Which Russian words should I learn first?

The easiest words of grammar and everyday life: basic verbs, small structural words, polite phrases, numbers, family, food. This page gathers 100 of them.

What comes after these 100 words?

Carry on topic by topic: each list gives 100 words sorted into three levels. The KoKo app gathers +6,000 Russian words and brings each one back at the right moment.

Can I print this list or save it as a PDF?

Yes. The “Print the list” button at the top of the page opens your device’s print dialog: choose to save as PDF to keep the 100 words and their translation, with nothing else around them.

Your first 100 Russian words

New to Russian? Here are 100 easy words to start with: verbs, the small words of grammar and everyday vocabulary, translated into English.

These words come from the 26 grammar and everyday-life topics of KoKo. The app holds 2,234 words at this level.

Grammar 24 words

Russian	English
сказать	to say
читать	to read
смеяться	to laugh
убивать	to kill
низкий	low
хороший	good
твёрдый	hard
уверенный	sure
там	thereAt that place, nearby or pointed out
здесь	here
плохо	badly
мало	little
в	toPreposition, movement in the direction of a place
из	fromProvenance, origin
и	and
или	or
этот	thisDemonstrative determiner, masculine before a consonant
немного	somePartitive article, masculine singular
он	heSubject pronoun, masculine singular
я	ISubject pronoun, first person singular
входить	to come in
выходить	to get out
помогать	to help to
снимать	to take off

Everyday life 76 words

Russian	English
нет	no
да	yes
спасибо	thank you
привет	hiInformal greeting
один	one
десять	ten
мало	few
шесть	six
конец	end
май	May
лето	summer
август	August
кость	boneHard part of the skeleton
шея	neck
спина	back
нос	nose
покой	rest
здоровье	health
вирус	virus
рак	cancer
друг	friendPerson bound by friendship, standard register
младенец	baby
сын	son
муж	husbandEveryday use
сумасшедший	crazy
разочарованный	disappointed
радость	joy
страх	fear
ключ	key
кровать	bed
стена	wall
пол	floor
древесина	wood
гвоздь	nail
пила	saw
ведро	bucket
шикарный	smart
кожа	leather
джинсы	jeans
юбка	skirt
чеснок	garlic
пшеница	wheat
вода	water
сок	juice
органический	organic
миска	bowl
голод	hunger
вкус	flavour
сумка	bag
дорогой	expensive
стоимость	cost
цена	price
улица	street
вокзал	train station
парк	park
план города	map
автобус	bus
мотоцикл	motorbike
порт	harbour
колесо	wheel
рейс	flight
место	site
гид	guide
гостиница	hotel
восток	east
озеро	lake
море	sea
клюв	beak
петух	rooster
гнездо	nest
золото	gold
железо	iron
синий	blue
ссылка	link
страница	page
звонок	call

Mini quiz

5 words from this page, picked at random. Find their translation.

Frequently asked questions

Which Russian words should I learn first?: The easiest words of grammar and everyday life: basic verbs, small structural words, polite phrases, numbers, family, food. This page gathers 100 of them.
What comes after these 100 words?: Carry on topic by topic: each list gives 100 words sorted into three levels. The KoKo app gathers +6,000 Russian words and brings each one back at the right moment.
Can I print this list or save it as a PDF?: Yes. The “Print the list” button at the top of the page opens your device’s print dialog: choose to save as PDF to keep the 100 words and their translation, with nothing else around them.

How KoKo makes words stick

These lists come from KoKo, the app to learn Russian vocabulary on iPhone.