This list includes 72 Russian words that start with U, from “у” to “учиться”. They range from short particles and common verbs to descriptive adjectives and borrowed nouns. You can use this list for vocabulary study, lesson planning, quick reference, or travel preparation.
Russian words that start with U are Russian lexical items whose Cyrillic spelling begins with the letter У. The letter У often marks pronouns, prepositions, and many essential verbs, and appears in notable words like “учиться” (to study).
Below you’ll find the table with English gloss, Cyrillic headword, and example sentence (Russian plus English translation).
English gloss: A brief, practical translation that helps you understand meaning quickly and choose correct uses in everyday speech.
Cyrillic headword: The Russian word in Cyrillic, ready for you to copy, pronounce, or look up in dictionaries.
Example sentence: A short Russian sentence showing context, followed by an English translation so you see real use.
Russian words that start with U
| Headword (Cyrillic) | Transliteration (Latin, BGN/PCGN) | Part of speech | English gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| у | u | preposition | at; by; with (possession) |
| уже | uzhe | adverb | already |
| утро | utro | noun | morning |
| улица | ulitsa | noun | street |
| увидеть | uvidet’ | verb | to see; to catch sight of |
| успех | uspekh | noun | success |
| успеть | uspet’ | verb | to manage to; to have time to do |
| учить | uchit’ | verb | to teach; to learn (transitive) |
| учиться | uchit’sya | verb | to study; to be a student |
| учитель | uchitel’ | noun | teacher |
| учебник | uchebnik | noun | textbook |
| уметь | umet’ | verb | to know how to; to be able to |
| ум | um | noun | mind; intellect |
| умный | umnyy | adjective | smart; clever |
| умирать | umirat’ | verb | to die (imperfective) |
| умереть | umeret’ | verb | to die (perfective) |
| улыбка | ulybka | noun | smile |
| улыбаться | ulybat’sya | verb | to smile |
| улыбнуться | ulybnut’sya | verb | to smile briefly; to give a smile |
| удивление | udivlenie | noun | surprise; astonishment |
| удивляться | udivlyat’sya | verb | to be surprised |
| удивить | udivit’ | verb | to surprise (someone) |
| удача | udacha | noun | luck; good fortune |
| ужас | uzhas | noun | horror; terrible thing |
| ужасный | uzhasnyy | adjective | terrible; awful |
| уборка | uborka | noun | cleaning; tidying up |
| убрать | ubrat’ | verb | to remove; to tidy up; to put away |
| убивать | ubivat’ | verb | to kill (imperfective) |
| убить | ubit’ | verb | to kill (perfective) |
| убийство | ubiystvo | noun | murder; homicide |
| убежище | ubezhishche | noun | shelter; refuge |
| убеждать | ubezhdat’ | verb | to persuade; to convince |
| убеждение | ubezhdenie | noun | conviction; belief |
| убранство | ubranstvo | noun | ornamentation; decor |
| убыток | ubytok | noun | loss (financial) |
| увеличение | uvelichenie | noun | increase; enlargement |
| увеличивать | uvelichivat’ | verb | to increase (imperfective) |
| увеличить | uvelichit’ | verb | to increase (perfective) |
| уведомление | uvedomlenie | noun | notification; notice |
| уведомлять | uvedomlyat’ | verb | to notify; to inform (imperfective) |
| уволить | uvolit’ | verb | to dismiss; to fire |
| увольнение | uvolnenie | noun | dismissal; layoff |
| уважать | uvazhat’ | verb | to respect |
| уважение | uvazhenie | noun | respect |
| удобный | udobnyy | adjective | comfortable; convenient |
| удобство | udobstvo | noun | convenience; amenity |
| удобно | udobno | adverb | comfortably; conveniently |
| удар | udar | noun | blow; strike |
| ударение | udarenie | noun | stress; emphasis |
| ударять | udaryat’ | verb | to strike; to hit (imperfective) |
| ударить | udarit’ | verb | to strike once; to hit (perfective) |
| удерживать | uderzhivat’ | verb | to hold back; to retain |
| удалить | udalit’ | verb | to delete; to remove (perfective) |
| удалённый | udalennyy | adjective | remote; distant; remote (work) |
| удовольствие | udovol’stvie | noun | pleasure; enjoyment |
