Russian vocabulary

Learn Russian vocabulary
that sticks.

A deep Russian dictionary with one-tap flashcards and spaced repetition. Save the words you meet while reading, studying, or working in Russian — and review them right before you'd forget.

Free · No account required · Works offline

How it works

Look up, save, review.

No setup.

Look it up.

Search any Russian word — including conjugated and inflected forms. Every meaning it carries, with CEFR level and example sentence.

Save the meaning you met.

One tap, no typing. That exact meaning becomes a flashcard.

Review before you forget.

Spaced repetition brings each word back at the right moment. Five card formats so the word sets from every angle.

мир
NOUN · 4 SENSES
мирныймировойпримирение
A2 a state of peace and the absence of war or conflict noun
A state of peace and the absence of war or conflict.
Все хотят жить в мире.
A2 the earth together with all its countries, peoples, and natural features noun
The earth together with all its countries, peoples, and natural features.
Она объехала весь мир за два года.
B1 a particular sphere of activity, interest, or experience noun
A particular sphere of activity, interest, or experience.
Мир науки требует точности и терпения.
B2 a historical peasant commune in pre-revolutionary russia noun
A historical peasant commune in pre-revolutionary Russia.
Крестьяне решали споры на общем собрании мира.
Russian vocabulary research

How many Russian words do you actually need?

Vocabulary researchers measure Russian word size in word families — a root word and its derived and inflected forms. Russian is a highly inflected language, meaning a single word family can include many surface forms with different endings.

The jump from B1 to B2 in Russian means roughly 2,000 more word families. With consistent daily review, that's about a year — if you don't forget what you've already learned.
A1
~500
A2
~1,000
B1
~2,000
B2
~4,000
C1
~8,000
C2
~16,000
Russian for English speakers

The challenge: Russian and English don't share roots.

Russian is an East Slavic language — a different branch from English. However, thousands of international loanwords (компьютер, телефон, проблема…) are recognisable once you know the Cyrillic alphabet. Learning Cyrillic takes roughly a week.

Once you know Cyrillic, international words become immediately readable. The core Slavic vocabulary has no English parallel and needs to be built from scratch through consistent review.

International words — readable once you know Cyrillic
компьютер
computer
телефон
telephone
проблема
problem
студент
student
отель
hotel
музыка
music
фильм
film
спорт
sport
парк
park
центр
centre
культура
culture
форма
form

The core Slavic vocabulary has no English parallel. You'll meet it constantly — and look it up repeatedly — until you build a system for retaining it.

For the Russian you actually need.

Whether you're a heritage speaker, preparing for the TORFL exam, working in a Russian-speaking environment, or following Russian media — OpenWords turns every word you look up into a flashcard at the moment you look it up.

Heritage speakers reconnecting with the language
TORFL (ТРКИ) exam candidates
Work, family, or media learners
Advanced readers building precise, active vocabulary
FAQ

Russian vocabulary questions

What's the best way to learn Russian vocabulary?
Read and listen to Russian at your level, save every unknown word at the moment you look it up, and review with spaced repetition. OpenWords builds that habit into the dictionary lookup itself.
Does it help with TORFL (ТРКИ)?
Yes. Entries include CEFR levels that correspond roughly to TORFL levels. The vocabulary for each level is well-defined — OpenWords helps you save and retain those words systematically.
Can I study Russian vocabulary offline?
Review works offline — once a word is saved, you can study it anywhere. Looking up new words needs internet.
Is Russian hard for English speakers?
The grammar is complex, but Cyrillic takes about a week to learn. After that, thousands of international loanwords (компьютер, телефон, музыка) are immediately readable. The core Slavic vocabulary is where consistent retention work pays off.
Is OpenWords free?
Yes. No subscriptions, no paywalls. Free to download, free to use, no account required.
How is OpenWords different from other Russian vocabulary apps?
Most Russian apps use preset word lists. OpenWords starts from the dictionary: you save the Russian words you actually meet, in the exact meaning they appeared in, and review them with spaced repetition.
Free · No account · Offline

Start learning Russian vocabulary with OpenWords.

Every Russian word you look up is one tap away from becoming a flashcard.

Free · No account required · Works offline