills. Reading helps solidify your vocabulary, because you are –without actively studying– using the method of spaced repetition while reading. When you read and stumble upon a word you don’t know, you can usually discover it’s meaning by context. Words discovered through context are more easily remembered than when you study them from a list.

Anyway, you can get bilingual books from either a (specialized) bookstore or from www.mostusedwords.com/parallel-texts. Our selection is ever expanding, so check for updates regularly.

Listen

Turn on the Russian (internet) radio, download songs in Russian, and watch Russian series. Conversing along with your favorite soap opera is a great way of getting around a new language.

Immerse

Change your phone and/or computer into Russian. Nothing helps you acquire a new language as much as necessity.

Of course, total immersion is the best way of learning a new language fast. But you don’t have to move to a different country to learn a new language.

3  The Russian Alphabet & Pronunciation

Pronunciation of Russian words is pretty straightforward. Unlike English, Russian is pronounced exactly the way it is written, with few exceptions. When learning Russian it is important to know where the stress of the words lies to know the pronunciation. In this dictionary, stress marks indicate where the stress lies.

4 Rules of Russian Pronunciation

Whenever the stress does not fall on an o, it will be pronounced as an a immediately preceding the stress and as uh in but" elsewhere. This rule is called the Akanie rule.

Unstressed e, ё, and я are pronounced as и. This rule is called the Ikania rule

Not all letters use the vocal chords. The table below shows the voiced/voiceless pairs of consonants in Russian. These consonants are identical, except that the vocal chords vibrate when you produce the voiced consonant, while they don’t while you produce the voiceless consonants.

Whenever two or more of the consonants from the table above occur within a word or a cluster of words sharing a single accent (phonological word), the final consonant determines the voicing. If the final consonant is voiced, all consonants are voiced. If the final consonant is voiceless, all will be voiceless.

Note:

The 1st and 2nd rules are the most important.

4  Russian Grammar

Russian grammar is complex. Whole volumes are written on Russian grammar. But not all grammar is created equal. Some grammatical rules are used far more than others. Some you will almost never encounter.  In the following section you will find the essentials of Russian grammar. With this knowledge of Russian grammar, you can read, write and speak well enough to hold normal everyday conversations. In this book, we’ll focus on grammatical vocabulary as in nouns, adjectives, pronouns, etc. Verbs are discussed briefly, as we’re working on the Russian Essential Verbs book. We’ll go into detail on verbs and their conjugations there. Keep checking www.mostusedwords.com.

4.1 

SPELLING RULES

Some combinations of letters are not allowed in Russian. These three rules also explain many of the irregularities in the conjugation of verbs, and the declension of nouns, pronouns and adjectives.

The letter ы may not occur after г, к, х, ж, ч, ш and щ. Instead of ы, the letter и is used. This rule is particularly important for plural forms of nouns and in endings of adjectives.

The letters ю and я may not occur after г, к, х, ж, ц, ч, ш, щ. Instead of ю and я, the letters у and а should be written, respectively. This rule is particularly important in verb endings.

In endings, an unstressed о may not occur after ж, ц, ч, ш, щ. However, it may occur in the root of the word. The letter о should be substituted by the letter е.

4.2 

VERBS

Russian verbs and their conjugations are easy, compared to their Romanic and Germanic counterparts. In the Russian language, there is only the present, the past and the future tense. Instead, Russian uses aspects to differentiate verbs further in meaning. There are two aspects in Russian. The imperfective aspect and the perfective aspect. Aspects are only used in the past and future tense.  Let’s get back to those later, and start with the present tense.

4.2.1  The Present Tense

The present tense is generally used to express actions occurring at the time of speaking or writing. In Russian, the present tense is formed by using special endings. Only imperfective Russian verbs can form the present tense.

In Russian, the present tense forms of verbs may describe:

Events happening now: She is working (now).

Habitual actions: I read the newspaper (daily).

General facts of truth: Russia shares borders with Poland and Ukraine.

