100 most common Russian nouns
Ranked by how often each noun is actually spoken in films and TV series, with the English meaning and a short example. Free to download for Anki, Quizlet, Excel or print.
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The list
100 nouns
| # | Russian | English and example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | человек (m)cheloveknoun | person, manЭтот человек мне знаком. This person is familiar to me. |
| 2 | дело (n)delonoun | matter, business, caseЭто не твоё дело. It's none of your business. |
| 3 | время (n)vremyanoun | timeУ нас мало времени. We have little time. |
| 4 | раз (m)raznoun | time (occasion), onceЯ был там один раз. I was there once. |
| 5 | день (m)dennoun | dayСегодня очень хороший день. Today is a very good day. |
| 6 | друг (m)drugnoun | friendМой друг живёт в Париже. My friend lives in Paris. |
| 7 | год (m)godnoun | yearЭто был хороший год. That was a good year. |
| 8 | жизнь (f)zhiznnoun | lifeЭто моя новая жизнь. This is my new life. |
| 9 | правда (f)pravdanoun | truth, reallyСкажи мне всю правду. Tell me the whole truth. |
| 10 | парень (m)parennoun | guy, boyfriendЭтот парень мне нравится. I like this guy. |
| 11 | работа (f)rabotanoun | work, jobУ меня новая работа. I have a new job. |
| 12 | мама (f)mamanoun | momМоя мама сейчас дома. My mom is at home now. |
| 13 | отец (m)otetsnoun | fatherМой отец работает в банке. My father works at a bank. |
| 14 | место (n)mestonoun | place, seatЭто моё любимое место. This is my favorite place. |
| 15 | порядок (m)poryadoknoun | order, "all in order"У нас в доме порядок. Everything is in order in our house. |
| 16 | том (m)tomnoun | volume (of a book)Это первый том книги. This is the first volume of the book. |
| 17 | деньги (pl)denginoun | moneyУ меня нет денег. I have no money. |
| 18 | рука (f)rukanoun | hand, armДай мне свою руку. Give me your hand. |
| 19 | ночь (f)nochnoun | nightСегодня очень тёплая ночь. Tonight is a very warm night. |
| 20 | дом (m)domnoun | house, homeНаш дом совсем рядом. Our house is right nearby. |
| 21 | папа (m)papanoun | dadМой папа любит футбол. My dad loves football. |
| 22 | пора (f)poranoun | time (to do something)Нам пора идти домой. It's time for us to go home. |
| 23 | доктор (m)doktornoun | doctorДоктор скоро придёт к нам. The doctor will come to us soon. |
| 24 | женщина (f)zhenshchinanoun | womanЭта женщина моя мама. This woman is my mom. |
| 25 | машина (f)mashinanoun | car, machineМоя машина стоит там. My car is parked there. |
| 26 | проблема (f)problemanoun | problemУ нас большая проблема. We have a big problem. |
| 27 | мир (m)mirnoun | world, peaceЯ хочу увидеть весь мир. I want to see the whole world. |
| 28 | имя (n)imyanoun | name, first nameКак ваше имя, пожалуйста? What is your name, please? |
| 29 | дитя (n)dityanoun | child (literary), babyСпи, моё милое дитя. Sleep, my sweet child. |
| 30 | мать (f)matnoun | motherЕго мать работает врачом. His mother works as a doctor. |
| 31 | слово (n)slovonoun | wordЯ не знаю этого слова. I don't know this word. |
| 32 | час (m)chasnoun | hourЯ жду уже час. I've been waiting for an hour already. |
| 33 | утро (n)utronoun | morningДоброе утро, как спалось? Good morning, how did you sleep? |
| 34 | сын (m)synnoun | sonМой сын играет в футбол. My son plays football. |
| 35 | семья (f)semyanoun | familyМоя семья живёт далеко. My family lives far away. |
| 36 | минута (f)minutanoun | minuteПодожди одну минуту, пожалуйста. Wait one minute, please. |
| 37 | вопрос (m)voprosnoun | questionУ меня есть вопрос. I have a question. |
| 38 | вещь (f)veshchnoun | thingПоложи эту вещь на стол. Put this thing on the table. |
| 39 | жена (f)zhenanoun | wifeМоя жена любит цветы. My wife loves flowers. |
| 40 | вечер (m)vechernoun | eveningДобрый вечер, как дела? Good evening, how are you? |
