You can use как to compare something to itself as a colloquial way to imply that something is very ordinary:
Телефон как телефон - ничего необычного.
tiliFON kak tiliFON nichiVO niaBYCHnava
lit. A phone like a phone - nothing unusual.
Russian Articles
How to form different types of comparisons in Russian?
By: Aleks Novikov Fri Feb 28 2025
In Russian, there are a few different ways to make comparisons. The most common types of comparisons are…
Comparisons that use comparative adjectivesNo definition set for comparative adjectivesLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. or comparative adverbsNo definition set for comparative adverbsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Comparisons that use words like как[kak] or будто[BOOta], to mean “like” or “as if”
Comparisons that use words like вроде[VROdi](kind of like) or в отличие от[v atLEEchii at](unlike) + genitive
In this post, we’ll take you through the sentence structures associated with each type of comparison and teach you the words you’ll need to know to form them. Let’s see how we can use such words while making comparisons in Russian!
Table of Contents
How to form Russian comparisons with comparative adjectives and adverbs?
Perhaps the most popular way of comparison, both in English and in Russian, is to use comparative forms of adjectives or adverbs. These are words like больше[BOLshe](bigger) or более медленно[BOliye MYEDlina](more slowly). There are two main structures used in these types of comparisons: those that use чем[chem](than), and those that use just the genitive case.
How to use чем (chem, “than”) in Russian comparisons?
You can usually form these comparisons by putting the word чем[chem](than) before the second of the two entities you are comparing. For example:
Мой брат выше, чем я.
moy brat VYshe chem ya
My brother is taller than me.
→ мой брат and я are both nominativeЯ пью кофе чаще, чем чай.
ya pyu KOfye CHAshche chem chay
I drink coffee more often than tea.
→ кофе and чай are both accusative
The parts of sentences before and after чем in Russian have parallel structures, which means both nouns being compared will take the same case, as you can see in the examples above.
You can also use чем before a complete clauseNo definition set for clauseLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum., rather than just a noun. For example:
Он сделал это лучше, чем я мог себе представить.
on ZDYElal eta LUCHshe chem ya mok siBYE pritSTAvit
He did it better than I could possibly imagine.
How to use the genitive case to make comparisons in Russian?
Another way to form comparisons like those discussed above is to simply put the second noun into the genitive case. Compare:
Comparison with чем | Comparison using the genitive |
|---|---|
nominative case Ольга играла лучше, чем Светлана. OLga igRAla LOOCHshe chem svitLAna Olga played better than Svetlana. | nominative casegenitive case Ольга играла лучше Светланы. OLga igRAla LOOCHshe svitLAny Olga played better (than) Svetlana. |
This type of comparison is only possible if the first noun is in the nominative or accusative case, and does not come after a preposition. In other cases, чем is required.
Ольга играет на фортепиано лучше, чем на скрипке.
OLga igRAyet na fartePYAna LOOCHshe chem na SKRIPkye
Olga plays the piano better than the violin.
→ Here чем is required because the sentence compares nouns that follow prepositions, фортепиано and скрипке, both of which also happen to be in the prepositional case.
How to make comparisons using words like как (kak) and будто (BOOta)?
In Russian, can say that something “like” or is behaving “as if” it were a certain way by using words like:
как[kak]
как будто[kak BOOta]
будто[BOOta]
словно[SLOVna]
точно[TOCHna]
The words как and как будто are most common in speech while the others are a bit more formal.
There are two main ways to use these words to make comparisons: before a nounNo definition set for nounLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. or before a complete clauseNo definition set for clauseLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum..
Using как[kak] and its synonyms before a noun:
The main grammatical rule to remember is that the noun after как (or one of its synonyms), will take on the same case as the noun it is being compared to. For example:
- instrumental case
Он махал руками, точно крыльями.
on maKHAL rooKAmi TOCHna KRYLyami
He was flapping his arms like wings.
- nominative case
Он смотрел на подарок с восхищением, словно ребёнокv.
on smaTRYEL na paDArak s vaskhiSHCHEniyem SLOVna riBYOnak
He was looking at the present with admiration, like a child.
However, you don’t always need to explicitly include the first noun, the one you’re comparing something to, especially if you add the Russian particle бы[by] after как or one of its synonyms.
После этого случая он стал как бы другим человеком.
POSlye Etava SLOOchiya on stal kag by drooGEEM chilaVYEkam
After that incident he became sort of a different person.
Tip
Using как[kak] and its synonyms before a clause:
Just like the English word “like” you can use как and its synonyms before clauses (phrases with both a subjectNo definition set for subjectLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. and a verbNo definition set for verbLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.).
Вы как будто (бы) ждали нас!
vy kak BOOta (by) ZHDAli nas
It’s like you’ve been expecting us!
Он украшал торт долго и тщательно, точно это было произведение искусства.
on ookraSHAL tort DOLga i TSHCHAtilna TOCHna Eta BYla praizviDYEniye isKOOstva
He was decorating the cake for a long time and very carefully, as if it was a piece of art.
Sometimes the verb can be left out of the clause.
Tip
In the present tense, the verb “to be” is not necessary in the subordinate clause, so you might see words like как used before adjectives as well.
Он водит как сумасшедший.
on VOdit kak soomaSHEDshiy
He drives like crazy.
How to make comparisons using words like вроде or в отличие от?
In Russian, we can make comparisons using words like вроде[VROdi](kind of like) or в отличие от[v atLEEchii at](unlike) by using them before a noun in the genitive case.
The words вроде[VROdi], наподобие[napaDObii], and типа[TEEpa], all mean “kind of like,” are used to compare similar objects.
genitive caseУ него на голове было что-то вроде / наподобие / типа короны.
oo niVO na galaVYE BYla SHTOta VROdi / napaDObii / TEEpa kaROny
He had on his head something like a crown.
The phrase в отличие от[v atLEEchii at] is generally used to say that something is “unlike” something else. For example:
genitive caseРусские, в отличие от американцев, редко думают о размере налогов.
ROOSkiye v atLEEchii at amyeriKANtsev RYETka DOOmayut a razMYErye naLOgaf
Russians, unlike Americans, seldom think about the amount they pay in taxes.
Tip
Just like “like” in English, the Russian words типа and как бы have become filler-words that give the speaker time to think or the opportunity to be less direct. Like in English, they are often overused in colloquial speech. For example:
Я как бы не хотела его приглашать, а он такой типа: “Я слышал у тебя вечеринка намечается?”
ya kak by ni khaTYEla yiVO priglaSHAT a on taKOY TEEpa ya SLYshal oo tiBYA vichiRENka namiCHAitsa
I sort of didn’t want to invite him, but then he goes, like, “I heard you’re having a party?”
Conclusion
In this post we have looked at the three main sentence structures we use to make comparisons in Russian:
Using comparative adjectives and adverbs, which can be followed by…
чем[chem](than) + noun or clause
a noun in the genitive case (in some circumstances)
Using words как[kak], будто[BOOta], словно[SLOVna], точно[TOCHna], all meaning “like” or “as if.” These can be followed by…
a noun, in the same case as the noun you’re comparing it to
a complete clause
Using words like типа[TEEpa], наподобие[napaDObii], вроде[VROdi], meaning “kind of like” or the phrase в отличие от[v atLEEchii at](unlike). These can be followed by a noun in the genitive case.
Ready to practice? Try the Russian comparison activities linked below!
