Adverbs of place vs. adverbs of direction in Russian

In Russian, we often use two separate place/direction words in a context where English only uses one. For example, compare the sentences below:

Where in English we use “here” as both an and an , in Russian we use different words for different functions. Read on, and you’ll find out more on how adverbs of location and direction are different in Russian.

The words “here” or “there” can be translated using a wide variety of words in Russian, and the one you use will depend on the context. The biggest distinction is in whether “here” or “there” represents:

• a static location, where something is or is happening

• a destination towards which something is moving

• a source something is moving away from

This table gives the corresponding Russian translations:

Here are some examples of the different ways to use the Russian words for “here”:

• static location

  Здесь не курят.

  zdyes nye KOOryat

  Smoking is not allowed here.

  Я не хочу тут жить.

  ya nye khaCHOO toot zhyt

  I don’t want to live here.

• direction / destination

  Мы переехали сюда недавно.

  my piriYEkhali syuDA niDAVna

  We have moved here recently.

• source

  Иди отсюда!

  iDEE atSYUda

  Go away!

  lit. Go from here!

And here are some examples of the different ways to use the Russian words for “there”:

• static location

  Я там никогда не был.

  ya tam nikagDA NYE byl

  I have never been there.

• direction / destination

  Положите книги туда.

  palaZHEEtye KNEEgi tooDA

  Put the books there.

• source

  Он пошарил в кармане и достал оттуда конфету.

  on paSHAril v karMAnye i dasTAL aTOOda kanFYEtoo

  He felt about in his pocket and took out a candy.

  lit. …took from there a candy.

Adverbs like “left” and “right,” for relative directions, are also divided into categories: location, direction, and source.

However, unlike the Russian words for “here” and “there,” in these cases the adverbs all share a , and differ only in their prefixes and suffixes. The table below provides the adverbs themselves. We’ll give some examples and additional discussion below.

Let’s go through each English word and look at some examples of how to use these adverbs.

• Russian words for “left”

  • static location

    Ваша комната вторая слева.

    VAsha KOMnata ftaRAya SLYEva

    Your room is the second one on the left.

  • direction / destination

    На перекрестке поверните налево.

    na piriKRYOSTkye pavirNEEtye naLYEva

    Turn left at the intersection.

  • source

    Откуда-то слева послышалась музыка.

    atKOOdata SLYEva paSLYshalas MOOzyka

    Somewhere from the left came the sound of music.

• Russian words for “right”

  • static location

    Мой сосед справа - художник.

    moy saSYET SPRAva khooDOZHnik

    My neighbor on the right is an artist.

  • direction / destination

    При переходе через дорогу, посмотрите сначала налево, потом направо.

    pri piriKHOdye CHEris daROgoo pasmaTREEtye snaCHAla naLYEva paTOM naPRAva

    When crossing the road, first look left, then right.

  • source

    По-арабски пишут справа налево.

    pa-aRAPski PEEshoot SPRAva naLYEva

    In Arabic one writes from right to left.

• Russian words for “up” or “above”

  • static location

    Самые дорогие каюты на круизных лайнерах обычно наверху.

    SAmyie daraGEEye kaYUty na krooEEZnykh LAYnirakh aBYCHna navitKHOO

    On cruise ships, the most expensive rooms are usually at the top.

  • direction / destination

    Путь наверх оказался нелёгким даже для опытных альпинистов.

    poot naVYERKH akaZALsya niLYOKHkim DAzhe dlya Opytnykh alpiNEEStaf

    The way up turned out to be far from easy even for seasoned climbers.

    Вытяните руки перед собой ладонями вверх.

    VYtiniti ROOki PYErit saBOY laDOnimi vyerkh

    Put your hands out in front of you with palms up.

  • source

    Вам сверху будет лучше видно.

    vam SVYERkhoo BOOdit LOOCHshe VEEDna

    You’ll have a better view from above.

• Russian words for “down” or “below”

  • static location

    Внизу, в долине, виднелась деревня.

    vniZOO v daLEEnye vidNYElas diRYEVnya

    In the valley below a village could be seen.

  • direction / destination

    Мы стояли на балконе и бросали вниз камушки.

    my staYAli na balKOnye i braSAli vnees KAmooshki

    We were standing on the balcony and throwing down small stones.

  • source

    Деревья подсвечивались снизу.

    diRYEVya patSVYEchivalis SNEEzoo

    The trees were illuminated from beneath.

• Russian words for “ahead,” “in front,” or “forward”

  • static location

    Они вошли в зал и сели впереди.

    aNEE zaSHLEE v zal i SYEli fpiriDEE

    They came into the audience and sat in the front.

    Она надела платье с глубоким вырезом спереди.

    aNA naDYEla PLATye s glooBOkim VYryezam SPYEridi

    She put on a dress with a deep cut at the front.

    → спереди is more colloquial than впереди
  • direction / destination

    Кто готов, сделайте шаг вперёд.

    kto gaTOF ZDYElaytye shak fpiRYOT

    Those who are ready make a step forward.

• Russian words for “behind” or “backward”

  • static location

    Шум города остался позади.

    shoom GOrada asTALsya pazaDEE

    The noise of the city was now behind.

    Наши места были сзади, поэтому нам было плохо видно.

    NAshi misTA BYli ZAdi paEtamoo nam BYla PLOkha VEEDna

    Our seats were at the back so we couldn’t see very well.

    Подожди, у тебя сзади на ноге жук сидит.

    padaZHDEE oo tiBYA ZAdi na spiNYE zhook siDEET

    Wait, there is a beetle on the back of your leg (lit: on your leg).

    → Usually сзади and позади are interchangeable, but only сзади can mean “back” as part of a human body or an object.
  • direction / destination

    Назад в будущее

    naZAT v BOOdooshchiye

    Back to the future (movie title).

    Я хочу уехать обратно в деревню.

    ya khaCHOO ooYEkhat abRATna v diRYEVnyu

    I want to go back to the village.

There are several Russian adverbs that can be either adverbs of place or adverbs of direction, depending on context:

• далеко[daliKO](far / far away)

• близко[BLEESka](close / near)

• напротив[naPROtif](opposite / across from / face-to-face)

• посередине[pasiriDEEnye](in the middle)

• рядом[RYAdam](near)

For example:

• static location

  Он живёт далеко, в другой стране.

  on zhyVYOT daliKO v drooGOY straNYE

  He lives far away, in another country.

• direction / destination

  Он уехал далеко, в другую страну.

  on ooYEkhal daliKO v drooGOOyu straNOO

  He went far away, to another country.

In this post we have looked at how adverbs of place in Russian are different from adverbs of direction:

• They may be entirely different words, like здесь meaning “here” as place and сюда meaning “here” as direction, or там meaning “there” as place and туда meaning “there” as direction

• They may differ in regards to prefixes/suffixes, like the words for relative directions (“left”, “right”, “up”, “down”, “ahead”, “back”), for example, внизу meaning “down” as place, and вниз meaning “down” as direction

• They could be exactly the same words, for instance, рядом meaning “near” both as place and direction

See if you can use them correctly now by downloading our Russian adverbs of place and direction activities below!