| 41 | девушка (f)devushkanoun | girl, young woman, girlfriendЭта девушка хорошо поёт. This girl sings well. |
| 42 | конец (m)konetsnoun | endЭто не конец истории. This is not the end of the story. |
| 43 | голова (f)golovanoun | headУ меня болит голова. I have a headache. |
| 44 | неделя (f)nedelyanoun | weekЯ работаю всю неделю. I work the whole week. |
| 45 | вид (m)vidnoun | view, appearance, kindИз окна открывается красивый вид. A beautiful view opens from the window. |
| 46 | брат (m)bratnoun | brotherМой брат любит музыку. My brother loves music. |
| 47 | смерть (f)smertnoun | deathОн очень боится смерти. He is very afraid of death. |
| 48 | помощь (f)pomoshchnoun | helpСпасибо за твою помощь. Thanks for your help. |
| 49 | бог (m)bognoun | GodМама часто молится Богу. Mom often prays to God. |
| 50 | пара (f)paranoun | pair, coupleМне нужна пара ботинок. I need a pair of shoes. |
| 51 | ребята (pl)rebyatanoun | guys, kidsРебята, пора ужинать, идите сюда! Guys, it is time for dinner, come here! |
| 52 | глаз (m)glaznoun | eyeУ неё красивые глаза. She has beautiful eyes. |
| 53 | город (m)gorodnoun | city, townЭто очень большой город. This is a very big city. |
| 54 | полиция (f)politsiyanoun | policeПозвони в полицию, быстро! Call the police, quickly! |
| 55 | школа (f)shkolanoun | schoolМой сын любит школу. My son likes school. |
| 56 | случай (m)sluchaynoun | case, chance, occasionЭто очень странный случай. This is a very strange case. |
| 57 | мужчина (m)muzhchinanoun | manЭтот мужчина ждёт автобус. This man is waiting for the bus. |
| 58 | любовь (f)lyubovnoun | loveЛюбовь важнее денег для меня. Love is more important than money to me. |
| 59 | история (f)istoriyanoun | story, historyЭто очень интересная история. This is a very interesting story. |
| 60 | часть (f)chastnoun | part, pieceЭто важная часть моей жизни. This is an important part of my life. |
| 61 | лицо (n)litsonoun | face, personУ тебя красивое лицо. You have a beautiful face. |
| 62 | ребенок (m)rebenoknoun | child, kidМой ребенок любит играть. My child likes to play. |
| 63 | сторона (f)storonanoun | side, directionОн стоит с другой стороны. He's standing on the other side. |
| 64 | кровь (f)krovnoun | bloodНа полу была кровь. There was blood on the floor. |
| 65 | комната (f)komnatanoun | roomМоя комната на втором этаже. My room is on the second floor. |
| 66 | смысл (m)smyslnoun | meaning, senseВ этом нет никакого смысла. That makes no sense at all. |
| 67 | право (n)pravonoun | right, lawУ тебя есть право молчать. You have the right to remain silent. |
| 68 | господин (m)gospodinnoun | sir, misterГосподин Иванов сейчас занят. Mr. Ivanov is busy now. |
| 69 | месяц (m)mesyatsnoun | monthЯ здесь уже целый месяц. I've been here a whole month already. |
| 70 | дверь (f)dvernoun | doorПожалуйста, закрой дверь за собой. Please close the door behind you. |
| 71 | путь (m)putnoun | way, path, journeyЭто очень долгий путь. It's a very long way. |
| 72 | сила (f)silanoun | strength, forceУ тебя много силы. You have a lot of strength. |
| 73 | игра (f)igranoun | game, playЭто просто игра, не бойся. It's just a game, don't be afraid. |
| 74 | дочь (f)dochnoun | daughterМоя дочь учится в школе. My daughter goes to school. |
| 75 | сердце (n)serdtsenoun | heartМое сердце бьется очень быстро. My heart is beating very fast. |
| 76 | муж (m)muzhnoun | husbandМой муж работает в банке. My husband works at a bank. |
| 77 | убийство (n)ubiystvonoun | murderПолиция расследует это убийство. The police are investigating this murder. |
| 78 | сестра (f)sestranoun | sisterМоя сестра живет в Берлине. My sister lives in Berlin. |
| 79 | номер (m)nomernoun | number, hotel roomКакой у тебя номер телефона? What's your phone number? |
| 80 | причина (f)prichinanoun | reason, causeУ него есть на это причина. He has a reason for it. |
| 81 | земля (f)zemlyanoun | earth, land, groundМальчик упал на холодную землю. The boy fell onto the cold ground. |