| удовлетворение | udovletvorenie | noun | satisfaction; fulfilment |
| узнать | uznat’ | verb | to find out; to learn (perfective) |
| узнать (impf. узнавать) | uznavat’ | verb | to find out; to learn (imperfective) |
| узкий | uzkiy | adjective | narrow; tight |
| узел | uzel | noun | knot; node; junction |
| узор | uzor | noun | pattern; design |
| уклон | uklon | noun | slope; inclination; tendency |
| укреплять | ukreplyat’ | verb | to strengthen (imperfective) |
| укрепить | ukrepit’ | verb | to strengthen (perfective) |
| уклад | uklad | noun | way of life; order; system |
| украсить | ukrasit’ | verb | to decorate; to adorn (perfective) |
| улететь | uletet’ | verb | to fly away; to leave by plane (perfective) |
| умеренный | umerenniy | adjective | moderate; temperate |
| умирать/умереть note handled above | |||
| урок | urok | noun | lesson; class |
| уровень | uroven’ | noun | level; standard |
| уд (note: not a lemma to include) |
Descriptions
у
neutral, very common; basic preposition indicating possession or location. У меня есть книга. / I have a book.
уже
neutral, very common; shows earlier-than-expected time. Я уже пришёл. / I already arrived.
утро
neutral, very common; everyday word for the start of the day. Я встал утром. / I got up in the morning.
улица
neutral, very common; used for addresses and directions. Она идёт по улице. / She walks along the street.
увидеть
neutral, very common; perfective verb for perceiving visually. Я тебя увидел. / I saw you.
успех
neutral, common; used in everyday and formal contexts. Его успех удивил всех. / His success surprised everyone.
успеть
neutral, common; perfective for completing on time. Я успел на поезд. / I made the train.
учить
neutral, very common; context decides ‘teach’ or ‘learn’. Она учит детей. / She teaches children.
учиться
neutral, very common; reflexive verb for learning. Я учусь в университете. / I study at university.
учитель
neutral, common; teacher in school contexts. Наш учитель добрый. / Our teacher is kind.
учебник
neutral, common; school or university textbook. Открой учебник, пожалуйста. / Open the textbook, please.
уметь
neutral, common; skill or ability. Я умею плавать. / I can swim.
ум
neutral, common; used in abstract contexts. У него хороший ум. / He has a good mind.
умный
neutral, common; describes intelligence. Это очень умный человек. / This is a very smart person.
умирать
neutral, common; ongoing process of dying. Он медленно умирает. / He is dying slowly.
умереть
neutral, common; completed action of dying. Он внезапно умер. / He died suddenly.
улыбка
neutral, common; facial expression of friendliness. У неё широкая улыбка. / She has a broad smile.
улыбаться
neutral, common; habitual or repeated smiling. Она часто улыбается. / She smiles often.
улыбнуться
neutral, common; perfective single smile. Он улыбнулся и ушёл. / He smiled and left.
удивление
neutral, common; feeling of being surprised. Его лицо в удивлении. / His face shows surprise.
удивляться
neutral, common; reflexive emotional reaction. Я удивляюсь новостям. / I am surprised by the news.
удивить
neutral, common; to cause astonishment. Ты меня удивил. / You surprised me.
удача
neutral, common; success by chance. Ему повезла удача. / He had good luck.
ужас
neutral, common; strong negative reaction or event. Это был полный ужас. / It was a complete horror.
ужасный
neutral, common; strong negative descriptor. Погода ужасная. / The weather is awful.
уборка
neutral, common; household chore. Сегодня уборка в квартире. / Today is cleaning day in the apartment.
убрать
neutral, common; perfective transitive. Убери книгу со стола. / Put the book away from the table.
убивать
neutral/strong, common in narratives; ongoing action. Он пытался не убивать. / He tried not to kill.
убить
neutral/strong, common; completed action of killing. Его убили ночью. / He was killed at night.
убийство
neutral/formal, common in news/legal context. Раскрыто убийство в городе. / The city’s murder was solved.
убежище
neutral, common; safe place or asylum. Люди нашли убежище в церкви. / People found shelter in the church.
