сли́вочное ма́сло
slívočnoje másloneuter
Butter in Russian is сли́вочное ма́сло (slívočnoje máslo), literally cream butter. If unsure, use сли́вочное ма́сло. Wiktionary also lists ма́сло (máslo).
Meaning: soft foodstuff made from milk (noun)
Ways to say it
| Russian | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| сли́вочное ма́сло | slívočnoje máslo | neuter |
| ма́сло | máslo | neuter |
ма́сло alone often means butter at the table, but it is the general word for any fat or oil, including vegetable oil. Adding сли́вочное makes it clear you mean butter.
What does it mean word for word?
сли́вочное is the adjective from сли́вки, cream and ма́сло means butter or oil.
Which one should you use?
To spread butter on bread is нама́зать ма́слом.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
ма́сло is neuter, so the adjective takes the neuter ending in сли́вочное. For a quantity, such as a piece of butter, use the genitive сли́вочного ма́сла.
How do you pronounce it?
Following the romanization slívočnoje máslo, both words are stressed on the first syllable.
Did you know?
- Because ма́сло refers to any oil, the word for a 'gas station' in Russian is запра́вкa, but the actual engine oil is simply called ма́сло.
- Russian has a common idiom, ма́сло ма́слом, which describes a situation where someone is being redundantly repetitive or stating the obvious.
- The word сли́вки (cream) and сли́вочное (creamy/butter-related) share a root with the verb сли́ть, which means 'to pour out' or 'to drain'.
Examples in context
- Я люблю масло.I love butter.
- Мы используем много масла.We use a lot of butter.
- Добавьте масло в сковороду.Add butter to the pan.
- В холодильнике есть сли́вочное ма́сло.V kholodil'nike yest' slivochnoye maslo.There is butter in the refrigerator.
- Мне нужно купи́ть сли́вочное ма́сло.Mne nuzhno kupit' slivochnoye maslo.I need to buy butter.
- Доба́вь сли́вочное ма́сло в ка́шу.Dobav' slivochnoye maslo v kashu.Add butter to the porridge.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “butter” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
