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GW2RU

5 Russian words where stress is especially important

Kira Lisitskaya (Photo: CSA Images/Getty Images)
Foreigners learning Russian often complain that the most difficult thing is to remember where to put the stress in words. There are no clear rules in Russian; besides, there are words that are confusing! They are written the same way, but their meaning depends on how you pronounce them.

1. ‘За́мок’ (‘zа́mok’) – ‘замо́к’ (‘zamо́k’)

In the first case, with the stress on the first syllable, the word means ‘castle’, while putting stress on the second syllable, you’ll be implying a ‘lock’.

2. ‘До́ма’ (‘dо́ma’) – ‘дома́’ (‘domа́’)

To say: “I’m home,” you should put the stress of the first syllable. This is an adjective. If you put the stress on the second syllable, you’ll refer to ‘houses’ – the plural form of the word ‘дом’.

3. ‘Но́шу’ (‘nо́shu’) – ‘ношу́’ (‘noshú’)

These two can be really confusing, as one is a verb and another one is a noun. The first one is not a very frequently used word – it’s the accusative singular form of the word ‘но́ша’, which means ‘burden’ or ‘load’. While “I’m wearing something,” is translated as “Я ношу́.”

4. ‘Кру́жки’ (‘krúzhki’) – ‘кружки́’ (‘kruzhkí’)

‘Кру́жки’ with the stress on the first syllable means ‘mugs’, the plural form of ‘кру́жка’ (‘mug’). While ‘кружки́’ refers to circles, the plural form of ‘кружо́к’ (‘circle’). Russians call the popular circular format videos on social media, like Telegram.

5. ‘Му́ка’ (‘múka’) – ‘мука́’ (‘mukа́’)

Putting the stress on the first syllable, you’ll mention some sort of suffering. While ‘мука́’ with the stress on the second syllable, means ‘flour’.

Read more about the complex structure of accents in Russian and other languages at Gramota.ru (Грамота.ру) (link in Russian).