Actions that have begun in the past and continue in the present: She has been eating (for an hour).

4.2.1.1 Present Tense Verb Endings

The present tense verb agree with their subjects in both person and number. You can divide Russian verbs in two conjugation patters, the 1st conjugation and the 2nd conjugation. These conjugations differ by having different vowel endings. 

Notes:

The first conjugation verbs use endings with the letter ё (-ёшь, -ёт, -ём, -ёте) if the stress falls on the ending.

In the first singular forms and the third plural forms, the endings -у, -ут and-aт are used depending on two rules

The present tense stem ends in a hard consonant.

The 2nd spelling rule  will apply, i.e. after consonants г, к, х, ж, ц, ч, ш, щ

4.2.1.2 Present Tense Verb Conjugations

You can usually discover how to conjugate a verb by looking at the infinitive. Rule of thumb:

Most verbs ending in -ать/-ять are 1st conjugation verbs

Most verbs ending in –ить are 2nd conjugation verbs

There are some exceptions, e.g. жить (1st conjugation) and слашать (2nd conjugation), but these are beyond the scope of this dictionary. These are general guidelines.

To start conjugating verbs, you first have to find the stem of the verb. How to find the present tense stem?

You can find the stem of many 1st conjugation verbs by dropping the –ть from the infinitive.

понимать: понима-

You can find the stem of many 2nd conjugation verbs by dropping the – ить from the infinitive.

говорить : говор-

Not all verbs match this model. Some verbs change their stem if the stem ends in a consonant. This is most often the case with the first singular person (Я) of the 2nd conjugation verbs. In certain verbs, the stress shifts. It sometimes falls on the ending of the verb while in other conjugations the stress falls on the stem of the verb.

4.2.2  The Past Tense

The past tense is generally used to express actions occurring before the time of speaking or writing. In the Russian language, the past tense is defined by the ending of the verb. The past tense form has a different meaning depending on whether the verb is imperfective or perfective.

Imperfective verbs

In general, past tense forms of imperfective verbs are used when:

Naming an action that took place in the past (before the moment of speaking).

Мы уже съели. -We already ate.

Вчера вечером я смотрел сериал. – Yesterday evening I watched TV series

Denoting an action in progress that took place in the past:

Я слушал музыку в тот момент. - I was listening to music at that moment.

Denoting repeated actions in the past.

Я играл на гитаре каждый день.  I used to play guitar every day.

Perfective verbs

In general, past tense forms of perfective verbs are used when:

Naming an action that took place in the past with extra emphasis on its result, completion or limit.

Мы сделали это задание. – We have done this job.

Я сыиграл на гитаре и пошел домой. I played the guitar and went home.

Denoting momentary actions in the past.

после этого я принял душ. -After that I took a shower,

4.2.2.1 Past Tense Verb Endings

Forming the Russian past tense is rather easy. The verbs agree with their subjects in gender and number. The table below represents regular endings of Russian verbs in the past tense:

4.2.2.2 Past Tense Verb Conjugations

The endings mentioned above have to be added to the past tense stem of the verb.

The past tense stem of most Russian verbs can be discovered by dropping the ending -ть/-ти from the infinitive.

The past tense stem of the 1st conjugation verb работать (to work) is работа-.

Exampe:

Exceptions:

Verbs whose past tense stem end in б, г, з, р, с or к do not add the -л in the masculine singular form

Example

печь to bake -

он пёк (m sg)  она пекла (f s)

мочь to be able

Я мог (m sg)   Я могла (f sg)

везти  to carry

-ты вёз (m sg) ты везла (f sg)

4.2.3  Future Tense

The future tense is generally used to express actions occurring after the time of speaking or writing. Both imperfective and perfective Russian verbs can form the future tense. The meaning of the future tense form depends on whether the verb is imperfective or perfective.

Imperfective verbs

The future tense form of imperfective verbs are generally used when:

Naming an action that will take place in future, with no consideration on its completion.

