Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

russian

/ˈɹʌʃ(ə)n/

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.01 in modern English

Syllables
rus-sian
IPA
/ˈɹʌʃ(ə)n/
7
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of or pertaining to Russia or Russians.

adj

Of or pertaining to the Soviet Union.

Dated

adj

Of or pertaining to Rus.

Dated

adj

Of or pertaining to the Russian language.

noun

A native or inhabitant of Russia.

Countable

noun

A person of an East Slavic ethnic group which is native to, and constitutes the majority of the population of, Russia; an ethnic Russian.

Countable

noun

A person from the Soviet Union.

Countable; Obsolete

noun

The Russian language.

Uncountable

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Medieval Latin (11th century) Russiānus, from Russia, a Latinization of the Old East Slavic Русь (Rusĭ)) + -ānus (“of or pertaining to”). Attested in English (both as a noun and as an adjective) from the 16th century. By surface analysis, Russia + -an. Piecewise doublet of Rossiyan.

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈɹʌʃ(ə)n/
  • British English: /ˈɹʌʃ(ə)n/

Usage

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Phrases

Frequently Paired Words

derussify Russ Russify Russo- Wiktionary’s coverage of Russian terms RuSSia Ruzzian Ruᛋᛋian

Synonyms

Rhymes With

Questions

How do you pronounce russian?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈɹʌʃ(ə)n/.
What does russian mean?
Of or pertaining to Russia or Russians.
Where does russian come from?
From Medieval Latin (11th century) Russiānus, from Russia, a Latinization of the Old East Slavic Русь (Rusĭ)) + -ānus (“of or pertaining to”). Attested in English (both as a noun and as an adjective) from the 16th century. By surface analysis, Russia + -an. Piecewise doublet of Rossiyan.

How to pronounce russian

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “russian”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈɹʌʃ(ə)n/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “russian”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “russian” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.