Как устро́ено сло́во
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🧩 Строе́ние сло́ва · Word building
Как устро́ено сло́во
How a word is built – small pieces, like Lego
🗺️ Курс 1 · All lessons 🗺️ Курс 2 · coming
📍 Course 2 «Начина́ем дви́гаться» is about verbs. A small piece in front of a verb changes its meaning: учи́ть → вы́учить. Come back here when you meet a new word – you can often guess it from its pieces.
🤫 Одно́ сло́во – 30 слов!
One word – 30 words!
Learn one small piece – уч (teach, learn) – and you understand about 30 words: учи́тель, учени́к, уче́бник, учёба, вы́учить, изучи́ть…
Read this page once – 3 minutes – and:
- ✔ you will guess new words without a dictionary;
- ✔ you will see that Russian is logical;
- ✔ you will start to make your own words, like Russian children.
🧩 Сло́во – как конструкто́р · A word is like Lego
Most Russian words are made of small pieces. Each piece has its own job.
❤️ Се́рдце сло́ва
The heart – it carries the meaning.
уч
teach, learn · ко́рень · root
⬅️ Пе́ред се́рдцем
In front – it changes the meaning.
вы́учить
learn it all · приста́вка · prefix
➡️ По́сле се́рдца
After the heart – it makes a new word.
учи́тель
a person who teaches · су́ффикс · suffix
🔚 В конце́
At the end – it changes in a sentence.
учи́тельница → учи́тельницу
Я ви́жу учи́тельницу. · оконча́ние · ending
💡 Russian children learn this at school. They mark the pieces with small signs; we use colours:
приста́вка · ко́рень · су́ффикс · оконча́ние
Everything except the ending is the осно́ва (stem). Some words have an empty ending: кот – add -ы and you get коты́.
🔍 Слова́, кото́рые вы уже́ зна́ете · Words you already know
🌳 Семья́ сло́ва «уч» · The family of «уч» – teach, learn
Natalia Brown's table. Tap a word – the dictionary opens 📖.
приста́вка · ко́рень · су́ффикс · оконча́ние
👩🏫 Кто? · People
teacher (a man)
teacher (a woman)
pupil (a boy)
pupil (a girl)
scientist, scholar
уча́щийся
student, learner (official word)
📚 Что? Где? · Things and places
textbook
studies, studying
teaching; learning
college (to learn a trade)
all the teachers; work as a teacher
🎨 Како́й? · What kind?
уче́бный
for learning: уче́бный год – school year
teacher's: учи́тельская – staff room
учени́ческий
pupil's: учени́ческий биле́т – student card
🚪 Приста́вка меня́ет глаго́л · A prefix changes the verb
учи́ть – to teach, to learn. Put a prefix in front – and you get a new verb. Tap the brown picture to see what the prefix means.
вы́учить (pf) – выу́чивать (impf)
to learn it all, so you know it
to learn it all, so you know it
Я вы́учила все слова́!
I have learned all the words!
I have learned all the words!
заучи́ть (pf) – зау́чивать (impf)
to learn by heart (again and again)
to learn by heart (again and again)
Он заучи́л стихи́.
He learned the poem by heart.
He learned the poem by heart.
изучи́ть (pf) – изуча́ть (impf)
to study a subject in depth
to study a subject in depth
Я изуча́ю ру́сский язы́к.
I am studying Russian.
I am studying Russian.
научи́ть (pf)
to teach someone to do something (the pair of учи́ть)
to teach someone to do something (the pair of учи́ть)
Ма́ма научи́ла меня́ чита́ть.
Mum taught me to read.
Mum taught me to read.
научи́ться (pf)
to learn to do something (the pair of учи́ться)
to learn to do something (the pair of учи́ться)
Я научи́лась пла́вать.
I have learned to swim.
I have learned to swim.
обучи́ть (pf) – обуча́ть (impf)
to teach, to train (official)
to teach, to train (official)
Шко́ла обуча́ет води́телей.
The school trains drivers.
The school trains drivers.
переучи́ть (pf) – переу́чивать (impf)
to teach again, the new way
to teach again, the new way
Его́ пришло́сь переучи́ть.
He had to be retrained.
He had to be retrained.
поучи́ть (pf)
to teach a little
to teach a little
Поучи́ меня́ игра́ть в ша́хматы!
Teach me a bit of chess!
Teach me a bit of chess!
поуча́ть (pf)
to lecture, to tell people how to live 😄
to lecture, to tell people how to live 😄
Не поуча́й меня́!
Don't lecture me!
Don't lecture me!
проучи́ть (pf)
to teach someone a lesson (to punish)
to teach someone a lesson (to punish)
Ко́шку на́до проучи́ть!
The cat needs to be taught a lesson!
The cat needs to be taught a lesson!
разучи́ть (pf) – разу́чивать (impf)
to learn a song, a dance, a piece of music
to learn a song, a dance, a piece of music
Мы разучи́ли но́вую пе́сню.
We learned a new song.
We learned a new song.
разучи́ться (pf) – разу́чиваться (impf)
to forget how to do something
to forget how to do something
Я разучи́лась игра́ть на роя́ле.
I have forgotten how to play the piano.
I have forgotten how to play the piano.
🎲 Сде́лай сло́во! · Make a word! Tap a piece.
1.
учи́ + ___ = 👨🏫
a man who teaches
-тель-ница-ство
✔ учи́тель – teacher!
✘ -ница makes a woman: учи́тельница. Try again.
✘ учи́тельство = all the teachers. Try again.
2.
учи́тель + ___ = 👩🏫
a woman who teaches
-ник-ница-ский
✘ Not this one. Try again.
✔ учи́тельница!
✘ учи́тельский = teacher's (a "what kind" word). Try again.
3.
уче́б + ___ = 📘
a book to learn from
-ник-ный
✔ уче́бник – textbook!
✘ уче́бный = for learning (what kind?). Try again.
4.
Я ___уча́ю ру́сский язы́к.
I am studying Russian.
изобпо
✔ Я изуча́ю ру́сский язы́к.
✘ обуча́ю = I train someone. Try again.
✘ поуча́ю = I lecture people 😄 Try again.
5.
Ма́ма ___учи́ла меня́ чита́ть.
Mum taught me to read.
наразпро
✔ Ма́ма научи́ла меня́ чита́ть.
✘ разучи́ла = learned a song. Try again.
✘ проучи́ла = taught me a lesson 😄 Try again.
6.
Я ___учила все слова́!
I have learned all the words!
вы́пере
✔ Я вы́учила все слова́! Молоде́ц!
✘ переучи́ла = taught again. Try again.
Молоде́ц! 🎉
📖 Кни́га, кото́рая всё объясни́ла · The book that explained it all
When I was a child, I lived next door to the linguist Professor Зино́вий Аро́нович Поти́ха. Many years later I started to teach Russian in London using his book «Строе́ние ру́сского сло́ва» (The structure of the Russian word). When his wife found out, she gave me a copy of the book with her signature and inscription.
– Natalia Brown
Natalia's copy of the book, with the inscription
- 🧩 All prefixes · All suffixes – a page with a picture for each one
- 🔁 Formation of Russian aspectual pairs
- 🎯 Stress and Russian vowels
Checked with: З. А. Поти́ха, «Строе́ние ру́сского сло́ва»; А. Н. Ти́хонов, «Словообразова́тельный слова́рь ру́сского языка́» (via ru.wiktionary.org); ru.wiktionary.org and en.wiktionary.org (meanings, stress).