In Russian, verbs of motion are split into four major categories, depending on whether the movement is unidirectional (in one direction) or multidirectional (all around) and whether you’re moving under your own power or in a vehicle. For example, the following verbs can all mean “to go” in Russian:
Unidirectional | | |
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Multidirectional | | |
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You wake up, go to your kitchen, make coffee. Then you go to school or work. Sometimes you drive or walk to the bus stop and take the bus. Then you go get lunch with your friends, you come home for dinner. On Thursdays you go for a run in the woods, but tomorrow you’re flying to Buffalo. All of these actions involve verbs of motion, so understanding how to use these verbs in Russian is very important!
In this post, we’ll introduce the basics of how to use verbs in motion in Russian, but this is actually the first of a three-part series on Russian verbs of motion. Here, we’ll talk about verbs for moving yourself around and the major meaning contrasts which underlie all discussions of Russian verbs of motion. At the end of the post, we’ll direct you to posts where you can learn more. Ready to go? Let’s get into it!
What are the major categories of verbs of motion in Russian?
All Russian verbs of motion can be classified as unidirectional or multidirectional and as “on foot” or “by vehicle” verbs. In this section we’ll go through the meanings of these classifications and give you some examples to help you choose the right verb of motion for the context.
Unidirectional vs. multidirectional verbs of motion
The basic difference between unidirectional and multidirectional verbs of motion in Russian is:
Unidirectional verbs of motion express movement in one direction. We can only go in one direction at a certain time -- either forward, backward or sideways.
Multidirectional verbs of motion, as you might have guessed, imply movement in multiple or rather both directions. Think of The Hobbit: there and back again -- a complete journey!
Here are some examples illustrating the contrast:
Я иду на занятие по русскому. ya eeDOO na zaNYAteeye pa ROOskamoo I am going to Russian class. | Я хожу на занятия по русскому. ya khaZHOO na zaNYAteeya pa ROOskamoo |
Шёл по улице. Увидел. Купил. shol pa OOleetsye oovEEdyel kooPEEL I was walking on the street. I saw it. I bought it. | Я ходил в кино вчера. ya khaDEEL f keeNO fchyeRA I went to a movie yesterday. |
To help you capture the meaning of these verbs, let’s imagine you followed your friend everywhere they went with a camera and recorded everything for a week in real time. Then you rewatch the video, and put it into words in a story/narrative:
To describe what happened at a particular moment, you would probably use a unidirectional verb. When you say он идёт[on eeDYOT](he is walking) or он шёл[on shol](he was walking), you are conveying that he is/was moving in one direction (most likely forward!) at a certain time.
You’re more likely to use a multidirectional verb to summarize larger parts of that video:
If your friend went to the store and came back home, you would use a multidirectional verb: он ходил в магазин[on khaDEEL v magaZEEN](he went to the store).
If you see your friend go to the store and come back every day, you would also describe this habit with a multidirectional verb, this time in the present tense: он ходит в магазин[on KHOdeet v magaZEEN](he walks to the store).
The second major contrast in Russian verbs of motion is the “on foot” vs. “by vehicle” contrast.”
When you want to imply walking, you would use the verbs идти/ходить[eTEE/khaDEET](to go, to walk).
When you want to convey that you’re using a vehicle (e.g., car, bus, bicycle, etc), you would use the verbs ехать/ездить [YEkhat/YEzdeet](to go by vehicle).
Here are some examples that illustrate this contrast:
Я иду в библиотеку. ya eeDOO v beebleeaTYEkoo I’m going to the library. | Я еду в машине. ya YEdoo v maSHEEnye |
Ты ходил голосовать? ty khaDEEL galasaVAT | Мы ездили в Турцию в отпуск. my YEzdeelee f TOOrtseeyu v Otpoosk We went to Turkey on vacation. |
Often in Russian the “on foot” verbs идти/ходить[eTEE/khaDEET] are used by default even if a vehicle is involved.
