Russian Vocabulary: Verbs
Below is an alphabetical list of verbs found in Russian records. Each word is generally listed first in its modern infinitive form, followed by relevant conjugations, including some with archaic spelling. If the word you are looking for is not found here, consider looking at our other word lists or the FamilySearch Wiki Russian Genealogical Word List. If you're still struggling to find the right word, it may be a person's or place name. Follow the guidelines listed under Practical Suggestions and use other resources on our site such as those found on the Names page.
Using the keyboard commands Ctrl+F (Windows) or Command+F (Mac) can be helpful when searching through word lists. Simply type the first few letters or a part of the word you know, and the search function will highlight any words in the list that contain that sequence of letters.
Abbreviation | Meaning | Abbreviation | Meaning |
| nom. | nominative case | masc. | masculine |
| acc. | accusative case | fem. | feminine |
| gen. | genitive case | neut. | neuter |
| prep. | prepositional case | plu. | plural |
| dat. | dative case | part. | participle |
| instr. | instrumental case | pres. | present |
| arch. | archaic | s.f. | short form (for adjectives) |
Russian | English | Examples |
| благословить/поблагословить | to bless (blessed) | 
(arch. past masc. поблагословилъ) |
| быть | to be (was) | 
(arch. past masc. былъ) 
(past fem. была) 
(past plu. были) |
| венчать | to solemnize a marriage (solemnized) | 
(arch. past masc. вѣнчалъ) |
| выбыть | to leave, no longer be present (left, departed) | 
(past plu. выбыли) |
| выходить замуж | to get married (for women) | — |
| дать | to give | 
|
| жениться | to get married (for men) | — |
| объявлять/ объявить (past masc. объявил) | to announce (announcing, announced) | 
(adv. part. объявляя) |
| предъявить | to present (presented) | 
(arch. past masc. предъявилъ) |
| прибыть | to arrive (arrived) | 
(past neut. прибыло) |
| родиться | to be born (was born) | 
(past masc. родился) 
(past fem. родилась) 
(past plu. родились) 
(past arch. родися ) |
| совершать | to accomplish, complete (accomplished, completed) | 
(past masc. совершалъ) |
| совершаться | to be accomplished or completed (was accomplished, was completed) | 
(3rd person sing. pres. совершается) |
| состояться | to take place (took place) | 
(past neut. состоялось) |
| сочетаться | to be combined, joined, married (was combined, was joined, was married) | 
(past plu. сочетались) |
| умереть | to die (died) | 
(past masc. умеръ) 
(past plu. умерли) |
| явиться | to appear (appeared) | 
(past masc. явился) |
To view translations of specific words and phrases you may encounter in a certain document type, visit the corresponding Document Types page of this tutorial.
- Ilya Repin, Запорожцы пишут письмо турецкому султану, between 1878 and 1891, Oil on canvas. Wikimedia Commons.(https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ilja_Jefimowitsch_Repin_-_Reply_of_the_Zaporozhian_Cossacks_-_Yorck.jpg : accessed 27 August 2024). This image is in the public domain.