Мы будем делать это задание. We will do this job.

Denoting an action in progress that will take place at some time in the future.

В это время я буду смотреть сериал. At that time, I will be watching the TV show.

Denoting repeated actions in the future.

Я буду отправлять ей цветы каждый день. I will send her flowers every day.

Perfective verbs

The future tense form of perfective verbs is generally used when:

Naming an action that will take place in the future with special emphasis on its completion, result or limit.

Мы сделаем это вещь. We will complete this thing.

Denoting momentary actions in the future.

–и после этого я отправлю ей цветы. –and after that I will sent her flowers.

4.2.3.1 Future Tense Verb Conjugations

Imperfective Future

To form the imperfective future, you use the auxiliary verb быть. The conjugated form of the auxiliary verb быть is followed by the imperfective infinitive. As an example, let’s look at the conjugation of the verb делать (to do, make) in the imperfect future tense.

Perfective Future

To form the perfective future, you conjugate the perfective infinitive. The endings of the perfective future are the same as those of the imperfective present tense. As an example, let’s look at the conjugation of the perfective verb cделать (to do, make) in the future tense.

4.2.4  Reflexive Verbs

Russian reflexive verbs are used to indicate the concept of self. The ending of the verb shows whether it is reflexive or not. To make a verb reflexive, simple add ся (if the verb ends in a vowel) or сь  (when the verb does not end in a vowel) to the verb. 

интересовать(ся)  to interest (to be interested in)

занимать(ся)   to occupy (to be occupied with)

4.3 

NOUNS

A noun is used to define a person or thing. Nouns can be inanimate  (a chair) or animate (Ivan) and abstract (nature).

Nouns are either masculine, feminine or neuter. In most cases it is possible to tell the gender of a Russian noun from its ending. Masculine Nouns. Most masculine nouns end in a consonant. Feminine nouns normally end in -a or -я. Nouns ending in -ь may be masculine or feminine. The majority of neuter nouns end in -o or -e. Unlike the English language, Russian does not use articles like the or a.

Prepositions are left out more often in Russian than with other Indo-European language. Due to the case of the noun, the meaning will still be clear. Every preposition is assigned to a particular case

4.3.1  The Six Main Cases of Russian Nouns

You can tell the function of a noun in a sentence by the ending of the noun. Nouns also have other endings depending upon their function in a particular sentence. There are six cases in Russian for such functions.

4.3.1.1  Nominative case

The Russian nominative case is used for the subject of a sentence. In the sentence I love her, the word I is the subject. The nominative case is the dictionary form for nouns, so there is nothing special to learn here.

When the noun is the subject of the sentence, the nominative case is used.

Туалет занят. The toilet is occupied.

It is the default case for use outside of nouns outside of sentences. All nouns in the dictionary are in their nominative case.

Prepositions to go with the nominative

За (what) kind of?

В join the ranks of (with pl. nouns only)

4.3.1.2  Accusative case

To form simple sentences like I want a dog, you need to use the accusative case. The Russian accusative case is used for the object of a sentence, in this case the word dog. The only time we use the accusative case in English is with pronouns. We use me instead of I and him instead of he. The Russian language uses the case for all nouns.

When the noun is the direct object of the sentence, the accusative case is used.

Я ем бутерброд. I am eating a sandwich.

When he object is a singular inanimate (non-living things) object, only thee feminine changes. With animate (living things) objects, the masculine noun also changes.

Я не люблю Пушкина и Достоевского. I dont like Pushkin and Dostoevsky.

Certain time expressions;

prepositions that indicate movement:

в:   in(wards)

на:   on (top of)

за:   behind

под:   under

про:   about

через:   over

сквозь:  through

4.3.1.3  Genitive case

The genitive case is used to show possession. The English equivalent is ’s or of. In example: That is Tom’s apple. / That is the apple of Tom. with Tom being the Genitive case. In Russian, the possessor always follows the object it possess.

