бре́мя
brémjaneuter
The English word 'burden' (in the sense of a cause of worry) can be translated into Russian as бре́мя (brémja) or обу́за.
Meaning: cause of worry (noun)
Ways to say it
| Russian | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| бре́мя | brémja | neuter |
| обу́за | obúza | feminine |
бре́мя is commonly used in fixed metaphorical expressions, such as бре́мя власти (the burden of power). You can say нести бре́мя to mean 'to bear a burden'. To express the action of burdening or encumbering someone with duties or taxes, the standard verb is обременя́ть.
Which one should you use?
бре́мя is a neuter noun that carries a poetic or heavy, metaphorical weight, often used for abstract concepts like responsibility. In contrast, обу́за is a feminine noun.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The neuter noun бре́мя changes to бре́мени in the genitive case, for example, when saying 'without a burden'. The feminine noun обу́за changes to обу́зы in the genitive case.
How do you pronounce it?
brémja
Did you know?
- Russian uses the verb обременя́ть for financial encumbrances, such as a mortgage or a lien on a property, not just for emotional worry.
- The word обу́за can be used to describe a person who is a nuisance, whereas бре́мя is almost never used to describe a person directly.
- While you can use бре́мя to talk about grand concepts like 'fate', using it to describe a physical weight like a heavy backpack in daily life will make you sound like a character from an epic poem or a fantasy novel.
Examples in context
- Это бре́мя тяготит меня.Eto bremya tyagotit menya.This burden weighs on me.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “burden” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