Ходить в кино
khaDEET f keeNO
Ходить на фитнес
khaDEET na FEETnyes
Ходить голосовать
khaDEET galasaVAT
It is similar to English where you would say “I went to the movies” even though you technically drove there.
Also, Russians also often use the “on foot” verbs идти/ходить when the subject of the verb “to go” is a bus or train:
Автобус идёт.
afTOboos eeDYOT
Поезд ходит каждый день.
POyest KHOdeet KAzhdyi dyen
The train runs every day.
lit. The train walks every day.
What are the most common verbs of motion in Russian?
We have so far looked at the most basic Russian verbs of motion: идти/ходить[eTEE/khaDEET](to go/walk) and ехать/ездить[YEkhat/YEzdeet](to go by vehicle), Russian has other verbs of motion that operate under the principle of directionality (unidirectional vs multidirectional). The three most common ones are “run,” “fly,” and “swim.”
Now let’s look at some examples to see how these verbs are used in context.
Сейчас, одну минутку. Бегу. SEEchas adNOO meeNOOtkoo beeGOO Alright, one minute. I’m coming (running). | Я бегаю каждое утро. ya BYEgayu KAzhdaye OOtra |
Смотри, самолёт летит. smatREE samaLYOT leeTEET | Он ни разу не летал на самолёте. on nee RAzoo nee leeTAL na samaLYOtye He has never flown on a plane. |
For the full conjugation of these common Russian verbs of motion, download the Russian verbs of motion chart!
How to use Russian verbs of motion metaphorically?
Just like you might say “time flies” or “as time goes by” in English, Russian verbs of motion are often used metaphorically.
As in English, жизнь[zheezn](life) and время[VRYEmye](time) can go, fly, or run. Note that it is only the unidirectional verb идти[eeTEE] that is used in these contexts and never ходить[khaDEET].
Жизнь идёт своим чередом.
zheezn eeDYOT svaEEM cheereeDOM
Жизнь летит так быстро.
zheezn leeTEET tak BYstra
Вот время идёт. А у меня дочь родилась.
vot VRYEmye eeDYOT a oo meeNYA doch radeeLAS
Now time goes by. And I just had a daughter.
Время идёт быстро.
VRYEmye eeDYOT BYSTra
But some things that are usually motionless in English can “go” in Russian, for example: речь[ryech](speech), дождь[dosht](rain), or снег[snyek](snow).
Речь идёт о культуре.
ryech eeDYOT a koolTOOrye
They are talking about culture.
→ Culture is what is being discussed.
Сначала шёл дождь, а потом снег.
snaCHAla shol dosht a paTOM snyek
First, it was raining and then snowing.
→ First, the rain was going, and then the snow was going.
What are “carrying” verbs of motion in Russian?
In Russian, verbs нести/носить[niSTEE/naSEET](to carry) are also classified as verbs of motion. This means that they can also be either unidirectional or multidirectional, and can be broken down as “on foot” or “by vehicle.” There are also special verbs for transporting people vs. objects.
To learn more about these kinds of verbs of motion, check out our post on “carrying” verbs of motion in Russian!
What are “prefixed” verbs of motion in Russian?
In Russian, it is possible to add certain prefixes to basic verbs of motion which add some information about the direction or destination of that movement. It’s a lot like how in English you might say you “walked up,” “walked out,” “walked in,” or “walked over.”
To learn more about how to add prefixes to verbs of motion, check out our post on prefixed verbs of motion in Russian!
Conclusion
In this post, we introduced the basics of using verbs of motion in Russian.
We saw that they can be split into categories:
unidirectional (one direction) vs. multidirectional (many directions)
movement on foot vs. by vehicle
We also saw some common verbs of motion, like “go,” “walk,” “run,” “swim,” and “fly.”
We introduced the idea of “carrying” verbs and “prefixed” verbs of motion, and directed you to further resources.
I hope you enjoyed this post and learned a lot! If you think you’re ready, why not try out our Russian verbs of motion practice activities!
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