The primary use of the Russian genitive case is to show possession. In English we often indicate this with an apostrophe (‘s), or the word of. Grammatically, the definition of possession may be larger than we are used to thinking of in English. In Russian the possessor always follows the object it possess.

E.g.

In the sentence This is Tom’s apple, the noun Tom is in the genitive case. To convert it to Russian, you would say The apple of Tom (яблоко Тома), placing the possessor after the object.

The genitive case is used in most cases where you would use the word of in English. The genitive case also goes with words where in English you could place some or any before. The genitive is commonly used after negation.

possession -: of' (G. noun)

numerals and quantifiers

negated verbs (which take direct objects in Accusative) to indicate total absence

у меня нет времени на это. I don't have time for this.

Certain time expressions

Certain prepositions:

без:   without

вместо:  instead

возле:   near

вокруг:  around

впереди:  ahead of

для:   for

до:   before

из:   from

из-за:   from behind

кроме:  except for

мимо:   past by

около:   near

после:   after

против:  against

среди:  among

у:   by

близ:   near

вдоль:  along

вне:   outside

внутри:   inside

Certain verbs go with the genitive case:

бояться:  afraid of

ждать:  wait for

искать:  search for

Adjectives:

полный:  full of' (G. noun)

4.3.1.4  Dative case

The Russian dative case is used to represent the indirect object. This is the thing or person who receives the direct object.  In the sentence Igor gave flowers to Daria, the word Daria should be in the dative case .The dative generally corresponds to the English word to. However, this rule is only a general one, as the word to can have multiple meanings in English.

The Indirect object: to + (Dative noun);

Certain time expressions;

Impersonal clauses: when a clause does not have a determinate subject.

мне холодно -: I am cold (lit: to me is cold)

Expressions of age

мне двадцать лет -: I am 20 years old (lit: to me is 20 years)

Prepositions that go with the dative:

по:   on

к:   to(wards)

благодаря:  thanks to

Auxiliaries that go with the dative:

нужно or надо:  need/must (to)

можно:   allowed

нельзя:   forbidden, not possible

Most important verbs to go with the dative:

верить:   believe

помочь:   help

советовать:   advice

звонить:   call

удивить(ся):   amaze (self)

нравится:   to like

4.3.1.5 Instrumental case

In Russian, the instrumental case is used to indicate how something is done. In English we commonly use the words by or with to do this. You would use the instrumental in a sentence like "we went there by bus" (мы пошли туда на автобусе).

The instrument used in the action or means by which action is carried out: with/by' + (Instrumental noun)

logical subject of passive clause:

магазин принадлежал Иваном. The store was owned by Ivan

secondary direct object:

Его считают клоуном. He is considered (to be) a clown.

Durational time expressions. Nouns for periods of time which come in sets of four, such as those referring to seasons and the parts of the day indicate a point in time in the instrumental case.

весна   spring

лето   summer

осень   fall

зима   winter

(утро   morning

день   afternoon

вечер   evening

ночь   night

Most important verbs to go with:

интересовать(ся)  interest (to be interested in)

пользоваться  use

занимать(ся)   occupy (to be preoccupied with)

Certain associates of connective verbs:

быть:   be

стать:   became

остаться:  remain

казаться appear to be

оказаться turn out to be

Certain prepositions that denote a position:

За  behind

перед   in front of

над  above

под  below

между  between'

(вместе) с (together) with

adjectives:

довольный:  pleased by

4.3.1.6  Prepositional case

The prepositional case will allow you to form useful phrases like I live in Moscow (Я живу в Москве). The prepositional is used after certain Russian prepositions, and has no meaning of its own.

prepositions of place:

в:  inside

на:  on (top of)

other prepositions:

о:  about

при:  by/of/with

4.3.1.7 Declensions of Russian Nouns

1st Declension: Mostly Femine, Some Masculine

Most first-declension nouns are feminine, some masculine. The same endings apply for both genders.