убеждать
neutral, common; attempt to change opinion. Я не могу тебя убедить. / I can’t convince you.
убеждение
neutral, common; opinion held firmly. Его убеждение сильно. / His conviction is strong.
убранство
neutral, less common; literary or descriptive. Зал в богатом убранстве. / The hall has rich decor.
убыток
neutral, common in business contexts. Компания получила убыток. / The company incurred a loss.
увеличение
neutral, common; rise in amount/size. Наблюдается увеличение продаж. / Sales show an increase.
увеличивать
neutral, common; make larger/raise. Нужно увеличивать зарплату. / Salaries need to be increased.
увеличить
neutral, common; to make something larger. Он увеличил изображение. / He enlarged the image.
уведомление
neutral, common; official or informal notice. Получил уведомление по почте. / He received a notice by mail.
уведомлять
neutral, common; to tell formally. Они уведомили всех сотрудников. / They informed all employees.
уволить
neutral, common in workplace contexts. Его уволили вчера. / He was fired yesterday.
увольнение
neutral, common in HR contexts. Увольнение стало неожиданным. / The dismissal was unexpected.
уважать
neutral, common; show esteem for someone. Я очень его уважаю. / I respect him very much.
уважение
neutral, common; noun for esteem. Он заслужил моё уважение. / He earned my respect.
удобный
neutral, very common; describes comfort or ease. Это очень удобный стул. / This is a very comfortable chair.
удобство
neutral, common; practical comfort or facility. В машине много удобств. / There are many conveniences in the car.
удобно
neutral, common; adverbial use. Мне здесь удобно. / I am comfortable here.
удар
neutral/common; physical strike or stress in linguistics. Он получил сильный удар. / He received a strong blow.
ударение
neutral, common in linguistics and speech. Ударение падает на второй слог. / The stress falls on the second syllable.
ударять
neutral, common; repeated or ongoing striking. Ветер сильно ударял в окно. / The wind hit the window hard.
ударить
neutral, common; single completed strike. Он ударил по мячу. / He hit the ball.
удерживать
neutral, common; restrain someone/something. Не удаётся удерживать равновесие. / Can’t keep balance.
удалить
neutral, common in computing and general use. Удали файл с диска. / Delete the file from the disk.
удалённый
neutral, common; remote location or remote work. Работа удалённая, из дома. / The work is remote, from home.
удовольствие
neutral, common; enjoying something. Читаю с большим удовольствием. / I read with great pleasure.
удовлетворение
neutral, common; sense of contentment. Он получил удовлетворение от работы. / He got satisfaction from the work.
узнать
neutral, very common; learn or discover information. Я хочу узнать правду. / I want to find out the truth.
узнать (impf. узнавать)
neutral, common; ongoing discovery or repeated learning. Я узнавал новости. / I was finding out the news.
узкий
neutral, common; physical or figurative narrowness. Улица слишком узкая. / The street is too narrow.
узел
neutral, common; physical knot or network node. Связь разорвана в узле. / The connection was broken at the node.
узор
neutral, common; decorative motif. На платье красивый узор. / The dress has a beautiful pattern.
уклон
neutral, common; physical slope or tendency. Уклон дороги небольшой. / The road has a slight slope.
укреплять
neutral, common; make stronger. Нужно укреплять здоровье. / It’s necessary to strengthen health.
укрепить
neutral, common; completed strengthening action. Он укрепил доверие команды. / He strengthened the team’s trust.
уклад
neutral, less common; societal or internal order. Старый уклад быстро меняется. / The old way of life is changing fast.
украсить
neutral, common; make more attractive. Мы украсили комнату. / We decorated the room.
улететь
neutral, common; departure by air or metaphorical leaving. Самолёт улетел вовремя. / The plane flew away on time.
умеренный
neutral, common; describes degree or climate. Климат здесь умеренный. / The climate here is moderate.
умирать/умереть note handled above
урок
neutral, very common; school lesson or moral lesson. Сегодня у меня уроки. / I have lessons today.
уровень
neutral, common; degree or hierarchy. Уровень знаний растёт. / The level of knowledge is growing.
уд (note: not a lemma to include)