| 82 | момент (m)momentnoun | momentПодожди один момент, пожалуйста. Wait one moment, please. |
| 83 | чёрт (m)chyortnoun | devil, damn (mild)Чёрт из сказки был совсем не страшным. The devil from the tale wasn't scary at all. |
| 84 | встреча (f)vstrechanoun | meeting, encounterУ меня сегодня важная встреча. I have an important meeting today. |
| 85 | телефон (m)telefonnoun | phone, telephoneТы не видел мой телефон? Have you seen my phone? |
| 86 | девочка (f)devochkanoun | girl, little girlЭта девочка очень умная. This girl is very smart. |
| 87 | вода (f)vodanoun | waterМожно мне стакан воды? Can I have a glass of water? |
| 88 | идея (f)ideyanoun | ideaЭто очень хорошая идея! That's a very good idea! |
| 89 | тело (n)telonoun | bodyМое тело очень устало. My body is very tired. |
| 90 | план (m)plannoun | planУ тебя есть план? Do you have a plan? |
| 91 | свет (m)svetnoun | light, worldВключи свет, здесь темно. Turn on the light, it's dark here. |
| 92 | отношение (n)otnosheniyenoun | attitude, relationМне не нравится твое отношение. I don't like your attitude. |
| 93 | шанс (m)shansnoun | chanceДай мне еще один шанс. Give me one more chance. |
| 94 | команда (f)komandanoun | team, commandНаша команда выиграла вчера. Our team won yesterday. |
| 95 | родитель (m)roditelnoun | parentМои родители живут в деревне. My parents live in a village. |
| 96 | дорога (f)doroganoun | road, wayДорога домой заняла два часа. The way home took two hours. |
| 97 | мальчик (m)malchiknoun | boyЭтот мальчик очень высокий. This boy is very tall. |
| 98 | оружие (n)oruzhiyenoun | weapon, armsУ него нет оружия. He has no weapon. |
| 99 | капитан (m)kapitannoun | captainКапитан сказал, что мы остаемся. The captain said we're staying. |
| 100 | внимание (n)vnimaniyenoun | attentionОбрати внимание на эту деталь. Pay attention to this detail. |
How this list was made
Most frequency lists count newspapers and books. This one counts what people say on screen: word counts from the OpenSubtitles 2018 collection of film and TV subtitles (155 million Russian words), published by the FrequencyWords project.
Different forms of the same word are counted together under the dictionary form, so every form of a verb adds to the verb's rank. Names, English words, typos and swear words were removed. Nouns are shown with their article where the language has one, so you learn the gender with the word.
Ranking: OpenSubtitles 2018 via FrequencyWords by Hermit Dave (CC BY-SA 4.0). This list is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Questions
How many Russian words do you need to understand films and TV?
In 155 million words of Russian subtitles, the 100 most common words make up 51.5% of everything said, the top 500 make up 68.3% and the top 1000 make up 72.7%. The rest are rarer words that are easiest to pick up from the shows themselves, in context.
How do I import this list into Anki?
Download the Anki deck (.apkg) and open it, or in Anki choose File, Import and pick the file. The cards arrive in the order of the list, most common first, with the meaning and an example on the back. AnkiDroid and AnkiMobile open the same file.
Can I use it in Quizlet?
Yes. Open the Quizlet file, copy everything, then in Quizlet create a set, choose Import and paste. Keep "Tab" between term and definition and "New line" between cards. Knowt and Brainscape accept the same text.
Is it free to use and share?
Yes. Download it, print it and share it. The list is published under CC BY-SA 4.0: if you publish it or a changed version, credit Fluent by Accident and the FrequencyWords project and share it under the same licence.
Where do the translations and examples come from?
The ranking comes only from real word counts. The English meanings and example sentences were drafted with AI and can contain small mistakes. If you spot one, write to rk@coldabry.com.