Examples:

2nd Declension: Masculine Nouns

––––––––

3 Rules for 2nd Declensions: Masculine Nouns:

After a ж, ч, ш, a, г, к, or х, an и is written.(Spelling Rule 1)

After a sibilant, ей is written. S

After a soft consonant, ё is written when stressed and е when unstressed.

Examples:

2nd Declension: (Almost Entirely) Neuter Nouns

––––––––

5 Rules for 2nd Declensions Neuter Nouns

After a sibilant, о is written when stressed; е when unstressed.

After a soft consonant, ё is written when stressed; е when unstressed.

For nouns ending in -ие in the nominative singular, и is written (but е when stressed — for the word остриё).

After a consonant use ей, otherwise use й.

Some masculine nouns end in -о in the nominative singular.

Examples:

4.4 

ADJECTIVES

Adjectives are words such as interesting or great. Adjectives describe a person or thing. In Russian, adjectives usually come before the noun it qualifies.  An adjective must have the same gender (masculine, feminine or neuter) and number (singular or plural) as the noun it refers to, e.g.:

интересная книга  an interesting book

интересный факт  an interesting fact

интересное лицо an interesting face

интересные вещи  interesting things

Most adjectives follow one of a small number of regular declension patterns. (Exceptions are adjectives that provide difficulty when forming the short form.

In the Russian language, adjective must also have the same case as the noun. The endings of case of the adjective are not the same as they are for nouns, unfortunately

Adjectives can be divided in three groups:

Qualitativedenote quality of the object.

Relational:denote some sort of relationship.

Possessive:denote belonging to a specific subject.

6 Rules for Adjectives

Case endings -ого/-его are to be pronounced as -ово/ево.

After a sibilant or velar consonant, instead of ы the и is used.

When a masculine adjective ends in -ой (in Nominative), this ending is stressed for all cases:

прямо́й  straight

упря́мый stubborn

After a sibilant consonant, neuter adjectives end in -ее. This is sometimes referred to as the хоро́шее rule.

Accusative in the masculine gender and in plural depends on (in)animacy. The same as for nouns.

Instrumental feminine ending -ой/-ей has alternative form -ою/-ею for all adjectives. The meaning is the same; the only difference is stylistical.

4.4.1.1 Comparing Things

If you want to compare one thing to another, you can use comparative adjectives. There are three methods how to use them.

1. More / Less

The easiest way to compare two things is to use the Russian words for more and less. Here are the Russian words that you need to use.

более  more

менее less

чем   than

When comparing adjectives using this method, use the normal adjectives. E.g.

более красивая девушка- A more beautiful girl.

менее красивая девушка - A less beautiful girl.

Яна более красивая девушка, чем Наталья. - Yana is a more beautiful girl than Natalya.

Яна менее красивая девушка, чем Наталья. - Yana is a less beautiful girl than Natalya.

2. Comparative Adjectives

The comparative adjectives (bigger, larger, etc.) are constructed by adding either -ее or -е to the stem of the adjective. These forms can also be used as comparative adverbs.

Three rules of forming comparative adjectives

If the stem of the adjectives ends in н, л, р, п, б, м or в : Add –ее

If it ends in any other letter, add –e

Some words have irregular comparative forms

хороший – лучше good – better

плохой – хуже bad – worse

Example:

Яна красивее девушка, чем Наталья. Yana is a prettier girl than Natalya

Я говорю по-английски лучше, чем русский. I speak better English than Russian.

3. Without Чем

In modern spoken Russian, Чем is often omitted. In order to leave out Чем, the 2nd noun in the genitive case must be used. The order of the words in the sentence is also important when using this method.

Example:

Амстердама красивее Лондона. - Amsterdam is more beautiful than London.

Яна красивее Лены. - Anna is more beautiful than Lena.

Superlatives

Forming the superlative (the best, greatest, most beautiful) in Russian is easy. Simply add the word самый (most) in front of the adjective. Самый declines like a normal adjective.

Example:

самое лучшее яблоко в мире.